Not Your Average Condo

Readers of CoC have long heard (read?) me rail about your domicile not being an investment.

Specifically, I subscribe to the Robert Kiyosaki philosophy -- the house in which you live is not an investment unless you are charging your children rent for their rooms. A house may be the biggest purchase you will ever make, or your largest asset, but it is NOT nor should it ever be construed as an investment.

But there is a condo complex in southwest Ohio/eastern Indiana that . . . well . . . might be viewed as an investment. I'm not sure even today. But its worth writing about mostly because I need to cover a topic that is lighter. Lots of bad economic news from around the world: The Greek people may vote on whether to accept a bailout, if not vote outright on whether to remain part of the Eurozone; Belgium's largest bank has failed -- a bank that is the primary lender to U.S. municipal governments; and a ballot issue here in Ohio is being misrepresented so badly by its opponents that if it is passed, I am convinced that a number of companies that want to move business operations here will opt to go elsewhere.

So I am writing about "The Condo At The End of The World."  Intrigued???

Apparently there are a number of these condominium living spaces, originally designed to withstand a detonation. Figured it out? Yep. These are cold-war bunkers -- old missile silos -- now converted to living space. And they dot the landscape across the U.S.

The author of the piece I have linked to above also notes that there are a number of elite, weathy survival types who are betting that problems are coming to this country -- perhaps similar to the riots they have had in Greece, Italy and France -- and that they better well have a place to hole up.

Which has created a fascinating cottage industry within the real estate world -- the resale and conversion of old missile silos into useable living space.

A fascinating read. Now back to the economics of commercial/investment real estate . . . Hmmm. But its a sunny day out. Frankly, I'd rather not. Snow is coming in the next week perhaps.

For now I'll enjoy the sun . . .