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 July 12, 2010 @ 4:09 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Many of you have repeatedly asked for the occasional case study, something that would illustrate much of what I talk about in my daily posts. As Lani (A RE blog owner herself) said in a comment last week, “I’ve been waiting YEARS for this side by side comparison.” It’s been her contention these comparisons shoulda been part and parcel of this blog all along. Though my clients live these comparisons, I think my reply to Lani hasta be — guilty as charged.
Sometimes we get too close to a thing, and wonder how anybody could look at two things and not see huge differences — if they indeed exist. My mistake, if you’ll allow me to self-diagnos, is (using baseball analogy in Lani’s honor) akin to me constantly makin’ the point that Major League Baseball (MLB) is vastly superior in quality of play than is seen in the Rookie ‘A’ Ball League in East Toilet Seat, Montana. Problem is, if the reader isn’t either a baseball fan, or would like to be but has no context in which to compare, merely reading about it doesn’t quite do the job.
I get it — mea culpa. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on July 7, 2010 @ 12:03 pm - Written by BawldGuy
If you haven’t read yesterday’s post, take some time now to go read it here — A San Diego County Duplex vs Texas Duplex. In it, I show the core rationale for San Diego real estate investors, and really the entire west coast, for Gettin’ Outa Dodge. In it I promised to publish a post today showing what the owner of that La Mesa duplex could accomplish in real life with a tax deferred exchange into Texas. This be that post.
The premise is that the La Mesa duplex investor has owned it since forever, and owes nothing on it. He’ll sell it for $300,000 — netting about $275,000 or so after all sales/closing costs. In fact, let’s make that $270,000 — as it’s no doubt being held in place by all the termites holding hands. 
Yeah, a cheap shot, but I speak from painful and personal experience. Own San Diego real estate? You have termites. Get over it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on July 6, 2010 @ 2:30 pm - Written by BawldGuy
The other day I was test driving my newly installed IDX (That’s an app allowing visitors to my company’s website to search for San Diego properties.) when I decided to check out what a duplex goes for in the town in which I live and work, La Mesa. It’s in San Diego’s ‘East County’ and has always been a high demand location for investors in residential income property. Tenants are generally of demonstrably better quality, rents are higher, units easier to rent, and vacancy rates typically lower. Real estate investors have always loved La Mesa.
I found the lowest priced duplex in the zip code (91942), $300,000 — and did some quick, down and dirty numbers. I then compared those bottom line scratchings to what we’re able to offer in various markets in Texas — mostly the Dallas/Fort Worth MetroPlex. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on March 23, 2010 @ 5:49 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Had a wonderful conversation this morning with a very smart new client. She and her husband have recently come on board, and now have a Purposeful Plan, which has already been at least partially put into play. A good portion of their Plan will be executed via the wife’s self-directed IRA. They already own a rental property which is now on the market, with the intent to effect a tax deferred exchange (1031).
One of the things ‘Connie Marie’ wanted to do, was consult with a financial planner to see how much of her funds might be invested in stocks, mutual funds and the like, and how much in real estate. The point of this quest was to discover if diversification would be an issue. As I said already, Connie is one very smart lady, helped further by her occupation, which is banking. She’s no stranger to financial goings on to say the least.
Here’s the gist of our conversation. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on February 3, 2010 @ 8:46 am - Written by BawldGuy
Early last month I wrote a piece about growing capital and creating solid cash flow, much of it sheltered, while experiencing no appreciation whatsoever. The bottom line was surprising to many. Their capital nearly quintupled — while simultaneously creating reliable retirement income. Regardless of whether the capital grows by a factor of four or five, or less, the result will be far more palatable than a 40% loss a few years before your scheduled retirement, which is what’s happened to so many good people.
BawldGuy Axiom: Figuring return on disappearing capital is oxymoronic. Treating appreciation as anything but a luxury is akin to walkin’ in an unmapped minefield. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 22, 2009 @ 10:51 am - Written by BawldGuy
This is a long post — it should be. Follow the progression and the numbers closely. At some point you’ll be reminded of someone in your past (present?) who followed Grandpa’s strategy and is now locked into their own life sentence.
There are many schools of thought when it comes to investing in real estate for retirement. Two of them dominate.
One says you buy property and hold it forever. When you’ve saved up enough to buy another one you do — and hold IT forever. The idea is you allow rental income to pay off debt as quickly as possible, arriving at the point of a free and clear cash flow machine. Do this more than once and you have the basis for a nice retirement income stream. Or so the story goes.
The other says cash flow comes from the yield on either capital or equity in an asset. The larger the capital amount or equity in the asset, the larger the income in terms of dollars. The ‘yield’ itself is expressed in terms of a percentage. For example, 8%. This school says that since the yield is the same, more or less, for a larger figure or a smaller figure, why not arrive at retirement with the largest amount of capital and/or equity possible?
The ‘Buy & Hold’ school (BHS) gets you there. But in what condition, and how much cash flow relative to the ‘Capital Growth First’ school (CGF)?
Buy and Hold Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on December 1, 2009 @ 5:54 pm - Written by BawldGuy
You might be wondering why anyone would even have rent increases on their menu these days. Fair enough. But there are regions in which the future will indeed include rising rents — in fact the last 12 months have seen rents head northward for the folks who’ve invested in the Texas neighborhoods I’ve recommended. It’s been roughly 2-4% in our real life/real time experience there. Just food for thought.
My decades as a real estate investment broker have led me to understand how landlords can rationalize just about anything, especially when it comes to direct dealings with their tenants. This is a good time to recommend professional management, as my stance has always been that your income property should work for you, not you for it. It’s not always feasible, and I get that, but if it’s at all possible, at least consider it seriously.
The question is often posed, “Should I always be on the cutting edge of market rents?” OR “What will happen if I raise my rents and they all move out?” There are myriad iterations. Read the rest of this entry »