by Peter Maclennan Leave a Comment
I took a brief tour of a Richmond, CA investment property. The property had 6 units that need a little bit of updating. Each unit has a covered parking space. There is a small onsite laundry room.
Here’s a short video of the outside of the property:
Contact me for all of your real estate investment needs at (925) 385-8798. Visit our real estate investment blog for more information about using real estate for retirement.
by Peter Maclennan Leave a Comment
CNNMoney.com is reporting that rents are rising as home prices fall. According the article the cities with some of the largest price increases in the past 12 months were:
As well, they reported that the vacancy rate for apartments was just 4.9%. Even cities in the Midwest saw significant price increases.
In a recent article, I shared about a potential wave of foreclosures that is yet to come. Should these foreclosed properties hit the market, pricing on homes should continue lower.
As well, those souls that have lost their homes to foreclosure or via short-sale may be forced to rent for a period of time. This increased demand for rental properties, would put continuing upward pressure on rents.
These forces lead me to believe that it is a good time to own residential rental real estate.
If you would like more information on how you can augment your retirement with real estate, please contact us. Or call me at (925) 385-8798.
For other articles about investing in real estate, head over to www.maclennaninvestments.com.
by Peter Maclennan Leave a Comment
The Wall St. Journal is reporting that investment property sales were up last year. Particularly the sales of single family homes increased last year according to the National Association of Realtors.
One of the reasons I believe this to be the case is that interest rates have remained low. The ability for investors to finance a significant portion of their purchase with low fixed rate financing for 30 years is an incredible opportunity. This type of financing is available for 2-unit, 3-unit, and 4-unit properties as well.
I believe, another reason for the increased demand for investment property is that investors can buy some, not all, properties for below replacement cost. This means that when new homes are built, they will necessarily be more expensive than the investor’s property in order for the contractor to make a profit or break even.
For more information about real estate investment please head over to the Maclennan Investment Group, Inc. website.
If you are interested in buying an investment property in the San Francisco Bay Area, please call me at (925) 385-8798.
by Peter Maclennan Leave a Comment
The California Association of Realtors® posted the following warning about “Successful Rent” courtesy of the Apartment Owners Association to landlords about a scam being perpetrated on rental property owners and property managers:
Beware of “Successful Rent”
The Apartment Owners Association is warning of a company called Successful Rent run by a lady named Sunny who is scamming rental property owners.
Sunny calls owners who have vacancies and claims she has prospective tenants from out of the country looking for homes. She then sends someone over who fills out the rental application and gives the owner or manager a fake cashier’s check to hold the apartment. She also says that she will run the credit report for the owner for free.
On the day of move-in, she calls the owner and says the tenant found another place and they would like their money back. The owner then writes a check for the deposit amount and a week or two later, gets a letter from their bank saying the original cashier’s check was fraudulent.
For more information about real estate investment call Peter @ (925) 385-8798 or visit http://www.maclennaninvestments.com.
by Peter Maclennan Leave a Comment
So you’ve got some cash socked away for a rainy day. Where can you park it to get the best return?
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.
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.
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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Offering real estate services in the communities of: Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Alamo, Lafayette, and surrounding cities.
