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Where Can I Get a Good Return on My Money? – Not at the Bank

So you’ve got some cash socked away for a rainy day. Where can you park it to get the best return?

Rainy Day Funds

According to a Wall Street Journal article from 3/9/2012, not at the bank. The national average return for a 4-year CD is 0.89%. Ouch! The article states that I-Bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury should at least keep pace with inflation.

These low yields are acceptable in exchange for liquidity or the ability to access your funds quickly. If this is your “Emergency Fund” (3-6 months of living expenses) or if you are in retirement and need more liquidity, it is acceptable to trade returns for the ability to access cash.

Retirement Funds

However, having CD’s or low yielding bonds as a part of a wealth building strategy is a risky proposition. Many investors chose to have a CD ladder. But maturing CD’s will have to be replaced with CD’s with a much lower rate of return.

Money market accounts are also returning a paltry 0.23% according to the WSJ.

In my article The Hidden Tax on Savers, I laid out how government policy is “taxing” investors using CD’s and Money Market accounts. Low interest rates are a means to “re-inflate” the balance sheets of the large banks.

If you are trying to accumulate wealth or build up your retirement portfolio, choosing an investment that is returning less than the rate of inflation is a losing proposition. If you are paddling up-stream at the same rate as the water is flowing down stream, you won’t make any progress. If inflation is higher than your rate of return, you are not making progress, but actually going backwards.

Alternatives Return Sources

You should seek an alternative investment that generally keeps pace with inflation. You don’t want to have to pay fees to store or hold the investment safely.  It would also be a huge benefit if your investment offered tax advantages.

Hmm… Tax advantages, cash flow, and generally keeps pace with inflation. Real estate seems to fit that bill.

Contact me today to see if we can put together a strategy to beef up your retirement accumulation and returns at (925) 385-8798.

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Oracle of Omaha on Housing

Warren Buffett told CNBC that he would buy a couple hundred thousand houses if it was practical. Buffett’s investing prowess has consistently placed him in the top 5 wealthiest men in the world.

Buffett realizes that current home prices combined with the low interest rate financing environment provide a unique buying opportunity. Investors who buy now, rent out the unit for more than the carrying costs, and hold their investment for the long term are likely to have a great investment.

An investor with $50,000 could buy a $200,000 home here in Contra Costa County that has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Assume the interest rate for this 30-year mortgage is 5.00%. The payment on a $150,000 mortgage at 5.0% is $805 per month or about $9,700 per year.

Taxes, insurance, and maintenance will add about $500 per month. This investor chooses to have a property manager for the property which will run another $150 per month. Total expenses for the property will be $650 per month or $7,800 per year. Expenses plus the principal and interest payments should total $17,500 per year.

A 3-bedroom home in Concord, CA should rent for at least $1,650 per month. The total income will be about $19,800. The property will provide the investor with about $185 per month or $2,220 this is a return of 4.44% per year.

If the property never goes up in value through the life of the mortgage, and the rent never changes the investor will also be paying down the mortgage. The investor will have turned a $50,000 investment into $185 per month and a $200,000 value. This computes to a return of almost 7.25% per year.

Do you think housing prices will stay flat for 30 years? Do you think rents will be flat for 30 years? If rents and housing prices go up, the return above will increase.

Do you expect your stock market investment to perform this well over the next 30 years? If not, give me a call at (925) 385-8798.

Disclaimer: This is not an investment recommendation. Investors should do their own research. This post is for informational purposes only.

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Real Estate Investors May Prosper from Incentives to Get the Market Moving

Many of the largest banks are offering incentives to homeowners to short sale their house. This may provide an opportunity for real estate investors.

A house in Contra Costa County

Bank Incentives to Homeowners

CNNMoney.com is reporting that banks are offering up to $35,000 for homeowners to short sale their home.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — In an effort to cut their losses, banks are paying some struggling homeowners as much as $35,000 to sell their homes before they end up in foreclosure.

The deals are aimed at incentivizing homeowners who owe more on their home than it is worth and who are seriously delinquent on their payments to sell their homes in a short sale.

The banks are finally realizing that the best solution is to rip the Band-Aid off than face slow agonizing pain.

From the bank’s point of view, the offers make sense, according to Tom Kelly, a spokesman for Chase Mortgage, who would not comment on Pierce or other individual cases. “The first choice is a modification but if that’s impossible than a short sale is a faster, more efficient solution,” he said.

For the banks, foreclosure has become an increasingly difficult and expensive option. Homeowners have learned to fight the banks tooth and nail, dragging out cases for years.

And as the cases drag, expenses grow. Homeowners not only stop paying their mortgages but they stop paying property taxes and conducting normal maintenance as well. Roofs, siding, plumbing and other parts of the home deteriorate and the property loses value. By the time banks take possession, they’re out tens of thousands of dollars.

What This Could Mean for Real Estate Investors

If homeowners are incentivized to sell their homes, it could create a temporary glut of homes available for sale. As well, banks may complete the foreclosure process on more homes now that a settlement with the attorneys general has been reached. This too may put downward pressure on home prices.

Real estate investors could attempt to use this increased supply to their advantage. Interest rates are still historically low. An investor with strong income and a 25% down payment can qualify for a great mortgage on an investment home.

For many years single family homes in California did not make investment sense. Now, with prices depressed and low interest rates, an investor can by a home with a reasonable down payment and expect to get a decent cash-on-cash return. A return that is much better than the current rates of CD’s at most banks.

If you are thinking of investing in real estate and would like more information call me at (925) 385-8798.

 

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Earned Income vs. Passive Income

The goal of most retirees is to switch from an earned income to passive income.

Earned Income

Earned income is what most of us do every day. We trade time, energy, or brain power for money. We go to the job site, check into the office, go to the firehouse, or our shop and get to work. We get paid for what we produce or do. If we don’t produce or do, we don’t get paid. We work in order to get money.

Passive Income

Passive income isn’t generated directly from our work. Passive income is money working for us. Passive income is interest from a savings account, interest from a bond, a dividend from a stock, or cash flow from a real estate investment. Passive income is produced whether or not we take an action.

The trick to getting a huge passive income is accumulating lots of investments. A $300,000 investment earning 3% returns $9,000 to the investor. A $3,000,000 (million) investment returning 3% returns $90,000 to the investor.

If you would like to discuss opportunities to start accumulating investments using real estate, please call me at (925) 385-8798.

 

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Commercial Lease Types

Most business owners and entrepreneurs want to find the best location for their business. This could be an office, a warehouse, or a storefront depending on the type of business. The language and terminology related to real estate leases can be confusing and overwhelming. Below is a list of the various commercial lease types and what they mean to both the landlord and tenant.

Triple Net Lease or NNN Lease

A triple net lease can also be referenced as a net, net, net (NNN) lease. This lease type is often found in leases for large office buildings, large industrial buildings, and in retail or storefront buildings.

In this lease structure the tenant pays a base rental rate. The base rent will be clearly delineated over the life of the lease. Often times the base rent will escalate at an agreed upon percentage rate or based upon inflation and linked to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

As well as the base rental rate the tenant will pay the net expenses. The net expenses are taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs. These fees can be included in common area maintenance fees or CAM charges. These expenses are in addition to the base rental rate.

Landlord

A landlord generally likes this lease structure because it places some of the future price risk on the tenant. Taxes, insurance, and utility costs are, generally, going to increase over time. The expenses that could potentially damage a landlord’s income, are passed on to the tenant and help the landlord to plan future income.

Tenant

The tenant is taking on the additional risk of taxes, insurance, and maintenance with a triple net lease. In exchange for this risk, they will often be given a lower base rental rate. A commercial tenant may not be able to avoid this type of commercial lease. When comparing a triple net lease to a gross lease all triple net expenses need to be included.

Gross Lease

When all of the expenses associated with a property are included in the base rental rate of a commercial lease, you most likely have a Full Service Gross Lease. These expenses include real estate property taxes, property insurance, utilities, maintenance, and janitorial. Some office leases, retail leases and industrial leases are gross leases.

Landlord

A commercial lease structured in this manner places the risk of expense growth upon the landlord. The landlord is responsible for any increase in the price of insurance, property taxes, or utilities. A landlord may choose this lease because the rental market demands it, the tenant leases the entire building, or the property only has one utility meter and the landlord cannot accurately divide utility costs.

Tenant

A commercial gross lease relieves the tenant of the risk of price inflation. As well, it simplifies the lease rate as the tenant will only be quoted a base rental rate that includes all expenses for the property.

Combination Leases

Most commercial leases are a combination of a net lease and a gross lease. In other words, the tenant pays some of the expenses and the landlord pays some of the expenses.

Industrial Gross Lease

In an industrial gross lease the tenant pays a base rental rate and their share of the common area expenses. The landlord will pay the property taxes and insurance costs in the first year or base year. In subsequent years, any property taxes or insurance costs above the base year amount are the responsibility of the tenant.

Modified Gross Lease

A modified gross lease is similar to a full service gross lease except that one or more item may be the responsibility of the tenant. In a modified gross lease a tenant may be responsible for their own utilities, janitorial, or maintenance costs depending on the scenario.

Procuring a commercial lease for your business can be challenging. If you would like assistance with this process, please call today at (925) 385-8798 to see if we can assist you.

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Why Young Professionals Should Buy a Duplex, Triplex, or Fourplex

In my last post I detailed Why Young Professionals Should NOT Buy a House. In this post I will explain why your first home should be shared with some tenants.

The author and radio host Dave Ramsey has said that a home or personal dwelling is a stake in the ground to which the owner is chained. Your life will most likely revolve around the area where you buy a home. You will work nearby, play nearby, and raise a family where you plant this stake. What if you want to change any of these items?

Often, professionals just beginning their career do not plan to spend their life in the same location that they find their first job. The energy of big city life is not as appealing when you have to raise a family. Their first job is a dead end and a graduate degree is required for advancement. Or you find great success in your career but the next promotion is in another state or another country. What do you do with that condo or fixer of a home you bought?

Financially Wise

Imagine instead that you bought a fourplex (a single building with four separate living units). This fourplex in Concord, CA is a current example. Argyll Avenue – Fourplex

The property is listed for $375,000. According to the listing agent the property has 2 -2 bedroom units and 2 – 1 bedroom units. Let’s figure 3% for closing costs and fees for a total of about $386,000. Our first-time home buyer decides to make an offer at list price with 10% down. Their loan amount will be $347,000.

A loan of $347,000 at 5% interest will have a payment of $1,863 per month. Property taxes and insurance will add roughly an additional $612 per month. If our home buyer mows his own grass and does repairs himself, he likely won’t have many other expenses beyond the occasional repair or vacancy. The total expenses for the property will be roughly $2,475 per month.

According to the listing agent, the 2 bedrooms rent for $1250 each per month and the 1 bedrooms rent for $850. To be safe let’s knock $150 off of each of those and say that the 2 beds will fetch $1100 and the 1 bedrooms will get $700. Our industrious and frugal buyer doesn’t have a roommate and decides to live in a one bedroom unit. His gross income from the property will be 2 x $1,100 = $2,200 plus $700 = $2,900. If we imagine that each of the rented units will be vacant for 10% of the year, this would reduce his gross income by $242 per month. His or her gross income will be $2,658 per month.

In review, our home buyer will be receiving $2,658 per month in rent and expenses will be roughly $2,475 per month. The net income to our home owner will be $183 per month and he will be living rent free.

Besides living rent free there will likely be some tax benefits to our home owner. Cost recovery or depreciation can be claimed on the rented units. The owner may be able to offset taxes on earned income.

If our intrepid home buyer decides to pay down the mortgage by paying “rent” of $700 per month, the home buyer could apply $883 to principal each month ($183 in cash flow).

Assuming the fourplex does not increase in value at all the value would be $375,000 at the end of 5 years. The outstanding principal would be a shade under $260,000. The home buyer has equity of almost $115,000. Calculating selling and closing costs at 8% of the gross fourplex value ($30,000), our investor has net equity of $85,000 to roll into his next purchase. Our investor could refinance the property at 80% LTV and pull out $40,000 in equity to purchase the next investment property.

Flexibility

Buying a fourplex has provided the investor with some flexibility. We assumed that the investor lived in a 1 bedroom unit. If the investor gets a roommate or marries, they could move to one of the two bedroom units without having to buy something else.

If our first-time buyer needs to relocate, the property should have enough income to pay all property expenses when fully rented. Our first-time buyer can safely transfer to another city without worrying about selling a home first.

 Conclusion

The fourplex purchase allows our hypothetical buyer a financially fit decision and a level of freedom that a SFR does not allow. It appears that an investment property, is far superior to the single family home purchase for our first time buyer. (Please do not construe this as a hard and fast rule or investment advice.)

Call me at (925) 385-8798 to see if we can find a duplex or fourplex that fits your investment needs.

Company Profile

Welcome to Maclennan Investment Group, Inc., your East Bay Area real estate investment advisors. Maclennan Investment Group assists buyers and sellers of real estate maximize the investment potential of their real estate assets.

Learn More about us.
Offering real estate services in the communities of: Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Alamo, Lafayette, and surrounding cities.

Commercial Financing

Commercial Financing
Disclaimer: Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This site is not meant to offer legal or tax advice.

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925.385.8798

Maclennan Investment Group, Inc.
3380 Vincent Rd, Ste HUB
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
p. (925) 385-8798
Licensed Broker in the State of California, DRE#01871809
Equal Housing Opportunity
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