Three Strategies for Surviving in a Slow Market
June 30, 2011 by Hudson Watts · Leave a Comment
Don’t buy into all the doom and gloom stories from the media. Learn how to profit from them. Many investors continue to be very successful in the real estate business by following the philosophy, Don’t be afraid to be a “purple snowflake.” So try these strategies. You can make a great deal of money in a down market if you stand out, show that you are unique, and most importantly, set yourself apart from your competition by being “a purple snowflake!”
Strategy #1: Ride the Downturn — Don’t Sell
Yes, don’t sell. Good times or bad, my advice is always to hold on to a property if you can. Your wealth will come from holding on to real estate, not selling it. How serious is the problem really? Let’s say the home you live in, your rental property, or the property you bought as a “fix and flip” goes down in value. Well, if you weren’t planning to sell right away, would it matter? Hang on until the market comes back. Look at the historical re
Why I Don’t Watch CNBC
June 30, 2011 by Charlie Stedman · Leave a Comment
This week at a meeting in New York, Investment U’s Chief Investment Strategist, Alexander Green, told a crowd of investors that they shouldn’t watch CNBC.
I couldn’t agree more.
As Alex put it, “CNBC’s goal is not to make you money, but to sell advertising.” While I believe that most of the reporters are committed to doing their best on a story, the structure of CNBC is to keep you on the edge of your seat, depending on them for information on what to do next.
- The jobless numbers were higher than expected – what do you need to know to keep your portfolio safe?
- Inflation ticked higher – can your portfolio withstand a higher inflation environment?
- How should you get your portfolio positioned before the Fed meeting next week?
It reminds me of an old bit by comedian Tom Kenny (who went on to fame and fortune as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants). Kenny talked about how sensationalized the commercials are for your local news. No matter what the story was, the voice-over would say, “Would you survive? Would your family
National Economic Outlook (June 2011)
June 29, 2011 by Hudson Watts · Leave a Comment
With presidential elections coming up next year, and Osama Bin Laden now dead, we’re going to be hearing a lot of political talk about the old Bill Clinton mantra,“It’s the economy, stupid.” So, let’s look at the basics.
“The economy” means jobs. From the high point of the expansion that ended in 2007, to the low point of the recession in early 2010, the economy lost about 9 million jobs. Almost 2 million of those jobs have been recovered and the economy is adding new ones at a rate of 1.5 million a year, but even if this rate improves, that’s only another 2 million before election time, still leaving us down 5 million jobs from where we were.
The culprit, of course, is ourselves. Instead of freely spending money like we did, we’ve been putting it in the bank, an extra $400 billion a year. That equals a lot of jobs, even if some of them are in China. In the long run t
Atlanta CPA Presents…Precipice of Power…Chapter 31
June 29, 2011 by Charlie Stedman · Leave a Comment
Atlanta CPA Presents…Precipice of Power…Chapter 31
Precipice of Power is a call to action. Economically, politically and as a world leader, America stands on the brink. A step towards destruction or a step back to morality hangs in the balance. Precipice of Power is for all good thinking American’s to lead us back to smaller government and democracy and away from runaway deficits and Socialism. For what evil lies within the hearts of man, whose passion is inflamed by the lust for power, must be stopped. Democracy hangs in the balance until good people rise up and defend America from sea to shining sea. We must never back down. We must never be afraid. We must be bold. We must act. Now. Precipice of Power is not a call to violence but the peaceful revolution that our Constitution and democracy allows, granting us the privilege and responsibility to serve, vote and to actively seek positive change. Shirking not from our moral duty, but to do what you can locally, domestically and internationally to help seat America permanently as a beacon of democracy to a world in need. Precipi
Strategies to Benefit from Inflation
June 29, 2011 by Hudson Watts · Leave a Comment
The only “hedge” against inflation that we are aware of that works consistently over time, in any market, and any economy is real estate. Well bought real estate can stand the scrutiny of analyses, using historic or current data, by investing using borrowed money.
To be clear, the ability of real estate to provide a real hedge against inflation only works if you get a mortgage to acquire the property. If you use your own cash, then this capital will be ravaged by the same inflation, and in a similar manner, as if you had purchased anything else.
Although we argue strenuously that there are other benefits of investing in real estate. However, the greater the proportion of the purchase price that is funded using borrowed money, the greater the inflation-beating benefits to you.
And this is where we come to one of those great benefits of real estate that is easy to miss. Sin