Most long term investing strategies have one element in common: They all require hope and faith. The basic premise goes something like this: You will feed your 401k/IRA/mutual fund account regularly for 40+ years and then hope and believe that at retirement your nest egg will be sufficient to avoid Walmart employment at 65. Don't get me wrong - you will periodically receive detailed statements about your account balances and positions throughout the four decades. But those balances and … [Read more...]

Every real estate market brings its own unique set of challenges for real estate investors. Back in 2005-06, the foreclosure wave hadn't quite made it to shore yet, but it was giving its first signals. Long term real estate investors could purchase investment properties with as little as 10% down on a conventional mortgage but interest rates were just under 7%. Fast forward a couple of years (2008-10) and the recession was in full swing, foreclosure deals were a dime a dozen and Bernanke's … [Read more...]

Picture going into your investment advisor's office to talk about your impending retirement, 15 years from now. You proceed to tell her that what you'd really like to accomplish is to quadruple your investment AND draw a six figure income at retirement. Now picture her chuckling and you being dressed down to more realistic expectations. When you think about it, most other investment vehicles consider the growth of your capital and the income derived from it to be mutually exclusive. If you want … [Read more...]

Few things affect the results of a long term real estate investment strategy like turnover and vacancies. During the time a property is not leased it becomes an expense rather than an asset to the investor. Turnover has similar effects - every time an existing tenant leaves and a replacement is found, the investor incurs make ready and lease out expenses. If high turnover and vacancy cause investor returns to decrease, it follows that taking measures to minimize them as much as possible will … [Read more...]