Archive View (February 2008)

We’ve all heard enough about the troubled real estate investment markets in many parts of the United States and how sub-prime lending is being offered up as the sacrificial lamb to foot the blame. I want to focus on an interesting dynamic this has created for foreign investors and what we can learn from them.  As times are tight here in the U.S. and our dollar’s value is near it’s all time low, many foreign investors and investment companies are seeking opportunities to pick up some bargains in real estate. They are flush with cash and are finding no shortage of deals to be more...

Are men smarter than women? A huge new report says they’re not, but they certainly think they are.  An analysis of 30 different studies shows that men and women are fairly equal in terms of overall IQ, but women tend to underplay their own intelligence while men overestimate theirs. The studies show that on average, women underestimate their IQ scores by about five points while men overestimate their own IQs by at least that much. Because the studies were international, the results were the same whether the people were from the United States or Japan, Argentina or Zimbabwe. But not only do men think more...

RealEstateJournal.com, the Wall Street Journal’s online report on real estate, is worth bookmarking and visiting often. The moderator is Lew Sichelman, an encouraging real estate expert whose advice to readers is consistently wise. Just this week, Mr. Sichelman responded to a question from a woman who was paying off a mortgage amount that far exceeded the value of her house. She had been trying to get her bank to lower her loan amount and reduce her monthly payments, but they were stonewalling. Meanwhile, she was having a tough time keeping up with her monthly payments. Mr. Sichelman urged her to keep trying to more...

In today’s volatile home market, so many people are in serious trouble with their mortgages. They have problems because they made a bad deal or their interest rates are too high or they just don’t have the funds to pay.  I have some answers. I give lots of speeches on this and the speech today is: Don’t leave your house. Work with your bank. If you have to, fight the bank. Figure out a way to make a deal. The banks don’t profit from foreclosure. They would rather have you physically in your house paying them some money. So, if you’re in default, call more...

Men, do you make more money than your wife? If you don’t, does it bother you? Believe it or not, recent research shows that a man actually can become psychologically damaged when his wife earns a larger percentage of the household income than he does. He can get migraines, feel less satisfied with his overall life, and even get clinically depressed. Researchers say that it’s worse if the wife brags about her larger salary and tries to make a power play by getting more of the decision-making in the household or trying to get the husband to do more of the household duties more...

“Buying Foreclosed Homes without Going the Auction Route,” a recent article by Kelly Evans and Sara Murray in the Wall Street Journal, is an important one to read if you are thinking about investing in foreclosed properties. Here’s what I took away from the article: Auctions are not the best place to snag bargains today.  Aggressive, experienced buyers frequent them, making competition fierce for any properties that represent good value. Another problem? Some properties are so over-mortgaged that banks are trying to sell them for more money than they are really worth. Those factors, however, can make it a good time to look for more...

Admit it. At some point it your life, you’ve lied. Maybe you tell white lies on a daily basis. Maybe you tell some all-out doozies. Whatever the case, don’t worry about it too much. You’re normal. Experts say there are two kinds of lies - the lies that you tell to help yourself and the lies you tell to protect other people’s feelings, like when you tell someone they look good in that terrible pink-and-green tie. Serious lies are most often told to protect relationships. That’s when people lie about cheating, for example. Obviously, they don’t want to get caught and they want more...

For many months the façade of Trump Tower facing Fifth Avenue has been under wraps, while Gucci redesigned the former Asprey space into its own. As of today, the wrapping has come off and I can say that it was well worth the wait. They’ve done a spectacular job, inside and out, and when you come to NYC and visit Trump Tower, I think you’ll agree. I know Mr. Trump is pleased with the results, and the ribbon-cutting celebration will be in a few days. In reviewing upcoming events, I’d like to mention a very worthy cause, which is Autism Speaks. They are more...

This week’s RealtyTrac report about U.S. foreclosures is a real eye-opener. You can read the full text by clicking here, but here are some highlights: The foreclosure rate in America’s top 100 metro areas has hit 1.38 percent. Detroit registered the highest foreclosure rate of any of the 100 largest metro areas, with nearly 5 percent of all homes going into foreclosure. 1.775 million foreclosures were filed in the last year - a one-year increase of 78.2 percent. California, Ohio and Florida are the hardest hit. For smart investors, it remains a very advantageous time to acquire foreclosed and pre-foreclosed properties at very attractive prices. Plus, more...

In a pilot program in metro Atlanta called “Learn and Earn,” several schools are paying kids to study. In Fulton County, specially chosen middle school and high school students who aren’t performing well in math and science are paid $8 an hour to attend study hall after school. If their grades actually improve, they can earn an extra $125 each semester. That ends up being as much as $600, which is a pretty decent amount of money when you’re a kid. Although some people are critical of the plan, saying that we shouldn’t being paying kids to do what they’re supposed to be more...

In the last day, articles in the Wall Street Journal and The Virginian Pilot report that political candidates are beginning to use the current foreclosure crisis as a campaign issue.  The Virginian Pilot article reports that Hillary Clinton, while campaigning in Virginia, proposed a 90-day moratorium on new foreclosures. The moratorium, she states, would allow homeowners a chance to find ways to keep their homes.  And the Wall Street Journal article reports that foreclosures have become an issue in a Maryland election between two candidates who are running for the U.S. House of Representatives - one, an incumbent. Of course, many homeowners more...

I don’t think a broken heart can really kill you, but in Japan it can at least get you some time off work. Management at a marketing company in Tokyo is offering employees paid time-off after a bad break-up with a partner. The older the employees are, the more “heartache leave” they can get. Staff aged 24 or younger can take one day off per year, while those between 25 and 29 can take two days off, and those older than 30 can take three days off. The CEO says that not everyone needs to take maternity leave for example, but lots of more...

When it comes to dividing assets, including real estate, getting divorced is really no different from dissolving a business partnership. The “partners” hash out a contract designating how the spoils will be divided so they can go their separate ways. One important thing to watch out for in accepting the family home as part of your divorce settlement package, particularly in today’s housing market, is whether doing so actually is a good deal for you.  If you decide to keep the family home for the purpose of cashing out by selling it after the divorce, don’t get shortchanged in your divorce settlement more...

On January 17, Trump University Professor Richard Parker wrote a post on this blog, entitled, “Seven Reasons Why Buying a New Franchise Business Is a Disastrous Mistake.” It triggered a strong response from Trump University Member 1711781, who offered arguments in support of franchise ownership. Professor Parker has now responded to member 1711781. The result is an exchange that contains a lot of valuable information for anyone contemplating business ownership. So much good information, we decided to publish it on this blog. The first installment has appeared on this blog. Today, we publish the second and final installment. Put on your thinking cap and more...

If you’re smart, you’ve learned what not to say in a romantic relationship. You’d never tell a woman she looked fat in a dress or tell a man he was losing his hair. But have you learned what not to say in a business relationship? Recently, CareerBuilder.com put together a list of some of most inappropriate things you could say in the workplace. Listen to my advice, and you’ll write a business plan for success. You’d think a lot of this was common sense, but I admit I’ve heard so many of these lines before.  For example, if you say "That's not my job," There’s more...

Unless you’ve been out of the country for the last 12 months or so, you are keenly aware of the foreclosure crisis and the ripples - and opportunities - it has caused for U.S. real estate investors. If you are one of the many investors who decided that a bench on the sidelines might be the best place to wait until things cool down, I’d urge you to think about commercial real estate, which remains another area where adventurous investors can make terrific investments today. Students who enroll in our premier real estate course, The Real Estate Investor Training Program, learn cutting-edge strategies more...

 Recently I read a question in Money Magazine where a reader wrote in asking what to do about terrible service in a restaurant. She said that the food was good but the waiter got the orders wrong, ignored the diners for long stretches of time, and was horribly rude every time he did appear. The person who wrote the letter wanted to leave the waiter next to nothing, but her friend insisted on tipping close to 15 percent. She wanted to know who was right. The magazine editors sided with the letter writer, saying she should’ve left the waiter a dollar, just enough to more...

On January 17, Trump University Professor Richard Parker wrote a post on this blog, entitled Seven Reasons Why Buying a New Franchise Business Is a Disastrous Mistake. It triggered a strong response from Trump University Member 1711781, who offered arguments in support of franchise ownership. Professor Parker has now responded to member 1711781. The result is an exchange that contains a lot of valuable information for anyone contemplating business ownership. So much good information, we are publishing it today on this blog. Due to the length of this post, the post will appear in two installments: the first half today, and the second half more...