April 1995 Just twenty one years ago, I launched out on my personal odyssey to start making serious money by investing in real estate. Although I’d been licensed as a real estate residential salesman and broker and had bought and sold many lots and houses around the country over the years, I’d lost more than I’d made in the process. Why? I should have invested my capital in myself to learn all I could about real estate and finance before investing what little capital I had in property. Consequently, even after two decades of trying, success continued to elude my grasp time after time just when it seemed I had a sure thing.

Continue reading “Options: Maximum Profits With Minimum Risks”

March 1995 I don’t know about you, but I was inundated with advertising brochures the first week of 1995. It was caused by the 10%+ hike in U.S. postal rates effective in 1995. An avalanche of mail flooded in from direct mailers who were intent on beating the cost increase by mailing their 1995 promotional material in 1994. There are several morals to this story. This price increase was possible only because of a monopoly.

Continue reading “What’s The Real Secret To Making Money With Houses?”

February 1995 House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the new Republicans have promised to bring all the main provisions of their 'contract' to the floor of the House for discussion within the first 100 days of the new Congress. Among the hot topics will be middle class tax cuts and a revamped welfare system. You can expect howls of anguish from the liberal left who will hold up the spectre of millions of impoverished, dependent single parents with children left to shift for themselves in a world suddenly grown markedly less kinder and gentler. What they won't mention are the hoards of well heeled bureaucrats, who've historically consumed 85% of the welfare dollar, turned out to pasture with few marketable skills. They'll be the new welfare constituents.

Continue reading “A New Congress Promises Lower Taxes, But . . .”

January 1995 The saying goes on to say, 'Use your ears, use your eyes, then use your feet.' As a 6 year-old youngster, always in a hurry, I was once run over by a car. Metaphorically, as an entrepreneur and investor, it has happened to me a few times since, as well. To the above advice, for property owners, I might add 'use your head'. This month's topic line is particularly apropos in today's constantly changing economic and political environment. Here's a short summary of some of the changes taking place in the coming year:

Continue reading “Look Both Ways Before You Cross The Street!”

December 1994 A couple of years ago I took a trip around the world just to see for myself what the changes the end of the cold war had made. Since my first trip abroad, courtesy of the U.S. Airforce, at the tender age of 19, I've been fascinated with the differences between Americans and citizens of other countries. Someone once said that Americans tend to judge other people more by the sophistication of their plumbing and the food they eat than by any other criteria. That may be truer than you think, but setting aside those differences together with cultural differences and language, most people share many of the same aspirations and values that Americans do. Of course there are differences too.

Continue reading “We’re All Living In The Global Village . . .”

November 1994 Investors, have the constant problem of finding real estate in which to invest their money. Starters are able to uncover opportunity, but lack capital and credit sources with which to exploit it. By seeking out eager starters and lending them money with which to fund their properties, investors can create a synergism which benefits both parties. But once properties are bought, the need for competent management will become a paramount issue that must be dealt with.

Continue reading “Backing ‘starters’ Can Be Good For Investors”

October 1994 Financial risk affects all of us. Last month we focused on those among us who are 'starters'. They've got just as much to lose as the 'rich-man' When someone with little to lose, loses a little, he's just as broke as someone who loses the last million dollars he owns. Jim Napier once told me that, once you've lost everything, it doesn't matter how much wealth you once had. The 'rich-man' winds up just as broke as the person who's never had anything.

Continue reading “Rich-man, Poor-man Begger-man, Thief, Politician”

September 1994 Peter Fortunato is at the top of the heap as an innovator of creative transactions. A few years ago, he and I tried to diagram ways in which transactions could be structured among people with completely different motivation and needs. First, we had to identify who various 'players' in the market might be.

Continue reading “Where Are You In The Food Chain?”

August 1994 A totally different kind of business organization is beginning to sweep the country. It's going to change many of the ways we conduct our affairs and do business. If you had to come up with the best way to organize your business, and there were no restrictions, what features would you try to include? One way to approach this might be to take the best attributes of existing types of organizations, and to avoid the worst. What might the advantages be?

Continue reading “Limited Liability Companies, One Size Fits All!”

July 1994 A long time ago in a land far away before TV was invented, kids learned to play games. Games without any video graphics or batteries or expensive equipment or adult supervision. One such game was 'Button Button'. This required several kids and a button from mother's 'button box' which held all the salvaged buttons off discarded clothing.

Continue reading “Button Button Who’s Got The Button?”