Wow! What great responses and from so many varied sources, too.
I have to agree with Pitt St here, in that, though some forumites may not have any experience in actually purchasing IP's, their chosen careers make them very valuable as sources of information. I know that, personally, I've gleaned so much from the brokers, accountants, economists, property managers etc who frequent this forum and am highly grateful for their time and expertise.
Jas is also spot on when she reminds us that not one of us can possibly claim to "know everything" there is to know about investing in property. Every day is a learning curve for me, and I really enjoy and appreciate the wealth of knowledge and readily available help that is given by all forumites. It's also wonderful to have a "newbie" ask a question that spurs us into thinking mode, as complacency can kick in after a while, after the fourth or fifth purchase....
Getting back to the original post by Navy, I'd just like to also point out that not everyone is as expressive with the written word as they would like to be. Including myself in this group, the eloquence of some posts makes me weep with envy, for the way that some forumites write is pure magic. They answer and explain so succinctly that you read it and think "WOW!".
Some people truly have a gift for explaining things through their writing, whilst others may be much better orators. I'm sure there are many more armchair experts out there who shy away from posting purely because they don't enjoy writing.
And, Jakk, from one Jack to another, welcome back too
I haven't seen your posts for quite a while. I'm voting you in for a new thread entitled "Jakk's latest adventure!".