Invest in Real Estate

May 12th, 2012 by admin No comments »

Invest in Real Estate ImageWhere should you invest in real estate? If you know an area well, and have enough experience investing in real estate, you can make money almost anywhere. However, there are always places that are better or worse for real estate investments – places that have a better demand/supply ratio. Use the questions below to find them.

Demand Questions

1. Is the population growing fast? Check the US Census figures online, or ask the local government if they have the statistics. Stay away from areas that have little growth.

2. Is job growth decent? Again, ask local authorities or use the census information. You want to see job growth equal to or exceeding population growth. The people have to have money to pay for housing.

3. Decent quality of life? This is subjective, but important. Are there theaters and bookstores? Count coffee shops and cafes. Trendy areas usually have increasing demand for housing. It’s also a good indication of a high quality-of-life if people are willing to take lower-paying jobs just to live there.

4. Wealth in the area? It is always a good sign when there is some degree of wealth in a town. Count rich homes. Wealth means everything doesn’t die when the economy slows.

Supply Questions

1. How much new construction? The census figures can tell you what’s happened over the last ten years. Then check with the local authorities to see if the the number of housing units they’ve issued permits for is more or less than the expected population growth.

2. How many homes for sale? A lower supply of homes for sale means upward pressure on prices. This indirectly drives up rents as well, which makes for better investing.

3. Rent and vacancy levels? Are rents high enough to justify investing? Are vacancies low? When we first came to Tucson, every building had vacancies, and we saw a man holding a sign that read, “Apartment – $250 Per Month.” Great place for renters, but not a great place to invest in real estate.

4. Available land that is buildable? Less is better for future appreciation. When the land runs out, the prices start accelerating upwards.

Use these questions to compare various towns and cities, and you’ll see the differences more clearly. You’ll see how housing demand compares to supply in each. Finally, you’ll see where it is better to invest in real estate.

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The Best Advice About Money

May 10th, 2012 by admin No comments »

The Best Advice About Money ImageWanna know the best advice ever you can get about money?

Here it is…

Let’s say that you are getting regular monthly salary from work and you are happy with it. Now, at the end of the month (and most of the time, two days after you get your paychecks), you wonder where all your money is gone.

You begin reasoning.

30% of it goes to house mortgage.
20% of it goes to car payment.
10% of it goes to credit card payment.
5% of it goes to utility bills.
etc, etc, etc…

“That should be fine. I’ve got all taken care of. Next month, I’ll get another paycheck and the same cycle goes on and on… enough for me to survive the whole life.”

Well, you gotta be careful now.

What happens if your car broke down?
What happens if your kitchen needed renovation after a heavy storm last night?
What happens if you suddenly forgot that you’ve overspent your credit card?
What happens if you fell sick?

Things could be worse, and now is the time that the cliche “Fix your roof on a sunny day” is very much true to you.

You don’t want this to happen to you, right?

There could be thousands of things that could go wrong in our lives but unless we realize that we need to prepare for the worse, we’ll never get ahead of ourselves.

Sometimes, fixed salary could be a good thing for you because you can plan with what you want to do with your money on a predicatble basis. Though I strongly believe that you still need a secondary income – preferably a recurring secondary income – to improve your financial situation at any level.

And, the best plan to improving your financial situation is…

PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

That’s right!

Regardless if you have $300,000 of house mortgage or a $100,000 savings in the bank, make it a habit to pay yourself right after you get your monthly paychecks. This habit will definitely help.

Let’s see…

You’ve been paying everybody you owe every month. You pay the bills, the banks, the mechanics, the who knows who and you actually get nothing, except settling the scores.

There’s just another person that you forget to pay – that is YOU.

Imagine yourself as a bill collector on yourself. No matter what, you have to pay yourself at the beginning of every month (I suggest 10% of your salary. The more is better) – or else you cease to function as yourself.

Never fail to pay your SELF and only after you pay yourself, then you pay the others.

Hard?

Yes, at first, but once you put the action of “Paying Yourself First” into habit, you’ll actually enjoy doing it, knowing that you do good deeds to yourself.

Try it once. Then do it the second month. And then, another… and another.

PAY YOURSELF FIRST because you deserve much more than the other bill collectors.

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