All Forum Posts by: Phillip Gainey

Pontiac is just a mini Detroit. So is Flint.

PG

You don't have to buy within the city limits of Detroit. There are cheap properties in some of the suburbs around Detroit. Take the city of Wayne.

Here's a couple you could probably get for 10k or so. Typical homes build in the 40's to house "Arsenal of Democracy" workers at the nearby Willow Run industrial Complex during WWII. 3/1, 1000 sf, basement. The kind of housing baby boomers grew up in after Daddy came back from war.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3595-Winifred-St_Wayne_MI_48184_M36624-06719

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/5024-Winifred-St_Wayne_MI_48184_M37858-74565

Gotta do your DD. The second one has high back taxes looks like. Just examples though.

The demographics and crime stats in Wayne beat the hell out of any neighborhood in Detoit. Wayne is a city in decline, but nothing like detroit. And there are other suburbs that have been "whacked" pretty bad. This is just one area I am familiar with.

Uncle Phil

Money doubles every 4 years with a return of 15% Then quadruples in 8 years. Multiplies 8x in 12, 16x in 16 years. So if you start out with 100k in year one, say at age 30, by the time you are 46, your 100k will grow to 1.6 million. And yes, you'll be 46 and be getting all the girls! By consistently hitting 15% singles over the years.

Then there is the matter of adjusting this return for "risk". Some strategies are riskier than others. Flipping is riskier than rentals. Rentals are riskier than holding discounted notes or making private RE loans.

So stick with the strategy that produces the lowest risk adjusted (PITA adjusted) return as close to 15% as you can.

I have discounted notes, and private loans in my IRA earning 15% or more tax deferred). If somebody I knew and really trusted came across a screaming deal once in awhile, I'd go in with him/her.

I think RE, like any other biz, is about meeting and networking with he right people. Not just about what strategy (flips, holds, paper...etc.) you use.

Uncle Phil

I remember the run up in gold/silver starting in the late 70's to the peak in 1980. People argued against the rise all the way up. "$400 gold? That's absurd! The bubble will pop soon! Trust me!"

It ain't over until the market tells you it's over. Namely, by making a lower high, followed by a lower low. And no people, I'm not talking on an intra-day chart. I'm talking on a weekly bar chart. Right now we've yet to see it.

Damn, wish I had bought some though! :-)

What city are the properties in?

Take the "n" out of the word "turnkey".

Pardon me for butting in, and I really don't give a "Hoot in Hyanissport" one way or the other, but I thought political comments were supposed to be limited to the Political Group.

PG

There are properties in SE Livonia for less than 50k. Just depends on what you are looking for.

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/9961-Seltzer-St_Livonia_MI_48150_M42844-26567

Back from Huntsville, aye. What were you in for?

PG

Sorry, my bad, I meant "revocable". You can revoke the trust while you are still living.

Yes, it will be worth it in the long run. 10%, or more, of a gross estate can really add up.

Read "The Living Trust", Henry W. Abts

Excellent book. The author makes a strong case for getting a RLT. And he covers all bases. He makes special note that most lawyers have jumped on the band wagon, but don't know how to write a solid trust. If anything comes up that is not covered in the trust, you have to go through PROBATE HELL!!

How can you tell a good trust attorney form the bad. A good one has successfully SETTLED hundreds of trusts. It's not enuf to have just written trusts. Any schmoe can do that. But to have settled many without having to go through probate is a better sign of a competent trust attorney.
PG

Irrevocable living trusts are great. You have to get a good one, and put your assets IN THE TRUST. You'd be surprised how many people set up a trust and don't bother to put assets into it.

Last thing you want to do is go through probate! Probate is a nightmare and a legal racket! You're loved ones have to wait 1 to 3 years to get what's coming to them. Also, lawyers take 10% or more of your GROSS estate. Blood suckahs!

A living trust, properly set up (which very few lawyers know how to do), will help you avoid probate. Your estate can be settled within a month very cheaply.

PG