How to profit from real estate investments in a soft and declining real estate market January 21, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in : real estate, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k , add a comment
Three years ago real estate investing was hot. Today, many people act as if the opportunity has passed. I contend that the opposite is true. In the past, as a mortgage banker focused on originating mortgages for investment properties, I started listening to and learning from my real estate investor clients and noticed two categories of real estate investors: real investors and blind investors.
Real Investors have the following in common:
- Profiting when they buy. Rather than believing an entire market is hot or cold, a real investor knows that the purchase price is what dictates the return on the investment. You can look in any real estate market to see property values and rental rates. Those are things the investor doesn’t control. The investor does control what he is willing to pay for a property, and that’s how a real investor knows what his return on investment will be before buying the property.
- Investing for income. Real investors buy assets because they produce income. What a property is selling for doesn’t even matter if (more…)
The Top 5 Investing Myths of 2008 January 5, 2009
Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, real estate, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k , add a comment
2008 was a very interesting year to say the least. Possibly the most productive outcome of the year was the restless message of “rethink things” coming from the little voice beckoning each of us in our minds.
Myth #1… The SEC keeps investment information honest and accurate
The Securities and Exchange Commission (abbr “SEC”) should be done away with. The Madoff debacle along with the dozens of other securities frauds that draw less (or no) attention every single year should be evidence that the SEC is failing. It is tasked with making investments safe and transparent and is having the opposite effect. When an investor or fund manager is considering a particular investment, they believe that the investment is truthful, transparent, and honest because the SEC is supposed to regulate it into such a position. The result can be decreased due diligence because of reliance on the SEC. This leads to disaster when the SEC ends up not doing its job very well. If we didn’t expect the SEC to be “keeping investing safe and honest” then investors and asset managers would take a closer look at investment opportunities which would result in better thought out decisions. I’m not saying the SEC should be doing a better job – I’m saying we shouldn’t expect regulation to create investment safety in the first place.
I believe the SEC does more harm than good by offering a false sense of security.
Myth #2… Financial planners give good investment advice
Something very interesting happened in the last 15 or so years: Stock brokerages spent millions of dollars convincing the American public that securities salesman had become “financial planners”. That move alone shifted the perception of almost every American and the magnitude of Wall Street’s success (theirs, not yours). A “stock broker” is to securities as a car salesman is to cars… but a financial planner sounds a lot like somebody whose job it is to plan your finances. What actually changed to make stock brokers become financial planners? (more…)
3 Reasons why today is the best time in human history for immense personal wealth and freedom October 22, 2008
Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Health, Money, Personal Enjoyment, Personal Productivity, real estate, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k , add a comment
While there are many people finding themselves more fearful than ever, there are others who are more excited than ever. Here’s why…
- The rules of safety and courage have changed. Since the industrial revolution, employee-ism has surged. During this time, getting a job to work for somebody else was the safe thing to do. On the other side of the coin the risky, courageous act of working for oneself is what brings riches. As a result, each person has been faced with a choice to pursue either safety or riches. Part of what made employee-ism the safe bet for an individual is the stability of companies as well as what has become the largest store of non-real estate wealth in our country: holdings in the stock market. This year we have seen the rules of the game permanently changed. Our financial system is crashing, and trustworthiness has evaporated from corporate America and the financial services industry. Now working for yourself is no longer the courageous thing to do; it’s the safe thing to do.
- Technology has brought immense power to everybody. Personal computers and the internet are now available to just about everyone. This has made some very expensive things become cheap or free. This has made it possible to do things that were previously impossible. There is no longer a need for every transaction to take place in a physical location. Needs and desires are able to be fulfilled online. In many circumstances, the large corporation cannot compete with the one-man shop. Today a person can start and run several businesses for little or no money. Taking something and creating or increasing its value has never been more accessible.
- Arbitrage has never been (more…)
Turn Doom & Gloom into Personal Boom October 20, 2008
Posted by Jeff Nabers in : Money, Personal Enjoyment, Precious Metals, real estate, Self Directed IRA Solo 401k , add a comment
There are 3 economies to pay attention to:
- Your Personal Economy. This is the one that really matters. The life you will share with your family and friends will be directly impacted by your finances.
- The People’s Economy. This is the wealth of communities of people. You could look at it in terms of the American public as a whole or separated into demographic or geographic categories.
- The Financial Institutions’ Economy. This is the wealth of the people who own banks and financial services companies.
Right now, the financial institutions’ economy is doing quite poorly as a result of foolish decisions. Financial services companies created and bought debt that was not repayable. They packaged investment products in a way so complex not even Warren Buffet could understand them. The Fed has decided to defer and worsen the consequences of their inflationary monetary policy… and now “the economy” is crumbling before our eyes… but which economy is it?
Although often not fulfilled, there is clear potential for your personal economy to be completely separate from the financial institutions’ economy. Your wealth can (more…)
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