To complete—at least for now—my living room upgrade, I purchased a Toshiba HD-DVD (HD-A20) from Circuit City. Just looking at the listing now, I see the price has increased since Tuesday from $359.99 to $399.99. In fact, in the store, the advertised price was $399.99, but after showing the listing on the internet from that day, they matched their online price.

Before deciding on this device, I had to face the big question that is preventing other people I know from jumping into high-definition video: Blu-Ray or HD-DVD? For me, the answer is straightforward. Blu-Ray players are often twice as expensive as HD-DVD. It’s a shame that studios are aligning themselves with one format over another; this might prolong the inevitable crowning of one champion, like Beta vs. VHS.

Once settled on the HD-DVD format, I wanted to find the best value I could. After more online research including Consumer Reports and a number of other communities, I chose the system I mentioned above. No, it’s not built with high-end components, but it delivers a good value.

I also picked up one HD-DVD, Sky Captain & The World of Tomorrow. I saw the movie in the theater when it came out. It wasn’t a fantastic movie, but it was visually stunning, a perfect candidate for high definition. Once the HDMI cables arrive today or tomorrow, I’ll have something to pop in immediately to see how 1080p suits me.

The store didn’t have a wide selection of HD-DVDs, but I’ve been finding more options on Amazon.com and adding them to my Wish List for future purchasing.

After my expenditures this week, it’s time to cool down for several months. There are still several components I need in order to make the experience complete, but I will hold off for a while. Here is what is missing in my set-up:

• Television stand or wall-mounting brackets, so I can reclaim my repurposed coffee table
• High definition audio receiver with surround sound and additional speakers, as the television’s internal speakers are not so hot
• Fancy remote control that can communicate with all devices, so I don’t need the variety I use now

• Game system like the Xbox 360 so I can waste more time when I should be blogging

  Once I’m ready to spend significant money in this department, I’ll be looking back at this list.

Consistency is not a virtue of the stock market these days. Dow down to 13,238.73, S&P 500 down to 1,457.64, Nasdaq up to 2,565.30. [Bloomberg]

In my last entry in this series, I talked about how to find the right neighborhood if you’re looking to buy a rental property. But there’s more to understanding an area than just seeing the neighborhood: invisible factors which could cost you big-time. Here’s my next tip.

3. Be aware of local rental regulations.

In many locales, rental properties are treated more like businesses than residences, and while 8×10 might constitute a proper bedroom in your personal home, it likely won’t be considered such for a rental property. In one local township where we presently own three properties, there are minimum ceiling heights (7’) and square footage (100 sq. ft.) for bedrooms, substantially different from what is required for residential homes. Occupancy is calculated by the township based on the square footage of the unit, so what the local realtor touts as a four bedroom home may only legitimately be a two bedroom home if rented.

Plus, in this township, fire blocking is required for all habitable spaces, which means that a finished basement may not be considered living space unless it was finished in accordance with the code. And basement bedrooms need to have windows of a certain size and opening radius to meet egress standards. The township’s code officials can actually require that if a basement was not finished to code, all finish work be either upgraded or torn out if the house is to be rented. If you have tenants already residing there, you are not spared – you can be forced to relocate the tenants at your own expense until these standards have been met and fined heavily if you refuse.

These types of township-enforced renovations can be a massive expense; in fact, I personally know someone who paid nearly $50,000 to get two basement bedrooms and a bathroom upgraded to meet this code. He’d bought the house with a “finished basement” which the previous owners had completed without a permit. Because rental properties are treated as businesses, he was not allowed to do the work himself but had to hire an architect to draw and seal the plans, then licensed plumbers, electricians, and building contractors to do the work.

Once bitten, twice shy, but it’s better to know exactly what you’ll be getting into before you buy. Ensuring that all additions or renovations were completed with permits and that all living space meets local rental property code can save a great deal of expense and heartache later.

Carbon Monoxide detectors and hardwired smoke detectors are an additional requirement, and special parking rules may be in effect as well, as I’ll discuss further in the next tip.

Rental properties need to be licensed (for a fee) and have a Certificate of Occupancy inspection (for yet another fee) annually, and the township requires that issues identified during this inspection be resolved and reinspected before tenants can move in. Therefore, it is a safe assumption that you’ll need to bring your property into accordance with local rental regulations prior to your earning any income from the property. Knowing the issues, you can budget accordingly.

In writing about the purchasing of a new Sharp Aquos HDTV, I forgot to mention the extended warranty. I tried to use circuit City’s extended warranty as a bargaining chip to see if the salesman could lower the price. That didn’t work, so I left the store without the plan. For $190, if the television stops functioning properly in the first three years of ownership, Circuit City will send someone to attempt repairs. If the television cannot be repaired, Circuit City will replace it. I know that Circuit City makes tons of money on extended warranties like these, but it may just be worth it for a device in which the technology is still so new, and replacement costs would be prohibitive. $63 a year is not bad for this kind of insurance.

The friend who was helping me transport and set up the equipment says he usually will buy extended warranties on expensive electronics, even though it bothers him that they are cash cows for the company. When a piece of equipment stops functioning 18 months after the purchase—past the limit of the manufacturer’s warranty—it can be frustrating. Is peace of mind on a $1,300 piece of equipment worth $63 a year?

For comparison, a phone from Verizon Wireless that costs $100 can be insured with replacement protection from that company for $72 a year (and you’ll still have a $50 deductible). I think it’s clear which one is a better deal.

I still have several days to think it over. What would you do?

While I was covering my own responsibilities as well as those of a vacationing coworker today, I missed all the excitement in the markets. Dow up to 13,289, S&P 500 up to 1,463, Nasdaq up to 2,563. [MarketWatch]

Money Magazine is sharing an interesting piece of advice in their September issue. This comes from “The Mole,” the magazine’s “underciver financial planner.” If your financial advisor or broker tells you there are no fees for a particular investment or no risk for some product, ask to confirm in in writing.

Even though my clients relied on these promises [of no fees and no risks from other advisors] when they chose investments, they had nothing in writing to prove it. In fact, within minutes of making those misleading statements, the adviser probably had the client sign a multi-page disclosure document that contained language (buried deep inside) directly contradicting the oral promise. Advisers know no one is actually going to read all the disclosures before signing.

Here’s an easy solution. When your adviser makes an extreme-sounding claim, send him a nice, friendly e-mail articulating your understanding of what he said.

Ask him to confirm it in writing. If the statement is accurate, he should have no problem. If he backpedals, dismisses your request by saying “That’s in the disclosure document” or just calls you up to repeat his oral promise, get very suspicious. If he won’t write, something’s not right.

The Mole’s reports take a look at what happens behind the scenes in the world of financial planning. The more someone has knowledge of what goes on on the “inside” will be in a better position to make good decisions. This piece from The Mole is advise is quite clever; theoretically, an advisor knows better than to formally document a lie and will avoid that at all costs.

As of Monday, calculating how much I had spent on televisions, DVD players, and other entertainment equipment was fairly easy. I “inherited” a JVC receiver and large JBL speakers from my father when he upgraded. When a friend and roommate of mine moved to Seattle several years ago, I purchased his 27 inch CRT television, DVD player, and entertainment center for $150 or so. Last year, I bought a cheap DVD player for $35 when the first one died. Also last year, or maybe two years ago, I purchased a pair of small Yamaha speakers to replace the large JBL speakers when they no longer functioned properly.

I have wanted to upgrade my entire system for a long time. Knowing that it would be an expensive endeavor, I put this off for many years. While I know that spending a large sum of money now could mean less for me in retirement thanks to the powerful effect of inflation, now that I am able to aggressively save for retirement (25% of my day job salary and I could easily go higher at any time), I decided this past weekend it was time to start the upgrade.

The last few days have been spent reading a large number of reviews of various television sets on Consumer Reports (where I am now a member), forums, and a wide selection of other websites. I solicited advice from friends who are familiar with the technology.

First, I settled on LCD as the appropriate technology for my typical viewing conditions and for its recent advancements in competition with the picture quality of plasma. I went back and forth between several brands, but I eventually decided on Sharp Aquos.

The price on the Sharp Aquos LC-42D62U 42 inch LCD HDTV—the size I determined would be appropriate, large but not overbearing, for my space—was in the range of what I wanted to spend for the best high definition resolution (1080p), and the lowest price I could find was under $1,300 at Circuit City. That didn’t surprise me, having helped my girlfriend purchase a television several months ago.

Unlike that last time, I could not get the sales associates to drop the price. I can understand why; the television is selling well, is not discontinued, and the price dropped as recently as a month ago by $800. Still, Circuit City offers a 30-day price guarantee in case they lower the price or I find an offer in the local competitive area for less. When I shopped for a television with my girlfriend, we spotted a discontinued model and were able to work the sales associate down about 33%. He even showed us a list of all the store’s television equipment, including what would be considered the “invoice price,” or what the store supposedly paid.

Back to my HDTV, a friend assisted me with transporting the television from the store to my living room (and setting up the television) as the box would most likely not fit into my Honda Civic. Another aspect of LCD technology that fits my needs is its weight. Plasma screens are much heavier and difficult to transport. I expect I will be moving again in the next year or two and Plasma screen are fragile.

I was surprised Circuit City offered high definition cables (HDMI) for no less than $100 and up to $140 a piece. I left the store without buying any of the cables that would allow me to completely enjoy the high definition experience. Instead, I opted to order 2 HDMI cables—one for cable television and the other for the HD DVD player I will write about in Part 2—online through my friend’s wholesale source for $14 a piece.

The television looks great so far. I expect once I receive and install the HDMI cables, quality on standard definition broadcasts will actually decrease, as one negative point of this particular model is that it doesn’t have a strong conversion processor. Nevertheless, high definition broadcasts are consistently increasing—almost everything I watch is broadcasted in HDTV, and my cable service including HD is free for the year.

Dow down to 13,041.85, S&P 500 down to 1,432.36, Nasdaq down to 2,500.64, Flexo’s net worth down by over $1,500 today. That last statistic is due to a long-overdue upgrade in living room entertainment. [AP]