Archives for September 2011

Understanding Property Taxes

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Property taxes can be a major expense for investors, but understanding how this tax works could save you thousands of dollars in the long run.

The first thing to learn about property tax is that property is divided into two categories: real and personal. Real property includes land, buildings and permanent property attached to land— such as a well. Personal property is everything else, including clothes, books, electronics, furniture and financial holdings. Personal property is further divided into either tangible property or intangible property. Tangible property is anything you can touch, such as a sofa or a blender and intangible property includes abstract possessions like stocks, bonds and patents.

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National Economic Outlook (September 2011)

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Read the newspapers and we're at the brink: Global Gloom, Deepening Pessimism, Markets Drop Sharply. Is another Great Depression just around the corner? Is the US slumping to a decade of stagnation a la Japan? Is China now eating the lunch we thought we had bought cheap? Is our financial system just a Vegas vacation, making the house rich but producing no growth?

The answer is no, even though China is nibbling at that burrito and bankers are at the slots. The hero coming to the rescue of the US economy is that trusty favorite, the US Consumer. It's a Consumer with flaws, like any modern hero, with a tendency to binge, and again wielding the weapon that often leads to trouble: the Credit Card.

After 28 straight months of pulling back on the reins, consumers have finally found a level of debt that feels good enough to allow more spending to flow. During those 28 months, the level of consumer debt per person [let's leave mortgages out of this] fell 13 percent, from $8,600 to $7,500. During the last recession with a real estate crash, 20 years ago, consumer debt dropped 14 percent. Sure, many things are different now, but some things aren't.

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Build Your Real Estate Dream Team

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Many entrepreneurs believe that, if you want something done right, do it yourself.  Personally, I believe that is the rationalization of control freaks unwilling to delegate.

In reality, your dream team will help you reach your financial goals faster than you ever can alone.

Sure, you can find motivated sellers and build a great buyer's list on your own, but other tasks require the expertise of others.

Some of the members of your team should include:

  • real estate agents, who can bring you sellers
  • home inspectors, who can spot things you might never notice
  • rehab crews, who can do work in much less time than you could,assuming you want to pick up a hammer
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