'Chance Favors the Prepared Mind...' - Louis Pasteur Sitting at my camp in the Adirondack Mountains, having done my radio broadcast from the actual property (not a studio), and based on the massive response I have been receiving from the listeners, has me thinking today about the true cost of financial freedom, which I believe, is THE rea...

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I absolutely love being around investors.  I love learning about real estate, talking about real estate, and more importantly working on deals.  I also notice that most of the real estate investors I know feel the same way.  This is their PASSION.  First question: ...

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In Baltimore City, if you have a property assessed at $100,000, you are paying approximately $2400 a year in property taxes.....or $200 a month. If a property is assessed at $150,000, the tax bill is $3600 a year or $300 a month. These amounts cut deeply into the cash flow of our investment properties. And unlike owner occupants, there is no homestead cap which limits the amount of increase....

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In May/June 09 Contrarian Article for our newsletter, Bob Feol wrote extensively about "Subject-to Purchasing." Also, with Wendy Patton speaking this month, I felt it appropriate to touch once again on this cutting-edge topic that has been used for decades and is back in vogue once again.   I remember back in 1968 when Mr. Watson walked into my office and said, "Hey Bill, would ...

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Analyzing Risk and Expected Value of Real Estate Investment Profitability Before Committing To Purchasing an Asset   In the statistical world, or more specifically the world of probability, the term 'risk of ruin' is usually defined in terms as the threshold chance that someone's risk of loss exists(relative to their current financial/investing pursuit), in as much that if they ...

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Have you ever said or heard the deal is only as good as the paper it's written on? That's because the contract is the final word in a real estate transaction. If something is a part of a deal, it must be disclosed in the contract. So how well do you know the contract you or your realtor is using? Are you using it to the fullest extent to protect your interests or create the best deal?  ...

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Real estate markets across the world are suffering right now. Sellers can't sell their homes and buyers can't get mortgages. As real estate agents it's a lot harder to earn a living now. Gone are the days of listing a home and expecting it to sell - it is time to get creative to not just survive but actually thrive in this economy.  ...

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When you get a listing to sell a house, it's because you've convinced the owner that you are the best person for him to rely upon to get the best possible price and terms in the shortest amount of time. Before you can convince the owner of this, you've got to convince yourself that you can do it. One of the saddest things that can happen is to promise an owner a certain result witho...

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We all know the Residential market is cyclical -- it goes up and goes down. Right now is the best time to get involved and make some real money. When the residential market is at its alltime low, Commercial is red hot.   When most people hear the words “Commercial Real Estate” they think of a bunch of tall building in a large city that some mega wealthy individual must own, ...

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I am writing this column this month because it is becoming painfully aware to many investors that they are up against many poor opinions about them and how they conduct business. Baltimore City seems to have declared all out financial war on investors with, fines, violations and laws that require the investor to be nickeled and dimed to death with registration after registration. The new pre-forec...

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Here’s the thing – and this really IS the thing – we talk all the time about the consequences of making the wrong choice. It is very clear that making wrong choices are not beneficial for us. B.F Skinner calls this ‘punishment.’ Bad choices, well, they cost. We all know this. Now, no one ever talks about the cost of making good choices. Doing the right thing.NOT stealing f...

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In many respects, Maryland is weathering the recession better than most other states, but not when it comes to foreclosures. The number of foreclosure events -- either final dispositions of foreclosures or court filings -- increased in the final three months of 2009 to nearly 17,000. That's 13.4 percent higher than the previous quarter and nearly 70 percent higher than the previous year. Hardest h...

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For readers who know me, present day life and business situations seem to stir my emotional juices and then I reminisce about my real estate career over 40 years and write about things (excuse my language) “that piss me off”.I’m sure you saw that when, as your President of the Baltimore Reia Estate Association, I called for the resignation of the two National Reia lobbyists that I felt were ...

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