Can You Earn a 25% Profit in 45 Days?

Higher Returns... Did you see the Pinnacle Development Partners, LLC advertisement headlined "Stocks Still Low? Invest now in Atlanta's booming real estate market"? (Newsweek, May 1, 2006)

The ad copy states, "25% return within 45 days with a minimum $5K investment." And Pinnacle's web site boasts: "For novice home buyers and investors, buying bank-owned properties (REO's) from the lender is the safest way to buy. There is no risk. There are no taxes, no liens to worry about, and no tenants to evict."

Is this true? Wow, who knew real estate could be so profitable? But don't worry, if you miss the foreclosure market in Atlanta, the Wall Street Journal has a real estate tip for you. ("Investors, Seeking Roads to Riches, Turn to Infrastructure," May 3, 2006)

The WSJ writes, "Infrastructure is real estate's latest hot market. ... Toll roads, hospitals and other networks or structures that provide support to society -- traditionally overlooked in real-estate portfolios -- increasingly are being snapped up by investors seeking stable cash flow and improved returns."

And last year, "a private Australian-Spanish partnership paid $1.83 billion for the right to operate the 7.8-mile Chicago Skyway toll road for 99 years. Since then, Indiana has leased its 157-mile turnpike for 75 years for $3.8 billion."

OK, I'm contrasting apples and oranges. (That's an understatement.) Trends come and go. But it seems to me that there are good deals and bad deals in every market for every property type. What do you think?

-- Peter Pike