12/26/10: Getting Started in Real Estate Investing…for the First, Second or Third Time!
Donald Trump is probably the most famous “real estate guy” who made it big, lost it all, then made it all back bigger and better than before. What took him down you ask? In his book, The Art of the Comeback, the Donald says it was complacency and The Tax Reform Act of 1986. Remember that one? It was that wonderful piece of legislation that crashed the real estate market and wiped out the Savings & Loan industry. Oops.
Our point? Actually, there’s a few, such as how important it is to pay close attention (the opposite of complacency) to ANYTHING (including boring politics) that might affect the flow of money into any asset class – especially real estate. That’s one reason why we’ve had so many economists on over the last several months. Which brings us to the main point of this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show, which is to address the question: What is the best way to move forward in this market based on all of the lessons of past markets?
Pulling the sleigh of broadcast excellence over the mountains and through the hills (and valleys) of the currently snow covered real estate landscape:
- Robert, the red-nosed show host, Helms
- Russell, the noseless co-host, Gray (brown was the only color left in the box and he didn’t want to wear it)
When navigating your own real estate investing sleigh through the foggy night of post-recession real estate, it’s very handy to have a shiny red nosed guide (beer consumption does serve a valuable investment purpose!). There’s nothing like experience to light the way for those just starting out. And with low prices, a growing population, low interest rates, more renters, and less new building, it sure looks like a GREAT time to get started – or for those who got lost in the last financial blizzard, re-started and pointed in the right direction.
Focusing on the right fundamentals is essential to long term success. Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi is said to have begun each year’s training camp by addressing his team of professional athletes. Lombardi would hold up a football and state the obvious, “Gentleman, this is a football.” In other words, start at the beginning and build your career on a solid foundation of fundamentals.
So whether you’re brand new or a seasoned vet looking to kick off the New Year on the right foot, listen in as we unwrap some of the lessons of markets passed and hang ornaments of wisdom on your real estate investing tree. Lots of people paid a big price for all these valuable lessons, so even though you get them for next to nothing, don’t overlook their importance.
May the New Year bring you and yours health, wealth and happiness!
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8/8/10: Don’t Say I Didn’t Warn You! Peter Schiff Reveals How He Predicted the Crash
WHO KNEW the crash was coming? Lots of people have been reverse engineering the causes of the financial crisis. It’s easy(er) to be smart when operating from hindsight. But when someone gets it right for the right reasons BEFORE the event occurs…well, that’s just impressive.
Peter Schiff is one of the few guys who called it way in advance. Not only that, but he put it in writing in his 2006 book Crash Proof (the updated version Crash Proof 2.0 is now on our recommended reading list).
Even more impressive is that Schiff appeared on a whole host of TV shows sounding the warning. But people literally LAUGHED at him, as you’ll see in the 10 minute video below. And there are many other videos of Peter aggressively debating all kinds of people – including next week’s guest on The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show, Steve Forbes.
Featured on this week’s episode:
- Your host, Robert Helms
- Co-host, Russell Gray
- Fund manager, economist, author and outspoken commentator, Peter Schiff
Politics aside (Schiff is running for the Republican nomination for Senate in Connecticut - with the endorsement of Steve Forbes!), considering what Peter predicted and what actually happened, how can you not be at least curious? It was that curiosity that had us go to Las Vegas for Freedom Fest in July, where we were exposed to many economists who follow the Austrian school of thought. There isn’t any way in a blog post to explain all we learned, but a recommended homework assignment is to review the major tenets of the Austrian viewpoint versus Keynesian. We think you’ll find it very interesting, if not highly enlightening!
What we’re really interested in is being able to best anticipate macroeconomic influences that are likely to impact the value of our real estate, the strength of the jobs market, the growth of wages (which fuels growth in rents); and the cost and availability of loans. We don’t care if you’re Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, fans of rap or a drinker of light beer (okay, we find the last one a little offensive) -if you have something to say that proves true and makes sense, we’re interested. Peter Schiff is a guy that has proven true and seems to makes sense.
So for this entire show, we ask Peter to tell us to our face how he knew the crisis was coming and what’s going to happen next. Based on his track record, we think he’s a guy worth listening to. Check it out and let us know what YOU think!
The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show provides ideas, perspectives and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
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8/1/10: Economics, Politics and Real Estate – Interviews from Freedom Fest 2010
If you’re one of those who take The Real Estate Guys™ to the gym, make sure you carbo load first! This one’s a whopper! Our radio audience only got an hour, but the podcast audience gets the whole enchilada. That way whether you like American or Mexican, there’s something for everyone.
A few weeks back, we went to Las Vegas for the 7th Annual Freedom Fest conference. This was our first time and we weren’t sure what to expect. But after our previous interview with event founder, economist Mark Skousen, we thought it would be worthwhile. It turned out even better than we thought!
After being near the epicenter of the financial earthquake which rocked the real estate portfolios of even the most experienced investors, we’ve put a big emphasis on studying economics. Who cares if you’re expert at fixing up properties, managing tenants or putting together syndications if property values are crashing, tenants don’t have jobs, loans aren’t available, and people are too scared to act?
So we started looking for people who saw it coming, put their predictions in writing and got it right for the right reasons. Hindsight’s often 20/20, but seeing the storm coming 
while there’s still time to shutter the windows is better. You might not be able to avoid bad economic weather, but with advance notice at least you can prepare!
We looked at the lineup of speakers at Freedom Fest and decided this would surely be an eye-opening experience. We were especially excited about Peter Schiff, author of Crash Proof 2.0 (a highly recommended read!). Schiff called the crisis for the right reasons – and way ahead of time. We’re happy to say we got a lengthy interview with Mr. Schiff to see what he’s thinking now – which is the feature of our next show.
While we’re boasting about awesome interviews, we also had a chance to talk with billionaire CEO of Forbes Magazine and former Presidential candidate, Steve Forbes. That interview is coming up in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned! The best way to be sure you don’t miss any of our exciting episodes is to subscribe to our podcast via iTunes (shameless plug). 
Today’s episode is about talking to LOTS of people! It was like one of those speed dating sessions. Robert sat at the microphone from early morning to late at night, and Russ rounded up a long line of interesting people to interview.
Featured in this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show:
- Your host, Robert Helms
- Co-host and cat herder, Russell Gray
And a long parade of very special guests (in order of appearance):
Jeffrey Verdon, Attorney, talks about estate planning and asset protection strategies utilized by wealthy individuals; including off-shore entities and a very interesting technique for funding life insurance.
Dave Fessler, Energy & Infrastructure Expert for the Oxford Club. Dave discusses his views on the future of energy and infrastructure and their impact on jobs and the economy. He also comments on “the paradox of thrift” – how consumer savings is actually fueling the recession. He tells us how long he thinks it’s going to last, and where he believes America’s best chance for job creation are right now.
Bob Bauman, Attorney, Former U.S. Congressman, Founder of The Sovereign Society; shares his thoughts on offshore investment, asset protection, second citizenship and the growing interest many people have in diversifying globally.
Vernon Jacobs, CPA, is an expert in international taxation. Vern tells us what to consider when investing or employing asset protection strategies offshore.
Robert Barnes, Attorney, is part one of two back to back interviews with lawyers from a premier tax and investment fraud law firm that went 3 for 3 (that’s pretty good!) in three of the top four high profile tax cases in the U.S. (you’d recognize the names). Mr. Barnes reveals the worst thing you can do when contacted by the IRS.
Robert Bernhoft, Attorney, is part two of our tax and investment fraud attorney interviews. Mr. Bernhoft describes what you can do to proactively avoid problems with both your investors and regulators; and shares how his firm uses specialized “non-litigation” techniques to recover misappropriated funds without going to court.
Steve Hochberg, Chief Market Analyst for Elliott Wave, works closely with Robert Prechter. Prechter’s 2002 NY Times best seller, Conquer the Crash, accurately predicted the current financial crisis. While everyone is running scared of inflation, Steve says DEFLATION is actually the big near term threat. He believes we are “on the precipice of the greatest stock market decline of our lifetime.”
Patri Friedman, Executive Director and Chairman of the Board of The Seasteading Institute. A city on the sea? Really??? Before you write it off as Looney Tunes, go to their website and look at their management team. These guys are all brilliant. We’re talking Stanford, Harvard, Yale. Wow. Have you heard of Pay Pal? Yeah,the founder is on their board. And why were they at Freedom Fest? Take a listen!
Leon Louw, Executive Director of the Free Market Foundation, all the way from South Africa! Why? To raise money to advance property ownership rights for blacks in South Africa. For what it’s worth, we didn’t see any evidence of racism at Freedom Fest, though it was full of “tea baggers”. Obviously, Leon felt people at the event would be supportive of his cause. From our observations he was right. But this isn’t a political interview. any more than our show is political. We just want to understand what people are thinking and doing, and how it creates or undermines real estate opportunities. Think about the ramifications on demand in a market where a large part of the population, formerly locked out, suddenly has access to buy property. Very interesting stuff.
Terry Coxon, author of Unleash Your IRA, shares a powerful concept for maximizing your Individual Retirement Account. We thought we knew all about this topic, but Terry shares a strategy we hadn’t considered. Now we’re hyped to read his book. With the demise of home equity, and a growing number of people predicting a tough stock market (at best); and lending getting even tighter from financial reform, we think IRA’s and rollover 401k’s are one of the BEST sources of private investment capital. That makes this a topic worth exploring!
Ron Holland, editor of two financial newsletters and 30 year financial industry veteran, has something to say on the topic of IRA’s. And it’s concerning. He shares what he thinks is the greatest threat to your retirement account.
Terry Easton, author of Refounding America and contributor to Human Events. Terry is uber-conservative / Libertarian and has a lot to say on the topics of economics, politics and real estate. We came to hear a lot of opinions and it just so happens that Terry has a lot of opinions. But since they come from a long history of study and involvement, we think they’re worth listening to.
All in all, Freedom Fest was a great experience and we’re very likely to attend next year’s event. We met great people, got valuable insights, and had our paradigms stretched (we’ve been icing them since we got back). Most of all, we see the economy and real estate from a much broader perspective. As we continue to seek out markets, opportunities and product niches to invest in, we are convinced a bigger perspective will pay huge dividends.
Remember – our next two episodes feature our interviews with Peter Schiff and Steve Forbes!
The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show provides ideas, perspectives and resources to help real estate investors succeed.
This podcast brought to you in part by Audible.com. To download a FREE audiobook of your choice, click here.
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7/25/10: Entrepreneurs in the New Economy – Getting Paid to Solve Problems
Do you remember the old “new” economy? That was the one where technology companies could go public without profit. In some cases, they didn’t even need revenue. Ahhhh, those were the days.
The new “new” economy (the Great Recession one) hasn’t been nearly as fun – unless you’re an old school entrepreneur. That’s the kind who looks at problems as opportunities. Guys (and gals) like that are having a lot of fun right now because there are opportunities galore coming out of the Great Recession.
The Real Estate Guys™ headed off to Freedom Fest in Las Vegas a few weeks back. We heard that money manager / economist / author / Senate candidate Peter Schiff would be there (among many other people with very strong opinions about the U.S. economy) and we wanted to do some interviews. We’re happy to report we got lots of great stuff, including Mr. Schiff and the CEO of Forbes Magazine, Steve Forbes. Watch for those interviews in future broadcasts.
So we fly into Las Vegas in our private jet (the one operated by Southwest Airlines), and get to the convention venue and start setting up our booth. Before the event had even started, a man stops by and sees our banner for Belize (we were promoting our upcoming field trip to Belize) and asks a few questions. The short of it is that we find out he’s working on a very exciting project in the Caribbean – one that solves a problem we’ve been trying to figure out too. Russ gets so excited that he hugs the guy. Very weird.
After the appropriate apologies and some follow up male bonding, our new friend agrees to do a radio interview. And that’s what this broadcast is all about.
Manning the microphones for this edition of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show:
- Your host, the Larry King of real estate radio, Robert Helms
- Co-host, our “I love you, man” booth babe, Russell Gray
- Special Guest, Investment Banker, Entrepreneur and assault victim, Jeff Villwock
Any time we get around smart people, we jump on the opportunity to talk with them. In this case, Russ literally jumped on Jeff. When Jeff recovered, we got him on the mic, so you can listen to what he’s doing, where he’s doing it and why. There’s lots of lessons to be gleaned!
Freedom Fest is an event that attracts people with strong political opinions. In many of the interviews we did there, those opinions come out. Great! We think the world works better when people respectfully debate important issues. Sharing ideas is among the most sacred of our freedoms, especially if you’re radio guys.
We also realize that the U.S. (the bulk of our audience) is pretty polarized right now. Now, we love our entire audience and our show isn’t political. However, policies affect economics and economics affects real estate. There shouldn’t be a serious student of real estate who can look at the last several years and deny that. So politics are going to get into the discourse from time to time, which is a very good thing.
We think these Freedom Fest interviews are great. If you disagree with the political views of our guests, don’t let that get in the way of hearing what’s being said. Here’s why: a big part of real estate investing is understanding demographics and human nature. How people think and believe affects where they (and their money) will be moving. Even if you disagree with them, if they believe it, it will affect their actions. So YOU need to understand them (even if you disagree) if you want to anticipate their behavior.
Did we mention that Jeff’s project is in St. Kitts? It just so happens that St. Kitts is one of the stops on our upcoming 9th Annual Summit at Sea! So we ask Jeff if we can visit his project as part of our already planned real estate shore excursion in St. Kitts. Not only does Jeff agree to allow us to visit, he says he’ll meet us there and show us around. Awesome!
Once again, we’re reminded of the importance of getting out of our cubicles and into the world where real people are. No doubt that virtual networking is powerful, but just as phones did not replace face to face meetings, neither will social media replace conventions as a great place to make important connections. This is one of the reasons we attend trade shows and promote our field trips and the Summit at Sea™. It’s a great way to get to know great people in the real world. We hope to see YOU at one very soon!
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6/20/10: Real World Economics with Dr. Mark Skousen
If you haven’t figured it out by now, macro-economic policy can create pain or pleasure on Main Street USA. We’ve also discovered that what pains Main Street USA can pain the entire world! So even though it sounds super boring, we decided it made sense to talk about macro-economics and related policy. Of course, to do this we needed to get someone way smarter than us. But when it comes to real estate, the danger of listening to most economists is that they’re primarily academics with very little practical experience. And often, whatever real world experience they do have is limited to just one state or country. So imagine how refreshing and enlightening it would be to talk with a bona fide economist who thinks like a businessperson AND has real world real estate experience – not just in the US, but abroad!
That sounds like a TALL order! Fortunately, when it comes to great radio show guests (and beer), tall orders are our specialty!
Bellying up to the radio bar to talk economics and politics are:
- Your bartender and host, Robert Helms
- Busboy and co-host, Russell Gray
- Chief patron and Godfather of Real Estate Estate, Bob Helms
- Economist, businessman, investor and really big brain, Dr. Mark Skousen
We hop right into the conversation by reflecting briefly on how the experiences of the last few years highlight the direct connection between macro-economic policy and Main Street reality. We barley get started before we realize we’re in over our heads, so we draft our special guest into the conversational brew.
Dr. Skousen quickly helps us get a handle on the topic. In addition to having a big brain and formal training, Dr. Skousen’s background as a columnist at Forbes Magazine and his role as the promoter of the annual Freedom Fest conference allows him to tap into the insights of such notable folks as Steve Forbes, Peter Schiff, John Mackey and many more. In fact, The Real Estate Guys™ are headed to Freedom Fest in fabulous Las Vegas in just a few weeks to expand our minds and meet some of these interesting people!
Dr. Skousen reminds us that real estate economic cycles are long and sometimes slow. He also explains why, unlike others in the past, one particular asset class bubble managed to affect (infect?) the entire financial system of the world. His comments remind us how truly influential real estate is across all segments of an economy.
Now we thought Dr. Skousen might have a dark (or least amber) economic outlook. But our fears turned pale, as the good doctor served up a forecast of sunshine. He shares the reasons for his optimism and reveals what he believes is the single most important ingredient for sustainable recovery. However, he also expresses his concerns over certain currently policies which he says are actually delaying economic growth. Then he talks specifically about one area of real estate investing which he says has been showing real promise. Not surprising, it has to do with the private sector providing some much needed liquidity. How appropriate!
Long time listeners of The Real Estate Guys™ know we’re big fans of international diversification. Dr. Skousen shares his personal experiences of living and working abroad and how, through his activities in Freedom Fest, he’s seen a marked increase in US citizens’ interest in off-shore investing and strategies. Wow! We didn’t know so many people were listening to The Real Estate Guys™.
Like our beer drinking, we have a great time with this show. We think you will too!
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Historic election stunner in Massachusetts! What does it mean? Why should you care?
If you’re a die hard, true blue Democrat, you’re bummed. And if you’re a progressive liberal with a groupie crush on Barack Obama, you’re borderline suicidal.
On the other hand, if you’re a dyed in the wool, gun-toting Republican, you’re thrilled. And if you’re an ultra-conservative, Obama demonizing, big government conspiracy theorist, you’re euphoric – and possibly hung over.
But what if you’re just a regular American, who goes to work everyday, pays your bills, and are busy trying to navigate all this change while you’re building toward financial security – and maybe even financial independence? In that case, it seems, you’re in the majority.
You see, this isn’t about which team won. The talking heads, though they feign “objectivity”, all really have a team they’re pulling for. But when things get really tough, most Americans don’t care about political parties. They don’t care WHO is right. They want to work and enjoy the fruits of their labor. And right now, it seems, they want more balance.
“Healthy tension” is a more accurate word to describe “balance” or a move to the middle. Massachusetts, like it or not, was a move to the middle. This is the place where Americans seem to be the most comfortable.
Back in the old days, people would have antennas on their house to capture the television broadcast signals. These antennas were up on poles that could be 10 feet or taller! To hold them up, the homeowner would attach wire 
cables high up the antenna pole and then to 3 or more corners of the roof. Then they’d cinch those cables up real tight so they pulled against each other with the antenna stuck securely in the middle, where it stood tall and strong against the gusts of winds and storms that would blow against it.
Of course, if one cable snapped – or even stretched and lost its resiliency – the antenna became unbalanced. In this weakened state, even a modest storm could easily knock it down. When this occurred, the homeowner would get up there and tighten up (or replace) the loose one and restore healthy tension.
The American people, in their wisdom, using their rights of free speech and to vote, have jumped up on the roof of the house and are attempting to restore healthy tension. If you’re on one side or the other, you don’t like it because you have to work so much harder and wait so much longer to advance your agenda. To which the people in the middle, say, “Good.”
When things get too extreme one way or the other, or if things change so fast that people can’t keep up (whether that’s in understanding the change or adapting to it), then Americans want to move to the middle. That’s where they are comfortable. That’s where they feel safe. That’s where they have confidence.
Now there’s an interesting word. Confidence. Don’t they say that consumer confidence is the key to economic recovery?
Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan were opposite in many ways, yet America thrived under both. The reasons can be debated, but one worthy of consideration is that both were great communicators held in check by an opposite party Congress (just as their respective Congresses were held in check by them). People felt like they knew what was going on and it wasn’t too much too fast.
So, as we often ask, what does this have to do with you and your real estate investing?
Well, in our (not always so humble) opinion, quite a lot actually. Here’s why (and it’s pretty simple):
When things are changing too fast, it demands too much of our attention. When people are uncertain and uncomfortable, they don’t act until the dust settles. Without the American people taking action, nothing happens. You can’t legislate motivation or confidence. And we’re finding out, you can’t stimulate it either. It’s the product of an environment.
Conversely, when things are chugging along at a comfortable pace, people can make plans. They can assess risks and take action. Americans are not the kind of people who like to be taken for a ride – no matter who’s driving. We like to be in our own driver’s seat. This is especially true of entrepreneurs and small business owners. When people are confident they start businesses, they hire people, they make investments, they spend money. In case you hadn’t guessed, this is all very good for the economy and for your real estate.
Your personal satisfaction with the election results is really just a function of which side you’re “pulling” for. Whichever side that is really doesn’t matter (for purposes of this discussion). What’s important is that everyone is pulling and that the tension pulls us into the middle. That’s good, not because of the policies or the gridlock, but because it makes the majority comfortable and eventually confident. We know it’s hard to get excited when your team “loses”. But this recent election isn’t the big win or big loss so many want to make it out to be. It’s a glimmer of hope for one group and a reality check for another. It’s tense, which is what makes it good long term for the economy and for your real estate.
Even more good news: it will take time for a renewed healthy tension to restore confidence. And even more time for that confidence to actually show up in the economy – because most people take a Wait and See approach.
This is where YOU have opportunity. Because when the swells of recovery are rising on the horizon and the 
average person isn’t moving until it’s upon them, there’s still a lot of time for you to get in position to ride the next wave. Keeping with the surfing analogy, not every swell will turn into a wave you can ride. But some will. So, proceed carefully, but proceed. As we like to say, Think and Do is better than Wait and See. Surf’s up!
