A heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to all who’ve honored me with there presence here. As I reflect on America and Americans I thank God I was born here. In the end, no matter our specific circumstances, we all have so much for which to be thankful.
Enjoy your family and please, be safe.
The BawldGuy
Some random thoughts about what I’ve been hearing/seeing/livin’ recently.
Interest rates have dropped this week. 30 year conforming fixed rates can be had for roughly 4.5-4.62%. So if you’re in the market to buy a home, I’d find one and lock the rate — sometime around 4:30 yesterday afternoon. Investors not ’saddled’ (How stoopid is that?) with four loans will currently pay in the low 5’s. The best fixed rates I’ve seen for investment long term in my 40 years — period. So if you’re contemplating makin’ a move, ya might wanna light a fire under yer booty, cuz it ain’t gonna last. Ya heard it here first. Read the rest of this entry »
I told you last week I would give you a deeper look into the oil and gold markets, as well as some comments on the interest rate developments internationally. But, before I get to those, I first want to give you just a quick update on the S&P. With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, no need to go into a long analysis here this week. Here is the S&P chart as of the close last Friday (11-20).
Basically you will note that the price from last Friday was only a tad lower (from 1093.48 to 1091.38 – remember this is the S&P cash index, not the futures). We did move closer to the “Headline” again, however, and this, with the high green line (fast stochastic) in the Momentum Section (bottom of the chart), has me a little concerned that we might see a bit more selling soon. Read the rest of this entry »
The most common reply I hear from folks calling me is, “I didn’t know that was possible.” Or something similar. It all goes back to the root of successful investing, which is doing things on Purpose — Purposeful Planning. One of the main factors in any Plan is how taxes/tax shelter blend into the big picture. Though you never wanna buy property solely for the tax benefits (VERY rare exceptions.), Incorporating them into your Plan with maximum impact is almost always a key factor in ultimate performance. (Think I sprained a finger typin’ that sentence. 
)
BawldGuy Axiom: In the long run the investor who doesn’t use all available strategies when creating and executing their Purposeful Plan pays a bigger price for inferior results.
The following are just a few of the questions to be answered when discussing taxes/tax shelter and real estate investing. First though, let’s agree on a layman’s definition of depreciation.
It’s what many call a ‘paper loss’ which allows for the aging and physical deterioration from usage, obsolescence, passage of time, or just simple wear and tear. There is no actual loss of money — which is why it’s commonly called a paper loss. Read the rest of this entry »
As a hired gun many moons ago I used to do after tax cash flow ‘autopsies’ on investments for attorneys representing either investors or other real estate agents/brokers. I’d produce historic rates of return, almost always expressed as IRR — Internal Rate of Return. I’ve explained IRR, in court, the following way.
It’s that rate of return, which when discounted back to Day 0 equals the original amount invested. (In ‘analyst speak’ that means Net Present Value (NPV) = 0.)
The court accepted the data I was given was correct in those cases, since most of it came from escrow closing statements, CPA’s, management company reports, bank statements and the like — they were relatively reliable numbers.
In one case I was grilled for over 20 minutes about holding periods. It was literally one of the dumbest 20 minutes the judge ever had to endure going by his facial expressions. For me though it was live entertainment. Read the rest of this entry »
This might turn out to be a short series, so if it seems there should be more info, your instincts are right on. There’s so much for the new investor to know. Let’s begin by invoking one of my all time favorite axioms.
BawldGuy Axiom: It’s hardly ever the answers to your questions that end up producing dire consequences. It’s usually (80/20 rule?) the answers to the questions you never knew to ask that end up ruining your day.
I’ll assume you either A) Have the necessary capital to acquire your first property(s) or B) The equity/assets to provide it. Most folks without the hard cash, tap into their home’s equity — if it’s prudent under their unique circumstances.
First, let’s get some myths out in the open. Read the rest of this entry »
One of the comments I received on last week’s column was “But, it is too late when something has happened!” This was in response to my comment in the column: “The stock market is not about what might happen. The stock market, if you are an investor, is all about what ACTUALLY has happened. The one and only thing that is important to your portfolio is what has actually happened! Once you know this, then you can take steps to protect your portfolio values.”
The implication from the commenter is that it was “too late” when the “ACTUAL” has already happened. Let me elaborate a bit on my comment to put to rest the concern implied by the question.
Charts go a long way in predicting the future. How? A chart traces out all sorts of repetitive formations. These formations are not just chronicling what is going on, they also forecast what may be about to happen. Read the rest of this entry »
Sorry for not posting yesterday, as the day got away from me. Between takin’ care of Mom’s needed visits to her eye surgeon (recent cataract removal/lens implant) and attending what’s known as a real estate ‘barcamp’, my day began at 6 AM and ended at 9 PM when I finally landed back home. The checkup couldn’t have gone better, as Mom’s eye, sans blinders plus the newly installed custom designed lens has reopened the world she used to know. Still can’t believe she was driving, but that’s another story. Geez.
A barcamp is a gathering of experts, in this case real estate related. TechnoGeeks talk about the web, design, various marketing techniques and the like. Brokers/agents do the same but for real estate in general. Blogging is, of course, a hot topic. Contrary to what you might think, only about 2-4% of the agent population blogs or has an active website worthy of the name. When it comes to technology, most in my industry haven’t moved beyond about 1990’s or so. Read the rest of this entry »