All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

The Gold thread is thread here. You also seem to be reiterating previous discussions. There happens to be 18 years of retail store closure data from which a mean and median got computed from; compared with 2017s announced closure the variance is material.  Questions about context is almost irrelevant here when you have 18 years of closure data to look through. 

No.... there is something called the IRS code. It dictates what you do on matters pertaining to tax. Talks about 'doing anything you want until you get audited' is bad advise and irresponsible.

So you just went from negligence to willful attempts to deliberately evade taxes -- have you looked at the definition of tax fraud recently? Creative documentation? Rolling a dice on if you are going to get audited? This is really the type of advice that you are dishing out?

You kidding right? You do know there is a difference between household income and personal income right? National median personal income is about $30,000 as of 2015 based on data from the federal reserve. Another chart here: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N

There often may be multiple persons in the household working to get to what is reported as household income; don't confuse household and personal income.

oh you like the chart? It usually has a way of painting a clearer picture. If you have any fact suggesting investors in the retail space have nothing to worry about share it. I know I certainly would be nervous if the historical median of retail location closed is about 2,720 based on emperical data for the last 18 years and then suddenly -- it spikes to 8,640 in 2017. It just sounds like there is a difference between 8,640 and 2,720. I am trying really hard not to post a chart for that too..

Its macroeconomics not only about 'right up the street' where you live that does not represent conditions nationwide.

Then be corrected! In accounting, the definition of an inventory is a current asset (finished or unfinished) that is acquired for resale and typically converted to cash (sold) within the year. Buying houses (I mean, merchandise) for flips fit that description hence classification of being a real estate dealer and subject to the self employment tax. Based on the deal in question, an additional 15.3% hit on profits that you didn't see coming can be the difference between a flip that makes $en$e and one that doe$n't.

Sounds like some sort of FHA203k financing. Still, the delay, market conditions or the increased unforseen expenses can still dwindle profits. Not sure where you are in real estate or flipping but may have to review this. What amount are we talking about by the way? Value of property, rehab cost, unexpected expense, ARV etc..

So, we can start off with this article https://tinyurl.com/DyingMalls1 ; there is also mention that in the next decade from when that article was written, half of all regional malls in the country (some 1100) will be closed. Another article you can review to get some sense of the issue might be this: https://tinyurl.com/DyingMalls2 . Many experts in the sector seem to echo similar concerns.

Sometimes you can be too attached, affiliated with or involved with something that you either knowingly (or unknowingly) form certain mental biases somewhere in the subconscious. You can easily just get blind to the facts based on your emotional involvement or heck, the fact/threat that your pay check may be at risk.

The current retail industry and environment is materially different from that of the 70s and 80s. The risk factors retailers face today are significantly more than what they faced in the 70s. Online, is just one facet of the challenge. Profit margins in the industry have not grown larger over the decades but smaller.

Think of new technologies, gadgets, software applications all causing all sorts of disruption in the space and all of which put a dent on in-store traffic count. Don't take it personal. Its a drastically different environment. There are a lot more today (and will be a lot more in the future) that will affect negatively brick and mortar traffic and sales.

If you want to talk about the politics of unemployment, what goes into the count and the sheer hypocrisy of the numbers, simply start a thread. You can hold up a sign by the road with low unemployment numbers all you want but ask the business closing down stores why they are and they'll tell you why. Ask people why they are defaulting on mortgages they'll tell you why.

The unemployment rate is different by region, profession and varies by class (yes race!)... underemployment is more of the norm for many workers (regardless of race) and what often is counted as “employment” for the employment numbers no mortgage lender would touch with a ten foot pole.

Get the facts!

At a certain level, there isn't a simple response to the question. With a 401K, you are delegating your ability to retire in the future to someone who you do not know - the person or company managing the investment - and hope they do a good job flipping a coin with your money.

You may be just as better off also learning about investing in equities as you are learning about real estate and have a more hands on approach investing on both fronts. But that is just my take - you may be just fine delegating the management of your equities investment as I would in delegating plumbing work.

Its also probably not an either or decision - such as whether to invest primarily in equities or real estate. You do sort of need to diversify as you often may earn varying returns from equities as you could in real estate.

Both the 401K route and the rental strategy can be relatively slow and risky strategies; but then again some like is slow and some may like it faster.