Posted on July 1, 2008 @ 9:07 pm - Written by BawldGuy
You and I are having a relaxed conversation. You’ve been thinkin’ of contacting me for quite awhile, and finally took the plunge. You’re now pondering the answer to my first question — What do you want your retirement to look like? As surprising as it may be, that question is a poser for lots of folks.
Try not to primarily think in terms of retirement income. Think lifestyle. How much of a traveler do ya wanna be? Wanna be a globe trotter, or are you more a see the grandkids type? What about how you’ll be traveling? Gonna be an ocean goer? Maybe you’ll be staying in the contiguous 48 and takin’ long trips in the cool RV — maybe a $400,000 RV? Hey, it’s your retirement, what do you want? You and I will make it happen. Our #1 weapons? Your vision and my Purposeful Plan.
See what I mean? It’s one thing to randomly think or even talk about your retirement, but try to answer the question concretely and it becomes a different tale altogether. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 29, 2008 @ 6:59 pm - Written by BawldGuy
When speaking to audiences in historically high appreciation areas, it’s common to hear them voice serious concern with regions I’m recommending. Their real problem? They’re lookin’ at appreciation at the cost of capital growth — theirs. They’re literally penalizing themselves to the tune of millions over the long term. In baseball terms, strikeouts are cool, but how many earned runs a pitcher allows per game is the real gold standard. No? Ask yourself if for the big game you’d want the guy who strikes out 12 batters a game but has a 5.3 ‘earned run average’ (ERA), or the guy who hardly ever strikes anyone out but only allows three runs a game?
Not a difficult decision, is it? ‘Course not. It’s obvious on it’s face. Why? ‘Cuz in baseball the winner is decided by how who has the most runs at the end of the game — not the team sporting the pitcher with the most strikeouts.
Appreciation = Strikeout Pitcher whereas Capital Growth = Very low Earned Run Average
In real estate investment terms, here’s how it shakes out in real life. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 27, 2008 @ 11:51 am - Written by BawldGuy
David Shafer and I agree on most things related to the attainment of wealth and a magnificently abundant retirement. Here’s a bonus for my readers today. Wanna know the slam dunk difference between those living a hand to mouth retirement and those for whom the hardest decision is where to travel to next?
BawldGuy Axiom: No wildly successful action ever came from anything but a thought. Thought — thinking, always comes first. Poor thinking = equals poor doing.
A superb retirement comes from Purposeful Planning, doing things on purpose. It doesn’t come from a mental attitude equivalent to rollin’ dice on the Craps table at the casino.
David just published There Is None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See and I’m convinced if you read it, one of three reactions will ensue.
1. Amen! Yer preachin’ to the choir Big Guy.
2. You’ll see yourself in all your security driven splendor, then race down the hallway to the door marked ‘DENIAL’.
3. You’ll see yourself, recognize the need for a sea change in your thinking, and begin your new and abundant life.
David and I want everyone to enter retirement with a sense of excited anticipation. If the thought of your retirement makes your palms sweaty, and sleep hard to come by, click the link and read the post. If it changes your thinking it’ll change your life.
Without the right mindset, your retirement might very well end up as a life sentence. When you finish reading David’s stellar post, come back here and take a short listen to the Grandpa Economics podcast. You won’t be sorry.
If you now think you’d like some help with your retirement, Contact Me. I love this stuff. It’s the only reason I keep doin’ it. Let’s figure a Plan just for you.
Posted on June 26, 2008 @ 10:10 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Guy I’ve been helpin’ on the side with investment advice lives in Iowa. Pretty smart guy, and frankly, if my opinion was asked, I’d say he had more ah, testosterone than is safe. But that’s another post altogether. Anywho, he’s not only smart, but a doer with a capital D. Tell him what to do and how to do it, and Boom! he’s emailin’ me with a question about what to tackle next.
BawldGuy Axiom: Those who set out to try are doomed to learn from those who set out to do. Doing is what results are all about. Trying is how we begin explanations for failure.
The latest bump in the road for ‘Jim’ is figuring out how to reliably value properties in which he has some interest. Though I’m still not positive about what he was looking at during his research, I can say it did bring up a common misconception.
Going to the local tax assessor and viewing property tax appraisals in order to value is maybe one of the fastest ways to find yourself in the black abyss of ‘What happened?’
In California for example, the only kinda sorta reliable assessor valuation is found the day after a new sale is recorded — if that sale was recorded at full value. Back in ‘78 we amended the state constitution as it relates to real estate taxes. (Proposition 13) Very much oversimplified, it limits taxes to 1% of the purchase price, which of course has been perverted somewhat over time to include various exceptions. In San Diego homes and small investment props generally land in the range of 1.25-1.6%. Also, and this is best part, annual tax raises cannot exceed 2%. Pretty cool, eh? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 26, 2008 @ 1:05 am - Written by BawldGuy
We’ve found the right property(s) for you. You’ve successfully entered into escrow, and have navigated all the hurdles and potholes encountered on the way. It’s time to transfer ownership to you. Let’s look at what happens now.
Note: For those who haven’t read the series from the start, and would like to do so, here on some links for you. Here’s Part I, Part II, and Part III
I’m gonna simplify this as much as I can. It’s not my job to make things as difficult and/or complex as possible, right? Right.
How do we know when we’ve arrived at our off ramp? There are as many answers as there are brokers and investors. For me it’s when lender says to get ready for loan docs. Don’t get me wrong, Murphy still has arrows left in his quiver. They’re just harder for him to reach now. At least that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.
BawldGuy Axiom: The escrow ain’t closed ’till someone tells you it’s closed and even then not ’till you’ve confirmed with the title company. You can be fairly sure when you’ve received the payment info from the lender. Probably. Read the rest of this entry »