All Forum Posts by: William Hull

Self-directed individual retirement accounts are good ways to save for retirement with assets such as real estate or precious metals. Conventional IRAs usually only service assets such as stocks, mutual funds, and CDs. Most individuals with real estate holdings in a self-directed individual retirement account,known as an IRA, have considered creating an LLC to help protect those investments. This protects the assets from actions of the trustee without permission of the beneficiary. However, this method of protection has some serious down sides. Since the trustee and beneficiary are often the same person in cases such as this, unethical decisions made by this person often effect other members of the group more so than the perpetrator. While it is unlikely that the trustee for your self-directed IRA will betray your trust, it is possible and permissible within this set up. One example of this involves a trustee running a Ponzi scheme, and using the IRA funds to repay his victims. A solution to this problem is to set up a self-directed 401(K) rather than a self-directed IRA. This is a better solution because investors maintain almost all of the control regarding their assets in this scenario.

Key Takeaways:

• Retirement plans and IRAs are key for growing your money tax deferred until you withdraw your savings at a later date.
• Getting sued is just one of those life events that no one really plans for.
• The best way to deal with the prospect of a negative situation is to protect yourself from the potential pitfalls in advance.

"If you have real estate in a self-directed individual retirement account (IRA), then you likely have at least considered setting up an LLC, called an IRA LLC, within that self-directed IRA in order to further insulate those investments."

Read more: https://thinkrealty.com/is-your-ira-owned-business-entity-a-sitting-duck-for-lawsuits/

United States home prices have been steadily rising since 2008. As of today, in 2017, they have reached their highest levels to date since the housing bubble burst in 2008. This in turn has caused many, if not most, homeowners to hold off on purchasing a new home at this time, as the affordability of new homes is at a century wide low. Today, the average home price in the United States has risen to over $250,000, and this is clearly a price tag that most Americans are unwilling to pay at this time. It appears to also be the case that most Americans have not recovered financially themselves from the housing and overall economic crash of the late 2000 Bubble Burst. This combination of a rapidly rising housing market as well as a depressed job market has most likely also contributed to the slowing of new home purchases in the past four to five years, where it has now reached its apparent apex here in 2017. Another key factor in the slowing of new home purchases has been the recent rise in interest rates, something that had been held steady at nearly zero levels for the past decade. All of these factors together contribute to the fact that new home purchases are lagging as we near the end of the 2010s.

Key Takeaways:

• Home affordability in the US is at the lowest point in the last decade.
• This is caused due to increase in home price, slow increase and mortgage interest rate.
• 210 out of 464 US counties are less affordable than historic affordability norms.

"ATTOM’s US Home Affordability Index dropped to 100 in the second quarter of 2017. That’s the lowest level observed since third quarter of 2008, when the index dipped to 86."

Read more: http://www.mpamag.com/news/us-homes-are-least-affordable-since-2008-72023.aspx

Per the Berkshire Hathaway market update, new homes sales are up and so is the housing market confidence. With this new confidence, a new trend is emerging with millennials in the home buying market. Recent market surveys indicate that about one-third of millennials will purchase a new home without physically viewing it first. This trend is up significantly since the baby boomer’s generation of which only twelve percent would buy a house sight unseen. This is even up from last year’s numbers in which about 1 on 5 millennials would buy a house without viewing first. Other trends that emerged from the study was that only about 25% percent of persons said that interest rate fluctuations would not have an impact on house buying. Almost a third of people said they would slow down the home purchasing process to get a lower interest rate and a quarter said they would speed up the process to lock in an interest rate before it could go up. One other trend that was surprising to see is the negotiation of the real estate agent’s commission. Millennials are more likely to negotiate a lower commission to save money. Whether these trends will continue to change will likely depend of the continued increase in housing confidence and sales.

Key Takeaways:

• Millennials are making offers on houses before viewing them. They are setting new trends in the real estate industry.
• Home buyers will still purchase a home even if the interest rate is above 5%
• Home buyers will also try to negotiate a lower commission with real estate agents.

"American homebuyers are increasingly buying homes without viewing them first according to a new survey."

Read more: http://www.mpamag.com/market-update/buying-without-viewing-is-becoming-the-norm-71925.aspx

Great Duplex in Irvington! Many updates already done, just waiting for finishing touches. Upstairs and Downstairs units are both 2/1 and 1000 square feet each. Downstairs unit has new bathroom and kitchen. Move in ready with carpet/paint. Upstairs unit needs kitchen and bathroom finished. Brand new electrical run throughout. Units on separate meters. New pex plumbing upstairs. Upstairs wired for baseboard heating. Fenced in backyard and two parking spaces behind fence. Roof only four years old! New vinyl windows on upstairs unit. Some new vinyl on downstairs unit. 2/1's renting $595-$695. Could bring in monthly income of $1,190 - $1,390!

New Water heater
Furnace - 8 years
Roof - 4 years
Almost all vinyl windows
2 parking spaces behind fenced in backyard

Click here for more PHOTOS!

Click here to watch the VIDEO!

It is very important for all the necessary steps be taken in order for a successful real estate transaction to occur. Attention to detail is a must for this. Due diligence has to occur in order for investors to be successful in real estate. Many companies don't do as thorough as a job as they should and end up missing steps and falling short of their goals. They don't and up as successful because of this. What an experienced investor in real estate does is tie all the loose ends together and does their due diligence. This way possible surprises after the transaction are limited and everything is more likely to go smoothly, the investment is likely to be a successful one. A successful investor looks at all aspects of the transaction including the financial, operation, and technical sides of things. They study those aspects closely when making their investment decisions, because it's about the details with investing, not just the bigger picture. It is also very important for investors to be knowledgeable about local, regional, as well as national investing markets so that they can be sure that they are making the very best decision possible, increasing their success.

Key Takeaways:

• Failure to properly vet an investment is the lead cause of commercial real estate failures.
• There are several factors that are required to perform a proper due diligence.
• Having financial, operational, and technical knowledge is crucial to properly vetting an investment.

"Experienced investors in commercial property leave no stone unturned in order to limit the possibility of post-transaction surprises and increase the likelihood of investment success."

Read more: https://thinkrealty.com/cornerstone-of-investor-success/

A recent study, utilizing data from popular website Trulia, has been able to provide us with an insight into how housing prices have recovered compared to the prices observed between pre-recession and post-recession era. While only as little as 34.2% of homes have been able to surpass the previous peak across the country, the scenario varies widely zip code to zip code and county to county. It is probably no surprise that Denver has come out top on the list, with a whooping recovery rate of 98.7% and median home prices averaging at $356K. Other major cities followed the trail, San Francisco coming at second with a recovery rate of 98% and Oklahoma City standing at 94.3% and proudly holding the third place in terms of recovery rate. Also made the Top 10 was the Nashville, Fort Worth, Colorado Springs, Wichita, Tulsa, Dallas and Honolulu. The capital city Austin also performed pretty good, standing at a 84.6% recovery rate. Even though other major cities like Atlanta, Chicago and New York did recover quite a bit, they didn't make the top 40. The worst performer on the list was Las Vegas, with a very low recovery rate of only 0.8%. Tuscon, Frenso, Camden, Lake County and Fort Lauderdale also followed the trail of Las Vegas, Dominating the bottom 100 with alarmingly low recovery rates of 2.4, 2.5, 2.7 and 2.7 % respectively

Key Takeaways:

• Several cities have had its real estate market reach even or higher levels of value compared to before the recession.
• Denver, Colorado has had the fastest growth rate in market value since the recession.
• Wichita, although a smaller city, is in the top ten for growing market value since the recession.

"Nationally, just 34.2% of homes have surpassed the previous peak, but recovered share varies widely by metropolitan area and ZIP code."

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2017/05/03/full-list-the-share-of-homes-that-have-recovered-pre-recession-peak-value-by-metro-area/

Dan Wire was excited Mr. Tom Henry the mayor had finally accepted his invitation to meet him and his wife on his boat for hors d’oeuvres and wine. Dan was optimistic that he could possibly convince the mayor to let him escort him on a short 30-45-minute tour though the waterway. His hopes were not in vain; the mayor was intrigued with the beautiful scenery. He was impress with how many places they could go and things they could see by only using the water way. Dan wire had lived in the area for around sixty years and had traveled the waterways for most of his life. Dan knew the waterways very well and had ventured up, down and around the connecting rivers probably more than anyone else in the area. The mayor was engulfed in the beauty of the surroundings and the short tour lasted over three hours. He had many questions and had thoughts of the numerous possibilities the waterways offered. That short tour led to many steps in the future. They dedicated a plaque to the Fort Wayne Civic Improvement Association that had 2 women in a reclining position one of the women was meant to represent “nature and sleeping” the other reclining women was meant to represent “natural beauty awakened”. The citizens of Fort Wayne placed the plaque. They hoped to awake a new civic spirit and increase river improvement. The project stood still for many years. Several years later things have changed numerous improvements were made and they now have boat tours and things to do on the rivers.

Key Takeaways:

• Phase One of the river land development will occur on banks of the St. Marys
• Dan Wire, long-time resident of Fort Wayne, wants to see the land by the three rivers developed.
• There's over dozen varieties of game and non-game fish in the rivers.

"Long before the dreams of rooftop terraces and pedestrian bridges as part of a promenade area, and long before the ideas of a pavilion, event lawn, urban bioswale and a dock were designed and mapped out and put on paper as a very real possibility, city leaders saw the value of our rivers all the way back in the early 1900s"

Read more: http://www.fortwayne.com/fortwaynemonthly/features/a-riverfront-view/

This is an article about a couple who moved from North Carolina to Jacksonville, Florida. It was a big move for them and not easy at first but they are in the real estate business and Florida is one of the top real estate markets in the country. They had very few friends in the area but they are being very proactive in attending REIA meetings and joining the real estate investors association. Besides their friends that helped showed them the ropes, they learned a lot from attending these functions. They have tons of business cards that they will forever use for contacts and help. A lot of the people they have met have been very helpful and always picking up the phone when the couple has questions. They know a lot about vendors to contractors to title companies and everything else. The couple is working hard and building their dream team for their business. The couple gives their advice to their readers who may also have a real estate business that it may be overwhelming to make a move for your business but it is well worth it. Stick to a schedule and attend to as many meetings as possible and you will no longer be the newbies.

Key Takeaways:

• There is difficulty in moving for everyone in the family, customers and community.
• Sometimes you have to take chances to become successful and earn high dividends.
• It can be scary to make changes, especially later in life.

"Have we lost our minds?” we were asking ourselves for the first few weeks after we moved our business to new – and unfamiliar – territory. After living in one city for all of John’s life, we picked up our HomeVestors of America franchise not long ago and moved to one of the hottest real estate markets in the country."

Read more: https://thinkrealty.com/moving-your-rei-business/

Deductions for state and local taxes may be done away with if the recently released currently tax proposal put out by the White House goes through. This area is a particularly controversial part of Donald J. Trump's new tax plan. If passed, this could increase the state and local tax burden. It is likely that this would be most felt in states that already have a high tax rate. Economists suggest that this could have a direct effect, likely negative, on the housing market as property owners, already frustrated with having to pay high taxes lose their relief by way of their deduction. Although an important revenue stream, nobody likes to pay taxes on what they've already purchased. Most affected would be those with higher value homes and those who happen to live in a high tax state or a particularly high tax areas of their state. There is a wide range in what property owners pay in taxes throughout the United States. According to the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., the medium property tax is $2,149. However, in some places the annual median was all the way up to $10,000. Conversely, it can be as low as $200 in other areas. In comparing the high and low taxes that exist from state to state and county to county, economists wonder if eliminating this deduction will cause many to seek relief by moving out of areas with the highest of tax rates.

Key Takeaways:

• change is on its way when it comes to taxes. the changes in taxes in your local area but stemming all the way down from the executive branch of the u.s. government.
• the average citizen, I'm sure, are overwhelmingly supportive of changes in tax laws especially when it comes to property taxes which vary from location to location and state to state.
• state and local governments receive a huge chunk of revenue from property taxes. In this property taxes are lowerd or eliminated all together our local governments can take a huge financial hit.

"The effective property tax rate in Alabama is a mere 0.38%, second lowest in the country"

Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2017/05/01/where-in-your-state-homeowners-pay-the-highest-and-lowest-property-taxes/