Posted on May 16, 2008 @ 11:29 pm - Written by BawldGuy
The phone rings and it’s my favorite Texas builder. (A private guy, so won’t be mentioned here by name or company.) He just dropped one our newest and coolest clients off at the airport in Dallas. Spent the day giving him the tour. ‘Steve’ found everything we said he would and more. He’s apparently very pleased he took the time to schedule the detour during a business trip.
We ensured he was taken care of from airport to grand tour to airport.
Met the management team, saw his properties, met the builder himself, and was chauffeured around the area to get a better feel for what his and our research had shown him. His comment? Paraphrased, and taken from the builder — “I knew through the research how incredibly much Texas was growing, but when you see it — impressive.” Or something similar to that.
He’s on his way, and is excited, as we are for him. Steve is a very smart guy who has a nearly vertical learning curve. When he gets back home we’ll talk. I can’t wait. He’s not done yet, which is really gonna be fun. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 15, 2008 @ 9:17 pm - Written by BawldGuy
For those of you out there who already ‘twitter’, you know what I’m talking about. I just embraced it today — as I’ve been badgered by friends and colleagues for months to hop on the twitter bandwagon. What’s twitter you ask? It’s a kinda sorta cross between using IM (instant messaging) blogging, and texting. Yer limited to 140 characters per twitter.
In other words ya gotta be pretty brief. People use twitter for many reasons. One is to ‘follow’ somebody’s messages. Let’s say yer a baseball player and want to follow whatever your coach says on twitter. You make yourself a follower, and whatever the coach says shows up on either your IM, browzer, cell phone, or all three.
Caveat: Twitter can become a distraction. Used for gathering solid info, it’s golden. Be aware of what side of that line yer on. It’s addicting to say the least.
I’m still barely crawling with it so what I’ve told you so far is probably less than many of you have forgotten already. Be patient, as I’ll be twittering during the day, making comments on various markets, interest rates, specific properties, and whatever else strikes me as important or interesting info.
Not surprisingly, my screen name is BawldGuy — Duh.
I hereby invite you to be my friend, as I would like to be yours. If you choose to follow me, all the better. If you haven’t heard of twitter yet, just go to their website and look around.
Here’s an example of a twitter I’ll probably be sending over the weekend.
@BawldGuy — I’ll be speaking at the Unchained conference in Phoenix. I’m up Tuesday morning.
OR
@BawldGuy — Ironically, twitter experts will be speaking during Monday’s lunch at Unchained.
Also, if you have a question, don’t be shy. Use twitter. If you have a question, yer probably not the only one. I may answer it here, or ask you to email me so as to do your question real justice. I’m looking at this as another tool.
Anyone out there have any experience with twitter they’d like to share?
Posted on May 14, 2008 @ 9:25 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Sometimes it’s human nature, I know I’ve done it more than once. Spin what we see, hear, and experience first hand to align with what we apparently need to believe. I’ll be the first to admit I Got Outa Dodge a year late. Why? ‘Cuz, ah, well, oh forget it. I was irrational about the trend I was watching in real time. And I’m a pro! Yeah, I got my clients into better markets in time for the most part — the ones who listened. But I should’ve had them out a full 12 months sooner.
Californians so often behave as if the 11th commandment, listed on the third tablet Moses lost on the way down the mountain, said, California Real Estate Shalt Forever Be Blessed…Not.
Take the California real estate market bordered geographically by Santa Barbara on the north, and the Mexican border on the south. Throwing out the low and the high prices for a selected property type, say a duplex for instance, and what do we have? Give or take a half million dollar property. Allow a fudge factor of $50,000 or so. Now, let’s assume an average appreciation rate of only 3.5% — historically way below what SoCal has become accustomed to. In 20 years that duplex is now valued at just under a million bucks.
Everyone who believes folks’ll be standing in line for ancient duplexes at that price, please stand on yer head in the corner and stack bb’s with yer nose. 
And the Kansas City Royals, in that same 20 year period will become the most impressive baseball dynasty since the Yankees of the ’20’s and ’30’s. See? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 13, 2008 @ 11:00 pm - Written by BawldGuy
Part of my job as a real estate investment broker is to recommend investors do — nothing. Whether that’s the case or not, the common denominator found in all my advice to clients, or those merely seeking a little quick guidance, is to ferret out what fits the factual circumstances and the investor. It’s not always cut and dry, but there’s almost always a path combining common sense with the comfort zone of the investor. Hint: It’s not the path clearly blocked.
By far the most difficult part of what I do involves both sides of the same coin. One side is advise given, which for one reason or another is not taken. I never take it personally. They asked, I offered my professional opinion along with a Purposeful course of action, then left it up to them. The other side of that coin is when they’ve chosen either to ignore my advice and/or picked an entirely different path to travel altogether. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on May 12, 2008 @ 10:13 pm - Written by BawldGuy
It’s the human condition. We wanna live with financial security as our constant companion. This never so true as when we leave work for the last time. Retirement is one of those words that can simultaneously produce incredibly beautiful visuals in Steve, and abject terror for Marcia. Once thinks they’re pretty much on Easy Street with retirement, the other? She thinks it’s probably she’ll be working past 70.
Reality Check: The average American taxpayer reaching their late 50’s find themselves with way less than $100,000 in their retirement plan (usually a 401(k)), their own home with a loan of around 30-50% of its value, and social security. If they begin investing at 58, they can retire at least somewhat comfortably by the time they’re 70 — Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.
I love what the original Rockefeller replied when asked, “How much money is enough for the average guy?” He said, “Just a little bit more.” A wise answer from what I’ve seen.
Though creating wealth for use before retirement is always welcome, most of our clients come to us with the realization their retirement is destined to suck like a 400 horsepower Dyson.
When that visual dogs you for awhile you tend to become a fairly serious camper when it comes to creating a retirement worthy of giddy anticipation.
This week we’re gonna talk about some real nuts and bolts. Read the rest of this entry »