@Mwafrika31 really?

Very very nice.
Remember Mukiha saying that rental income will usually increase to cover the mortgage repayment in 7-10 years? (post # 8 here: http://www.wazua.co.ke/f...spx?g=posts&t=11863) Rent goes up. The value of the house goes up.

the argument leans towards stocks. both can do equally well, but i think that mortgage especially on a rental property may be a surer bet in the long run..

@obiero people who live in rentals have. no business owning flashy cars, at most should own point A to B cars.

My two cents worth - nvesting is all about risk and return. I think the upsdie on the stock market is very high especially if you are buying into a divrsified fund like databank but I also think the risk is equally high. I also think houses as an investment class when you consider the return on investment are far less superior to land. My plan is to buy land in the outskirts of cities and county headquarters. That way you get a two fold return on your investment- firstly the normal appreciation attributed to land and secondly the exponential rise in demand for the land as developmnt due to population pressure gets there. The only risk I foresee is political risk in which case stock market and residential property investors will also be screwed. Worked so far for me with avarage returns of roughly 500-700%. Only downside is liquidity- which can be offset by leveraging using asset as collateral.