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 @ 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 »
Posted on June 17, 2008 @ 10:06 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Let’s take a peek at what a shiny new real estate investor faces when entering this market. We’ll use a composite Brown and Brown client made up of several clients who’ve come on board this year. They’re early 40’s with two kids. (She’s 39, sorry.) They make $150,000/year between them. They own a home with a loan at around 70% loan to value. The investment capital available to them is $125,000 not including their cash reserves. They credit is very good, with both scores in the mid-700’s.
First we need to hear them say they wanna be our clients. We don’t make a big deal about it, we just need to hear the words. Once spoken we shift into gear and our V-12 power plant begins its throaty hum. Ever heard a V-12 idling? It’s been described by some as a small airplane. Very cool.
Here’s the chronology
1. A frank discussion is had between the us and the client. How old are they? Salary? Savings? Other assets? Credit? Retirement goals? The list goes on for awhile. The agenda is to establish a Purposeful Plan based upon the answers to these questions. This Plan is the foundation for our first moves on our client’s behalf. It’s importance can’t be under valued. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 6, 2008 @ 12:45 am - Written by BawldGuy
I hate infomercials hard. Then there are the cattle call seminars promising their spellbound audience great riches and early retirement through investing in real estate for cash flow. It’s not that the idea isn’t way cool, it is. But seriously people, the stuff they’re puttin’ out will make your lawn grow faster, but not your capital. And cash flow? Give me a break.
It’s the old ‘on paper’ vs real life thing. On paper, a house bought at the Dollar Store with stoopid high rent, makes real estate mogul type cash flow. Let’s look at this video frame by lyin’ frame, OK?
First Frame
Pulling the common sense card from the deck right off the bat, one’s gotta wonder — if they’re such great properties, why are the so dime-a-dozen cheap? Duh. ‘Cuz nobody wants ‘em, that’s why. Was the first clue a Glock is required to get in and out of the neighborhood? Real estate is a slave to the law of supply & demand. There’s nothing special exempting income property from that law.
I have clients who’d buy them literally by the dozen — for cash — if they were really what they say they are. I’d own a hundred of them by now. No, two hundred. Why not? They’re that cheap, right? And the rents are as high as properties selling elsewhere for five times the price. Pullleeeze. You know the guys on TV are actors. Real folks couldn’t keep a straight face.
Second Frame Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 18, 2008 @ 12:42 am - Written by BawldGuy
I’ll be one of the panel members of Unchained, which is a conference for real estate pros, related venders, and marketing types, both social and otherwise. Sound a tad ambiguous? It’s the best I can do. It’s all about how to be excellent if that helps any. It’s put on by Greg Swann and Brian Brady over at BloodhoundBlog. Greg’s the proud owner, while Brian is a contributing writer, as am I.
One of the subjects sure to come up is the economy and real estate specifically. I have some thoughts to offer. Take a deep breath or two and your shock will dissipate.
I mentioned earlier this year how historically, in bad real estate times, one of the signs a recovery might be on the way, is the gathering of what I call the Godzillas. I define Godzillas as investors, people or entities, bringing a minimum of $50 Million to the table. I spoke of one such group having raised near $1 Billion. This is now happening in several sectors of the real estate market — both by type and geography. They’re surveying the lender landscape, and like much of what they see.
What has given huge encouragement to me personally is what’s emerging from lenders — it appears, one by one, they’re beginning to pull their heads out…(you finish this one). What am I talking about?
Many sophisticated real estate investors have been quietly buying bad loans from lenders at impressive discounts. Ironically what makes this encouraging isn’t that they’re being purchased. No — what’s so cool about this is that the lenders are finally facing the music everyone else has been playing. They’re bitin’ the bullet and clearing the shelves of all their rotten apples. This is what’s often referred to as cleansing the market — indeed. And that’s exactly what this will do.
I’ve been working on a post regarding this topic for several days, when up pops Sean, a sporadic commenter here. He’s seen this trend surfacing too, wanting to know my thoughts. Good on you Sean.
Bottom line? This is an exceptionally good thing.
When the banks begin selling their ‘defective merchandise’ at the swapmeets, the cleanse is officially in overdrive.
Has the spin cycle begun on this market cleansing? Read the rest of this entry »