Realty Blogging

Perhaps the rich achieve their success because they've been taught not to neglect the basics. Many people , for instance, may harbor the misconception that successful people are just incredibly fortunate or that they have been blessed with some innate knowledge about money and investing.

That simply isn't the case.

What the wealthy do differently from other people, and, indeed, what all successful real estate investors do, is prepare. Good investors do their homework.

"The ABCs of Property Investing" author Ken McElroy tells an anecdote regarding one of his clients, who became a client of his only after turning his investment property into an utter disaster. Ken McElroy and his company are in the business of property management. In the best case scenario, an investor will hire a property management firm at the outset, as opposed to making an attempt to manage his property himself from another city. That is what this investor tried to do. He soon realized that the time needed to manage his own property was too much for him to handle.

That was not this investor's only mistake. In addition, he hadn't even taken the time to visit the investment property prior to making the purchase, and as a result he hadn't the faintest idea it was filled with criminals. He had neglected to engage a team of experts who would've gladly told him not to buy property in that area, which was also full of criminals. It was not a good place, and he should have known to stay away from it. In fact, he could have avoided it very easily if had he simply done his homework.

It's easy to imagine how much money he spent the rehabilitation of the property "money he would've saved just by budgeting for the experts he needed. There was not any way to fix the neighborhood in which the property was located, and therefore the building would never fetch high rent.

In almost every case, the savvy real estate investor cannot afford to NOT hire the experts.

Wealthy property investors are also possessed of an amazing degree of focus. That is why they are rich. They pick their target and they narrow their scope until they are zooming in on one piece of property. They've already decided what sort of property they are interested in. In fact, they may concentrate on hotels or apartment buildings or another type of property. They always keep in mind the areas that they are interested in and the age of buildings they're willing to consider.

If their preferred location does not yield any leads, they try the next best, and onwards. But they never lose track of what is and is not acceptable to them.

One key thing people learn from wealth is that money talks. They understand that you don't have to wait till a For Sale sign goes up in order to purchase. If a potential buyer surprises the owner of a property with an offer, it's sometimes possible to get a great deal on a property that is not up for sale. And there are no competitors to outbid you.

Those with money do appear to reside in another world. For them, resources aren't scarce. They will not break a sweat if a deal goes awry, as they know another is right around the corner. A person who is hoping to improve his life significantly by investing might worry that he let one get away.

Ken McElroy suggests that it is best to be aloof, to assume each and every negotiation will result in the potential investor walking away from the deal. The vast majority of deals simply are not deals, McElroy said. The smart investor understands that it is dangerous to become too attached to the concept of closing the deal.

Successful real estate investors are aware of all of this, not because it's innate knowledge, but because they have been educated on the subject, or else they have taken the time to learn. Anybody can potentially learn how to invest as the rich do; it just requires research and practice.

Some of you may want to start referring to San Diego County Assessor Gregory Smith as "Santa Claus". He has put out a press release reminding us that temporary reductions in assessed value are possible when market values fall below assessed values. For more info, go to the County Assessor's web site at www.sdarcc.com . I've also attached a copy of the notice and application here. If you need help getting the comparable sales to support your application, just contact me at andy@andydavis.com or (760) 845-0536.

I've talked before about my belief in the inventory philosophy of "First In, First Out" as it applies to economic and especially real estate cycles. Now I've found someone, far more knowledgeable than I am, who feels the same way.

Kelly Cunningham, Economist and Senior Fellow at the San Diego Institute for Policy Research, in a recent article says " San Diego leads the rest of the state and nation in economic activity. We have already had our slowdown in 2007, before the state and nation, and will see a slight acceleration of economic activity and job gain in 2008, even as the rest of the state and nation slow."

YES!!!

For the full article (and other interesting ones) go to www.sandiegoinstitute.com and click on the Economic Ledger.

India on Wednesday set out conditions for automatic approval of 100 per cent foreign investments in industrial parks. Such parks would have to house a minimum of 10 industrial units and at least 66 per cent of their developed area would have to be allocated for industrial activity, a trade ministry note said. No single unit could occupy more than half of the allocable area, the note added. If these conditions were met, investors would not need to conform to guidelines on minimum investment and minimum area developed, which are applicable for housing, commercial and regional infrastructure projects, it said.

Courtesy: HT 13.03.08

The government is all set to bring in a law to regulate the booming real estate sector in Delhi that could be model for the rest of the country, minister for urban development Jaipal Reddy told the Rajya Sabha.

Industrial upgrade

The commerce ministry has approved six industry clusters worth Rs 373 crore under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation, Scheme, out of which Rs 247 crore will be in the form of the central government's grant.

Industrial growth

The latest government data on industrial growth has painted a gloomy picture but economic think-thank Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) says all is not lost and has pegged the expansion at 10.4 per cent for fiscal 2009.

Courtsey: Bus.Sandard March 14 2008

By CHERIE BLACK
P-I REPORTER