August 1982 The housing industry has been dealt two blows which may be portents of more to come. The $3 Billion interest subsidy bill was defeated, depriving the marketing and construction people of needed affordable financing. The Supreme Court joined the fray with its ruling that home mortgages containing clauses which limited their assumability by subsequent buyers of property could be enforced by Federal Savings & Loan Associations even when State courts ruled they could not. Federal law preempts State law in this case.

Continue reading “Where Will Your Children Live? How?”

July 1982 Nationally, with a few exceptions, housing has been in a slump for what may soon be a record breaking length of time. Unlike almost every other investment medium, the single family house has performed exceptionally. Even the most skeptical of the hard money camp is beginning to advocate houses as a store of value in the face of the projected inflationary binge the Congress is going to foist on the American voter in this election year. Billions of dollars are poised to enter the market! Why? How?

Continue reading “The Time Is Ripe For Buying – For The Cautious Investor. . .”

April 1982 The Reagan Administration has left little room for doubt that it intends to stick to its guns – and planes, and aircraft carriers. Deficits during the next three years will zoom to $400,000,000,000 EVEN IF THE MOST OPTIMISTIC FORECASTERS ARE RIGHT. That’s almost half as much as the total of all deficits that have ever been run up since this country began. And to think that we almost impeached Eisenhower for a $100 billion budget and a 1% inflation rate. It’s not Reagan’s fault entirely, but it is his budget.

Continue reading “Don’t Get Caught In The Financial Panic Of 1982!”

March 1982 A lot of people are going to get burned in 1982! The State of the Union speech left little doubt that we’re in for some rough sledding before things get BETTER. For the past two years we’ve warned against short term, high interest rate borrowing. And institutional loans used with ‘Creative Financing” can be lethal. STAGFLATION is once again rearing its ugly head, providing both risks as well as opportunities for single family house investors over the next few months.

Continue reading “Are You Ready For The Big Fire Sale?”

February 1982 Mortgage lenders and real estate sales will never be the same again. The giants are moving in. Insurance & Securities companies, Retailers are rushing to get aboard the gravy train. Prudential is buying Bache, American Express now owns Shearson Loeb Rhoades. Sears has bought Coldwell-Banker and Dean Witter Reynolds. Merrill-Lynch is the biggest buyer of real estate brokerage firms. FNMA has opened the doors by offering investors 100% guaranteed mortgage-backed securities on single family houses. TRILLIONS of dollars are at stake in this decade and competition will be brisk.

Continue reading “Here Come The New Titans . . . To Your Town!”

January 1982 Last month we participated as panelists at the National Committee on Monetary Reform Convention in New Orleans. Under one roof were gathered the elite among the hard-money investment advisers of the world. They presented their predictions and views to almost 4000 concerned investors and analysts who had seen their 1980 investments in gold, silver, diamonds, bonds, and commodities plummet. Ignoring real estate for the most part, they advocated a wait-and-see attitude with cash reserves held in T-Bills until later in the year when the economy’s trend could be more clearly defined.

Continue reading “Single Family Houses – Winning Investment For The 80’s!”

December 1981 Taxes loom large at this time of the year, and the recent Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 (ERTA) is going to have an impact on our NET incomes and those of our clients. First, let's look at appropriate year-end strategies for 1981 starting with the top brackets and working down.

Continue reading “The Government’s Changing The Rules – And The Benefits”

November 1981 In this period of extraordinarily high interest rates, good buys abound, but many still are unable to buy with positive cash flow. Still, nearly every day, a past student calls me with reports of triumph where he has purchased property well below market value with positive cash flow from day one. How can some be so lucky while others miss these good deals. It's not luck, let's review the basics of buying positive cash flow properties.

Continue reading “When Things Get Tough, Get Back To Basics.”

October 1981 I've been traveling this past year more than ever before attempting to assess the changes that are taking place in America. It seems to me that our changing society will require some new points of view if we are to continue to achieve financial independence through investment.

Continue reading “Are We Entering A New Era?”

September 1981 Amateur landlords across the country are feeling the crunch of negative cash flow because they do not rigidly enforce late fees in their rental contracts. Our policy is to immediately contact the tenant by phone and inform them that in the event they do not pay the rent plus the discount lost immediately, we will take measures to evict. The next day should we not receive the rent plus the discount we personally serve them with a three day notice, to pay up or move. If you rented to the right type of people this measure should be enough to call their bluff and they will pay the rent promptly thereafter. As the economy continues to worsen and interest rates remain high everyone will have cash flow problems. Make sure you remain on the top of your tenant’s list of who to pay first by rigidly enforcing your discount provisions.

Continue reading “Are Your Tenants Paying On Time?”