Landlording – It’s Not What We Think That Matters
LANDLORDING – IT’S NOT WHAT WE THINK THAT MATTERS It was my wife’s thirtieth birthday. We were driving home through southeast Texas, in Hamilton County. She was driving when the radar detector lit up and sounded off. Of course she checked her speed. She said that she was going the speed limit. I looked over […]
Is Real Estate Still An IDEAL Investment?
IS REAL ESTATE STILL AN IDEAL INVESTMENT? Rising interest rates and declining home sales have some people questioning whether or not real estate is still a good investment. One source estimates the number of home sales closed by investors in Q4 2022 dropped 46% from the prior year. Commercial real estate prices are pressured downward […]
Interest Rates and Multi-Family Pricing
Threat or Opportunity? INTEREST RATES AND MULTI-FAMILY PRICING: Threat or Opportunity? Many people are scared or frightened. Rising inflation is eating away at their purchasing power. A $500,000 retirement nest egg doesn’t provide as much as it would have a year ago. Rising interest rates are pricing new home buyers out of the market; many […]
When Can I Retire?
WHEN CAN I RETIRE? Do your investments match your vision? Many people invest blindly. They might choose automatic contributions to a 401(k) plan because they get a tax deduction and might get a company match. Some set aside an amount they were told they should invest, like 10-percent of every paycheck. Will they have enough […]
Teaming Up For Success
Lessons from Pickleball and Real Estate Investing TEAMING UP FOR SUCCESS Lessons from Pickleball and Real Estate Investing New Year Resolutions have been made. People want to start new habits, or get to the gym, etc. It happens every year. People start something new and it might last for a few weeks. I’ve also seen […]
Don’t Set Goals For The New Year
Do These 4 Things First DON’T SET GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR Do These 4 Things First Setting goals for the new year is common for many people. Unfortunately, many goals fall the way of New Year’s resolutions. They seemed like a good idea on January 1. Do you remember what the gyms look like […]
How To Get More From Your IRA
HOW TO GET MORE FROM YOUR IRA Boosting Returns and Reducing Risk With a 401(k) The IRA is a powerful tool. Millions of people are using them to invest for their retirement. They can reduce taxable income now and let your investments grow tax deferred, allowing you to wait and pay taxes later. But there […]
Grow Your Portfolio Faster
Questions to Consider Before Year End GROW YOUR PORTFOLIO FASTER Questions to Consider Before Year End As we are approaching the end of another year, many of us are asking familiar questions. Have I met my goals for this year? What else do I need to do to get there? Should we be asking another […]
To Roth Or Not To Roth?
TO ROTH OR NOT TO ROTH? Did The SECURE Act Set A Time Bomb In Your IRA? Updated November 14, 2022 As we approach the end of the year, are you considering making any moves to save money on taxes? Would you like to save money on taxes in future years? One of the long […]
Finding Opportunity In Changing Markets
3 Questions To Answer Now FINDING OPPORTUNITY IN CHANGING MARKETS 3 Questions To Answer Now Have you noticed changes in the real estate market recently? It seems to be in the news every day. As real estate investors, many are anxious. So are many people wanting to be homeowners. Inflation is at a 40-year high […]
The Power of Compounding Interest
What Would You Do With $1,000,000 Tax-Free? THE POWER OF COMPOUNDING INTEREST What Would You Do With $1,000,000 Tax-Free? How often have you heard someone say, “I’d be a millionaire if I only had …”? It’s as if they had already given up hope. I once had a trigonometry teacher who told us he was […]
5 Steps To Creating A Disaster Plan For Landlords
5 STEPS TO CREATING A DISASTER PLAN FOR LANDLORDS Last week we were reminded how quickly a disaster can occur. Hurricane Ian developed from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in only a few days. Sure there were projected paths. But even the projections kept changing. And the hurricane was projected to decrease […]
The Changing Face of Financial Education
And How It Impacts Your Future THE CHANGING FACE OF FINANCIAL EDUCATION And How It Impacts Your Future I am fortunate to have obtained what I consider to be a good financial education. It wasn’t from formal education. It wasn’t from an MBA. All of my formal education, through engineering and an MBA, only included […]
Getting Real Estate Benefits Without Being A Landlord
GETTING REAL ESTATE BENEFITS WITHOUT BEING A LANDLORD Many millionaires obtained their wealth through real estate. Billionaires like to use real estate to continue growing their wealth. And enjoy some of the benefits. And many people see that there are benefits to owning real estate, but they don’t want to be landlords. It sounds like […]
Coming Soon! Rent Control
COMING SOON! RENT CONTROL 4 Actions to Take Now There is a movement across the country asking for rent control. Have you seen it? Some cities have imposed it. Suddenly the threat is in our backyard. In Florida, Orange County commissioners approved a rent stabilization ordinance to be placed on the ballot in November. The […]
Why Did My Financial Planner Say That?
WHY DID MY FINANCIAL PLANNER SAY THAT? I’m writing this week while we are on a trip to Europe. We started in Germany and stayed in a small town near Oberammergau. After checking in at the hotel my mother had trouble opening the door to the balcony and asked me for help. The top had […]
Retirement Account Secrets Your Broker Won’t Tell You
RETIREMENT ACCOUNT SECRETS YOUR BROKER WON’T TELL YOU Several years ago I was having lunch with some friends and we were discussing what we had each done over the weekend. I mentioned that I had spent the weekend learning how to use my IRA to invest in real estate. One person reacted with, “You can […]
Recessions and Inflation: What You Need To Know Now
RECESSIONS AND INFLATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW Spoiler Alert: This Is Not Like The Great Recession Many people believe we are already in a recession. We are also experiencing high inflation and rising interest rates. What does that mean for our investments? What does that do to our ability to use retirement funds […]
Landlording Surprises That Boost Your Income
220628 Landlording Surprises That Boost Your Income LANDLORDING SURPRISES THAT BOOST YOUR INCOME Forest Gump was right. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. It holds true for tenants. Even when the screening seems thorough and includes background checks. And it holds true for property managers. […]
8 Real Estate Lessons From My Dad
8 REAL ESTATE LESSONS FROM MY DAD These Still Hold True Today I owe my passion for real estate to my dad. With Father’s Day coming up this seems like an appropriate time to share some of the lessons that I learned from my dad with regards to real estate. My dad was a broker, […]
Why Cash Is Not King
WHY CASH IS NOT KING THE MYTH How many times have you heard the words, “Cash is king.”? It sounds good. Sure, it feels good to have Benjamins in your wallet. But that does not make cash king. Cash is necessary for reserves and to pay expenses. But there is something else more important than […]
Are You Creating A Legacy Or A Headache?
ARE YOU CREATING A LEGACY OR A HEADACHE? SIMPLE SOLUTIONS TO KEEP THE CASH FLOWING There is a problem many of us do not want to face. My wife and I put it off for many years. During our building years we built up a nest egg. It included stocks, mutual funds, and our favorite, […]
How To Invest For Your Life Stage
Choosing Investments For The Time Of Your Life HOW TO INVEST FOR YOUR LIFE STAGE Choosing Investments For The Time Of Your Life Investing can be complicated and scary. But it doesn’t have to be. It is common to have a fear of what we don’t understand. We don’t know what lies ahead. However, we […]
How to Grow a Retirement Fund Faster Using Real Estate
HOW TO GROW A RETIREMENT FUND FASTER USING REAL ESTATE And Save Money On Taxes It’s April and most of us are too familiar with what that means. Taxes are due. I don’t mind paying my fair share. But I don’t want to pay more than my fair share. Many of us ask questions like: […]
Finding The One Thing That Maximizes Cash Flow
And Increases The Value Of Your Rental Portfolio FINDING THE ONE THING THAT MAXIMIZES CASH FLOW And Increases The Value Of Your Rental Portfolio Many of us venture into real estate seeking greater returns, stability, and control over our investments. Later, some of us find ourselves spending more time managing properties to ensure they are […]
Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks
TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS There are some myths that need to be busted. Like cash is king. And the three most important things in real estate are location, location, and location. And you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. As we grow older and more experienced, we learn and develop conclusions. Our […]
Is Financial Freedom Only A Dream?
IS FINANCIAL FREEDOM ONLY A DREAM? Discovering Magic Points In Your Journey Do you ever ask yourself, “Am I saving enough to retire someday?” Does it ever seem like savings and investments grow very slowly? Like watching paint dry but slower? Recent inflation has many people wondering if they have saved enough. Gas and housing […]
Are You Prepared For What Lies Ahead?
ARE YOU PREPARED FOR WHAT LIES AHEAD? Every investment starts with a plan. But, many investments don’t go exactly as planned. There are hiccups. Such as a house flip that goes over budget, or a property sits on the market a long time. It could be holding costs accruing while a property sits vacant. The […]
How Much Should We Offer?
HOW MUCH SHOULD WE OFFER? Crafting Real Estate Offers In A Competitive Market How can you make money today in a real estate market that is highly competitive? Single family houses and multi-family apartments are seeing the effects of inflation and high demand. There is a housing shortage. Sellers of single family homes are getting […]
Building Wealth through Multifamily Investments with Jonathan Barr
Mike Jacobson shares a 9 minute conversation with Jonathan Barr We have come to know Jonathan in a mastermind in which we meet regularly and are learning together and encouraging one another. Jonathan shares some of his experience and philosophy of apartment investing. California, multifamily investor Grew up in real estate family About 400 deals in […]