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
Posted on June 27, 2008 @ 11:10 pm - Written by BawldGuy
There are plenty of things you can do, not the least of which is to recognize the sea change happening in real time before our eyes. I’m worried for your future. You should be too. And no, I don’t think your properties are gonna put you in the poor house, ‘cuz they’re not. This market correction will end, and at some point your properties will not only regain their value, but go higher.
The Problem?
If your real estate investment world begins and ends at San Diego’s borders, you have a big problem. If they don’t, takin’ your equities Outa Dodge will easily mean $1 Million in additional capital growth for most of you in the next decade. And that figure’s a relatively safe one. Talk about the tortoise and the hare. And for the record? It’s only in the fable that the tortoise wins. Where we’ll take you, the hares don’t stop and lollygag. All things being equal, those leaving San Diego with their real estate investment equity/capital will race past those who stay in town.
It’s a no-brainer. Those who leave now, will be working towards another $5,000 a month retirement income in the next 10 years or so, give or take. This isn’t a game. This is your retirement, and I’m serious as a heart attack about this subject. It’s what I do.
Do not invest in San Diego income property now, or keep what you have longer than it takes to sell/tax defer (1031 exchange) your way out. I’ve been tellin’ folks to buy SD property since Carter was in office. I don’t say these things lightly, as I understand the gravity of decisions based upon one’s future retirement income. But it’s the right thing to do. That makes it an easy call.
I’ll be in town this weekend, available by phone and email. I’m pretty good about gettin’ back to folks quickly. So Contact the Hairless One and let’s see what it’s gonna take to get your retirement back in high gear. Oh, and by the way, for clients doing tax deferred exchanges with Brown and Brown, the selling costs will be reduced by $10,000 or more 90% of the time.
Really — wouldn’t kid ya ’bout that.
Now for some kinda sorta on-topic weekend music. (Just go with it, OK?) Have a good one.
Posted on June 24, 2008 @ 12:17 am - Written by BawldGuy
You can check out Part I here and Part II here if you need to catch up. Now we can proceed with what you might expect while in escrow. For those thinking, ‘Hey, we have a contract, what could happen?’ I keep a plentiful supply of generic aspirin available.
It’s far easier to list what can go right in an escrow than what can potentially go wrong. As an understatement, that may rate honorable mention on the annual Top 10 List.
5. Incomplete list of what can go sideways while in escrow.
Numero uno on this list is lender related. Name something in the loan process and I’ll give you a real life experience (we call this empirical evidence) of how it can, has before, and will again torpedo an escrow. Let’s count just a few of the myriad possibilities. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on June 20, 2008 @ 10:36 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Man, the hucksters are out in force. Been gettin’ emails and phone calls from folks wantin’ me to help them retire in the next 2-4 years through ‘fantastic’ cash flow opportunities in such and such a region. What? Huh? First, let’s ask ourselves a few quick questions.
If we at Brown and Brown could get clients to retirement that quickly, don’t ya think we’d of been braggin’ about it before now? Ya think? Do these magic cash flow properties exist? Well, on paper they do. After that? A whole lotta ‘what the heck is goin’ on here’ is what’s after that.
Seriously, didn’t Grandma tell you about the whole ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it’s probably not’ thing? I’ve literally had over half a dozen conversations this month in which I’ve been questioned about why I won’t fess up about these properties with ATM-like qualities. Wow. What new seminar, Invest In Our Magic Property And Retire Next Tuesday did I miss?
