Bill Roberts - "Baby Boomer" Retirement Planning

How to Find Land By Bill Roberts

Man has always had the urge to find new lands. It is what led to the discovery of the New World. It is what pushed us west from the Eastern Seaboard.

But just because all the land has been discovered doesn't mean that our thirst for new lands has been quenched. On the contrary, we seem even more inspired to find a piece of land that satisfies certain hungers within.

I'm one of those land pioneers. I like nothing more than going out into the sticks looking for that elusive parcel which will satisfy a hunger deep within me.

Let me first say that I do this as part of my job. I help people make retirement plans. I utilize land to maximize their returns on their retirement funds. See my post on Land Banking for a fuller explanation.

So how do I go about finding those special parcels? In the first place I believe that all land is good. "I never met a lot I didn't like."

But we want something special for our retirement account. We are planning on retiring in ten years, so we want something that will appreciate significantly in that time frame.

For a long term hold we could buy marginal land. It will appreciate, but probably not enough in the next ten years to work for us. We need something that will grow significantly over the next ten years. We need good land.

Finding Good Land

OK, how do we do that? Well, I'll tell you what I do. I read everything I can get my hands on regarding TRENDS in the real estate market. I want to get there first before the land rush begins.

Then I drive around my target area. I get a "feel" for how development is going to happen. It ain't rocket science but it is scientific.

Growth "happens" along arteries (roads, rivers, etc.) and near population centers, so I'm particularly interested in land in close proximity to these arteries and centers.

A Word About Prices

I have no preconceived ideas about value. Once I find an area that I'm interested in I begin to "educate" myself on land values there. Remember, real estate prices are very subjective. It is a matter of what everybody thinks rather than some absolute yardstick.

The local people already "know" what I have just discovered. This area is going to grow. They have factored that in to their prices. I need to determine if I can live with these prices. I'm anticipating growth. After that growth the land will have a certain value (based on what it can be used for and what the NOI will be for that use). I will pay a bit of a premium for good land but I'm not going to give them all my profits from owning this land.

Avoid Grief

Generally speaking, I will pay the asking price if it is reasonable. If it's not reasonable I may try one offer at the right price, but if it is rejected or countered I move on. I don't want to deal with unreasonable people. It just leads to grief.

If you are ready to incorporate land into your retirement plan or if you would like more information on getting started in land investment for retirement planning, call Bill Roberts (619) 244-4610.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday by Bill Roberts

Today is a National Holiday. We celebrate this day by our own choosing. Nobody has to tell us what to do today or what to watch on TV.

I'll be watching the game. I don't particularly care which team wins. I don't have a dog in this fight. But the spectacle can't be ignored.

It was revealed today that Super Bowl Sunday is now the leader in calorie consumption by Americans of all the days of the year including Thanksgiving Day. I don't know about that, but I'm sure it's the biggest "junk food" consumption day.

PepsiCola will be honoring this day with a SILENT commercial. We don't care, we'll still eat Doritos and wash ‘em down with Pepsi. At least I will. You can drink whatever you have a taste for.

Watch and enjoy the game. Watch and enjoy the Half-time show (you never know what you might see). And watch and enjoy all the Super Expensive commercials.

I'll respond to comments, maybe blog, and visit your posts TOMORROW.

How Low Can You Go? By Bill Roberts

I've been hearing a lot of criticism of the NAR's campaign that now is a good time to buy real estate. It seems that these self-professed experts on economics and the real estate markets think that this campaign reflects badly on Realtor's® because they say the market is still heading south.

I'd like to know what makes them so expert on the actions of markets. Did they sell houses when the market was higher? Why did they do that if they are experts on real estate economics? Didn't they know the prices were going to come down? After all they are experts, aren't they?

It's a scientific fact that most markets are more psychological than rational. There will be a reason "why" markets turn, but it is usually something that probably shouldn't have been the cause at all. And then they continue in their new direction until some reason appears to "cause" a change in direction.

The same thing is true of our various real estate markets. They are not rational in the short term. In the long term they go up. So I guess we are talking ONLY about the short term.

In The Mood 

If the market isn't rational in the short term, what does it respond to? Well. I guess it responds to the "mood" of the people. What affects the mood of the people? For the most part they get their mood from the media. They tell you that you are going to have a bad day and sure enough you have a bad day.

If you want this bad mood to change then somebody has to tell you that you are going to have a good day.

Our business is real estate. It is a good business. It is an honorable profession. I believe that everybody benefits from a good real estate market.

I believe in the old adage that a rising tide lifts all boats. I want the tide to come back in.

The National Association of Realtors® is playing my tune.

Maybe your tune is something else, in which case I need to ask, "How low can you go?"

Elements of Retirement Planning by retirement planning specialist Bill Roberts

If you are not yet retired (and maybe even if you are) there are things you need to know about planning for that (dreaded) day when you quit working (at your regular job).

Is it going to be a walk in the park? Or a part-time job at Wal-Mart greeting new arrivals?

Maybe you would like to have enough time (and money) to play golf, visit the grand kids, see Yosemite, do a little sailing, or just putter in the garden. That's what your parents did, so why not you?

Well, there are a lot of reasons, starting with the high cost of living, and ending with a very small social security check.

Something needs to fill the gap. That's where retirement planning comes in. It is not only your God given right to plan your own retirement, it is your duty. So you better get started.

Getting Started

Successful retirement planning includes several elements:

• Asset allocation
• Tax planning
• Mortgage planning
• Savings
• Leverage
• Compound interest
• Goal setting
• Commitment
• Legal preparation
• Investment vehicles

The Recipe

What we want to do is pour all these things into a bowl and mix them up. It's kind of like baking a cake. Too much of one thing and not enough of another and the cake won't bake up the way we want it to. You also need to know what goes in first and what goes in last. Then it all has to bake a while. Raw batter in a bowl is not a cake.

I would start with a few tools: A yellow pad, a box of pencils, a calculator (a financial calculator if you have one), your checking account statements (every page of every month for the last few years), your last couple of tax returns, and possibly your letter from Social Security telling you how much you can expect to receive when you retire. If you have other assets you will want to know about those too.

Goal Setting

Setting your goal simply means establishing your needs when the great day comes. How much will you need to maintain your lifestyle, and how much more will you need for all those things you plan on doing in your golden years? See Fun With Ken and Barbie

The rest of our goal setting is about HOW we are going to go about getting that money.

Commitment

Now that we have set our goal, we need to commit to getting there. It is not enough to know what we have to do. We actually have to do it. Your commitment will have to include SAVINGS.

Legal Preparation and Tax Planning

I don't want to say that this is a chicken or egg thing but it is. Which comes first hardly matters because they both do. You are going to need a full set of legal documents from a durable power of attorney for health care to an Inter-vivos family trust and a few things in between. See Baby Boomer Retirement Planning 2 (a series)

Then you need to know the tax consequences of what you have just done, and how you want to utilize tax law to build your retirement nest egg.

All in all, you don't want to face this without a good attorney and a good accountant. If you don't have one then ask for a recommendation.

Mortgage Planning and Asset Allocation

Here is where the fun begins. We are talking about "growing" your assets up to a level that will sustain your goals which you have already set. Don't despair. All things are possible, even retirement.

Your mortgage planner will help you attain your goal utilizing financing, not just savings. A traditional financial planner can help you "manage" those monies you already have, but a good creative mortgage planner/real estate broker can help you grow your retirement accounts through LEVERAGE and COMPOUND INTEREST, using other people's money. This is the really fun stuff.

Compare

Compare that $100,000.00 that you already have invested in a mutual fund, ETF, or other Money Market account growing at 8% compounded annually

to that same $100,000.00 invested in a leveraged real estate investment growing at only 5% but on the entire property value, not just your 25% down payment investment:

You almost tripled your retirement account balance after ten years by one simple change. But that isn't the only change you should make. Your planner will help you establish workable goals and give you strategies for achieving those goals, including:

• Annual contributions to your IRA, 401(k), or Defined Benefit Plan utilizing money you are now giving to Uncle Sam in taxes
• Trading up to a larger property
• Using your house as a bank
• Land Banking
• Creating Wealth Through Use Change
• Investing in TICs, LLCs, and Tax Certificates

Your planner will help you to utilize different investment vehicles to both maximize your return and to protect your capital. It won't do you any good to amass several millions only to lose it to a judgment. See If You Buy Investment Real Estate What's The Most You Can Lose?

If you are ready to begin this process then call Bill Roberts at (619) 244-4610.

Lying In America by Bill Roberts

It would seem that lying is not acceptable in America. Look what happened to Martha Stewart. When they couldn't ‘get" her for insider trading, they got her for lying to a federal investigator.

But what about when the police lie? The other night on the CBS show 48 Hour Mystery story about the Tankleff murders the lead detective stated it was OK to coerce a confession by lying to the suspect. Watch his interview.

Do we even know if the Federal investigators lied to Martha Stewart? Do we care?

And what about former President Bill Clinton? Wasn't he convicted of lying to the court? What happened to him? Oh well.

Hypocrisy is alive and well in the good ol' U.S. of A.

Right now in California we are in the final week before our primary. The political advertising is everywhere. But what about the truth? Where is it?

We have a series of propositions on the ballot, 94 through 97. They are about allowing four Indian casinos to expand their number of slots and a few other things. This will make them more competitive with Las Vegas.

What will it do for California if we allow this expansion? Well, for one thing, it will triple our anticipated revenue from the four casinos involved. We should get more than $100,000,000 per year for the next twenty years. And the casinos have agreed to "share" with the tribes and bands that don't have casinos to provide better health care, education, and housing. It seems like a Win-Win scenario.

But a certain Las Vegas casino owner and two race track owners take exception to these propositions. That's OK, they have a right to. But the advertising campaign they are running is specious at best. They say that the other Indians are against it when in fact only two tribes are against it (and they have casinos) while 70 tribes are for it. They say that the casinos will "decide" how much to pay California, but the truth is that the bills call for fully audited statements from the casinos. They say it won't help California schools. But the 9 Billion Dollars California expects to get over the next two decades will go into the general fund and education gets some of its money from the general fund (in addition to direct allocations from property taxes).

I think that politicians, government employees, police, and political "activists" need to be truthful. We can't stand this "double" standard. Enough of the lying. Stop the hypocrisy.

If you don't want me to lie, don't lie to me.

Vote YES ON 94, 95, 96, and 97. It's good for California.