Deepen That Relationship
DEEPEN THAT RELATIONSHIP Investing is more than numbers By Harland Merriam HUGE LIABILITY You and I often have tens of thousands of dollars on the line. Sometimes even hundreds of thousands, don’t we? This is what it takes to be investors in multi-family complexes. Someone finds a property, puts it under contract, forms an LLC […]
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 […]
Multifamily is a Rather Stable Investment
MULTIFAMILY IS A RATHER STABLE INVESTMENT VOLATILITY CAN BE A CHALLENGE Stock prices go up and down, sometimes a whole lot. They are volatile. A painful example is the 2008 recession and the dramatic dip in stock prices. Other investment classes also have a lot of volatility — big ups and big downs. Commercial Multifamily […]
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 […]
A Hedge Against Inflation — Yes or No?
A HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION – YES OR NO? Review of a Forbes Business Council Report We all know inflation is here! Can we find a way to beat inflation? Food, housing, fuel, entertainment, and almost everything else costs more today than it did a year ago. Rising prices are here to stay, it seems. Can […]
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 […]
Secrets to Making “Just Right” Investments
SECRETS TO MAKING “JUST RIGHT” INVESTMENTS The “Three Bears Test” Whether we know it or not, you and I are making our investing decisions by using the “Three Bears Test.” You remember the story called “The Three Bears”, don’t you? It is about a papa bear, a mama bear, and a baby bear. They had […]
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 […]
Finding a Solid Investment in 2023
FINDING A SOLID INVESTMENT IN 2023 Dwight’s journey from single family to RV parks. Dwight knew real estate was a great investment. SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSES. Like many investors, he started with single-family homes. And he did quite well. Over the last decade, Dwight bought and held several houses. He has been able to rent each one, […]
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 […]
What Does It Take For Success?
WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR SUCCESS? Two things! As I write this, the potential payout for the lottery is close to two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000). Maybe what it takes for success is good luck. A lot of people must think so. But do the math and you will see the odds are against them. What […]
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 […]
A Day in an RV Community
A DAY IN AN RV COMMUNITY Explore this RV Park Investment Niche Come with us to a brand-new Recreational Vehicle Community in Alabama. We spent a day with the developers, along with about 50 operators and investors. AN “RV COMMUNITY” Notice first, with me, that it is called an RV Community, not an RV Park. […]
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 […]
How Do You Deal with Uncertainty?
HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH UNCERTAINTY? Four Simple Steps Joe got scared. It was the winter of 2018. The stock market dropped almost 20% by Christmas. All of Joe’s retirement savings were invested in stocks and mutual funds. Joe didn’t know if the value of his holdings would recover or keep going down. But, he […]
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 […]
Jess Wants to Invest in Real Estate
JESS WANTS TO INVEST IN REAL ESTATE Four Steps for His First Investment I received a call from Jess this weekend. A very successful mid-level manager in a big company, he is in his late 20s and engaged to be married. Investing in real estate is something he wants to do. In the long run, […]
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 […]
Boost Your Multifamily Investing Business
BOOST YOUR MULTIFAMILY INVESTING BUSINESS Strategic Multifamily Connections – a meetup group Are you an investor with money to invest or an operator looking for capital? Do you need access to fresh ideas or different perspectives to get out of a rut? Are you looking for a way to learn more about multifamily investing? Connecting […]
Many Ways to Become a Multifamily Investor
MANY WAYS TO BECOME A MULTIFAMILY INVESTOR Which of these might work for you? JOHN’S FIRST INVESTMENT IN APARTMENTS John started investing in apartments years ago while he was still working. He started by finding an operator he trusted and investing the minimum amount of funds in a property near where he lived. John had […]
LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER
LET’S DO THIS TOGETHER An opportunity to connect with others Are you a real estate investor, or want to be? Perhaps you want to focus on investments in apartments. You may already see the many long-term benefits. In a previous article we outlined 5 of the benefits of multifamily investments, what some call an IDEAL […]
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 […]
Have You Thought About Investing in RV Parks?
HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT INVESTING IN RV PARKS? Pros and Cons of RV Park Investing. The RV Park business grew from $5.48 billion to $6.32 billion in sales from 2020 to 2021. This is a 15% year-over-year increase. Perhaps you know people of all ages who enjoy RVing. Some are young families who find this […]
WHAT MIGHT INFLATION DO TO YOUR MULTIFAMILY INVESTMENT?
WHAT MIGHT INFLATION DO TO YOUR MULTIFAMILY INVESTMENT? Keep your eyes open during the current economic turbulence. Eggs will cost you more today than they did yesterday. So will most everything else. It is called inflation. What will inflation do to your multifamily investment? I don’t know. No one else does either. What we do […]
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, […]
Investing For Appreciation vs. Cash Flow
INVESTING FOR APPRECIATION VS. CASH FLOW Should I invest for cash flow? Or should I invest for appreciation and equity? Updated March 6, 2023 Should I invest for cash flow? Or should I invest for appreciation and equity? Rising interest rates can put a squeeze on finding properties with a desired level of cash flow. […]