The Nareia Cruise was fantastic! This was my fifth cruise 
sponsored by the National Real Estate Investors 
Association. It was a great opportunity not only to hear 
outstanding speakers on real estate investing, but also to 
network with fellow investors from around the country.  
Once again I am reminded of how we truly have a "swiss 
cheese" economy in this nation of ours. 
 
Investors from the West coast can't afford housing; a 1200 
square ft. ranch sells for $650,000; investors in New 
Orleans lost every thing in the wake of hurricane Katrina 
and still have not settled with insurance companies; and 
those in the hot real estate market in Florida are starting 
to see things cooling off, and prices are actually dropping 
in some markets. 
 
The East coast still seems very stable with reasonable 
price appreciation, however, New York City, Metro D.C., and 
Northern New Jersey are experiencing unprecedented price 
increases. The Southwest, particularly Arizona and Nevada 
have probably peaked, but Salt Lake City, and Denver are 
still going strong in the West.  
 
We are fortunate in Michigan. Housing has been very 
affordable for both home owners and investors alike. We are 
able to rent a house and have a positive cash flow with as 
little as 10% down. In most of the really hot markets, 
negative cashflow is expected when renting a house. I spoke 
with one investor who had a $4,000 a year negative cashflow 
on a rental house in Utah. He was banking on the 15 - 20% 
appreciation annually.  
 
The speakers on the cruise covered the entire spectrum of 
real estate investing; Every thing from Mobile homes to 
Pre-construction; resort properties to commercial; 
landlording to rehabbing; and lease options to land trusts. 
I found the best discussions to be at the Q. & A. 
sessions held each night after dinner. This was an 
opportunity to talk with many of the speakers, one-on-one, 
regarding your own situation and challenges you faced in 
your day-to-day operations.  
 
Oh, I almost forgot, the cruise itself was fun, the food 
plentiful and the ports of call inviting. Yes, I will be 
there next year too. Will you?  
 
Good Investing,  
 
Ron Watcke, President 
Reia of Oakland