Posted on August 24, 2010 @ 9:46 am - Written by BawldGuy
If you’re in your late 40’s or older, ensuring that time and your comfort zone play well together is easier said than done. I tend to be a stickler on comfort zone, as, like you, being anxious isn’t something for which I strive. In fact, along with the Sominex Account (cash reserves for newish readers), a real estate investor’s comfort zone resides at the top of the A-List of ‘must haves’.
The friction, of course, is caused by the practical need to get things rollin’ with a sense of urgency, while keepin’ at least one foot firmly entrenched in the Zone of Comfort. Frequently this results in the investor takin’ a step back to define exactly which comfort level they’re gonna salute, cuz there’s a couple, not just one — and their demands are often in conflict with each other — irritatingly so. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 17, 2010 @ 6:27 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Back in the day my mentors would regale me with real estate investment stories about the early 1950’s. Having been born in the summer of ‘51 I was all ears. I heard a common thread in most of their tales, until that is, we hit the end of 1975 or so. The ‘way it always was’ began to change — radically. They began to notice not so subtle changes in the local market, and they didn’t like it one bit. No siree.
Prices started rising in what would be the first of a long cycle of up a bunch, down a bit, up a bunch more, etc. I’m not sure it was indeed a paradigm shift as a matter of fact, but to them that’s exactly what it was. One of ‘em was so put out by what he saw through the rest of the 70’s he retired earlier than planned, headin’ back home to Wyoming. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 12, 2010 @ 6:02 pm - Written by BawldGuy
When I initially meet with new clients, one of the first things we go over is what their end game is when they think of retiring. I usually get the ‘Captain Obvious’ stare for a second or two. Of course, income is what allows them to even contemplate retiring, but after the last few years, most have come to covet stability of income, along with the safety of their investment capital. It’s one thing to arrive at retirement with a boatload of equity, it’s quite another to fall asleep each night knowing it’s foundation is secure, as in deeply sunk, steel reenforced, heavy duty concrete secure.
What many of the studies put out by Dalbar Inc have shown is that the typical investor, whether lookin’ for long term capital growth or fixed income, just hasn’t faired well at all — if they’ve given their money to Wall Street. I don’t mean lately. I mean the last 20 years — pretty much a generation. Want numbers do ya? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 10, 2010 @ 8:36 pm - Written by BawldGuy
There are times when real estate investors must realize it makes sense to take a bullet in today’s battle, in order to win the long term war. This is especially true in formerly uber-high appreciation markets like San Diego — the west coast in general? Now you’re wonderin’ what I mean by takin’ a bullet, right?
It means — for the most part — takin’ less money for your current units than you might think they’re worth. But, if you think you’re takin’ thousands less than you should, but are gonna increase your benefits big time in the future, why are you sweatin’ it? Relax — breathe deep the gathering…hugely increased retirement income. 
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 9, 2010 @ 7:56 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Last Tuesday I wrote a post on another blog about a strategy available and attractive to many. This is especially true for those in their 40’s who realize that though they may indeed have a boatload of money in their ‘qualified plan’ at work, they also realize it ain’t gonna be enough when it comes time to retire. This is especially true for those of you who have several hundred grand in your 401(k) — a figure that just a couple years ago was, um, larger by six figures. Ouch.
You realize it can happen again, probably will, and if you’re in your 40’s, the market has 15-20 years to make it happen. Not a happy thought.
Anywho, take a look at the above mentioned post, and don’t forget to read the comments while you’re there.
Tomorrow morning I’ll be publishing a follow-up post inspired by the comments you’ll be able to read in the first post. I’m showing what would happen if 20 years ago you employed the strategy I’m recommending. It’s eye opening, and I suspect many will be nudged to rethink what they’ve been doin’ all these years. Here’s the link to the site. I’m not sure what time it’ll be published.
Meanwhile, gimme a call, as I’m Jonesin’ for a fix. 619 889-7100 will find me. Have a good one.
Posted on August 5, 2010 @ 7:32 pm - Written by BawldGuy
This week has been informative to say the least. I’ve heard from several (4) income property owners in markets much like San Diego, including one actually in my town. Though their situations varied a bit here and there, there was a common thread when it came to the reason they contacted me.
They all said one of two things — one of ‘em said both.
“As one of your posts challenged us to do, we looked all over our local market for something into which we could exchange our equity(s). It’s been ‘X’ months (fill in the blank) and there’s just nothing worth trading for.”
OR
“Your post askin’ us if we’d now buy the units we’ve owned for quite some time, even for what they’re worth after this market correction? No! As in, not in this or any other lifetime.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on August 3, 2010 @ 1:53 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Written By — David Shafer
Financial risk is a very misunderstood subject, made worse by the assumptions academics made in coming up with their version of what risk is. Risk can be easily defined as the odds of not reaching a goal. But academics have defined risk as overall variance of returns. In other words what are the odds of you not getting a pre-determined return on your investment. But in addressing risk in that way it leaves out the critical factor, your goal. For most people, investing is a process through which they reach a point that they have income without having to be employed. Mostly people think in terms of “retirement” income. So the goal is not a particular rate of return, but an income during non-employment years. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on July 26, 2010 @ 10:03 am - Written by BawldGuy
Written By — David Shafer
History has pointed out that those who sell mutual funds [and stocks in general] tend toward an idealized view of the future that can be rightly called Pollyannaism [having an overly positive view]. While those selling Life Insurance tend to be exactly the opposite, perhaps alarmist in viewpoint. I try to stay in the middle of those two extremes by cementing my strategy into real life experience and data. This “middle-way” will provide the basis for this post.
When comparing two different retirement strategies it is best that we strip away as much of the hyperbole as possible, so I will not demonize those that push either side. 401Ks were originally designed as an avenue to get additional compensation to corporate upper level management. As such it was thought as simply one of many points of compensation, but one that took special consideration about immediate taxation. Long-term tax issues were best dealt with by strategies designed by tax accountants and attorneys. Since those meager beginnings, 401Ks have become the only retirement plans for the majority of workers. Note, that they were not designed to be the majority retirement plans that they have become. So as a retirement tool, they will always be a little off. Most people fund their 401Ks with mutual funds. The mutual funds offered within corporate plans are both limited and have high expenses. In fact, among corporate offered mutual funds the expenses are extremely high, 3% on average. Read the rest of this entry »