The journey begins

[ClingingToHope]

Had to sit through a two-hour seminar on real estate trends. It turned out better than I thought. The guy was entertaining and he'd done his research. He has the numbers to back up his opinions.

This year is going to be the year of the short-sale. Banks are tired of foreclosing on houses and are going to be much more willing to take offers below what is owed just to keep inventories from growing.

I was sitting there thinking that if W is smart she'll just put the house on the market and take the loss. I kept wondering how this is going to be handled in the D.

So I was down because again none of this makes sense -- but I'm having it beaten into me that rational thinking counts for nothing.

Then I tried to flip my thinking. Today also was my first monthly investment into a single stock account. No more joint accounts with W -- except for the last bank one.

In two years -- just 24 months -- I'll have enough for a house down payment.

The housing market, according to this speaker, is likely to hit bottom in mid 2011 so if I'm smart I may even be able to buy then.

That's something to look forward to. I'm heading up again.