Say HELLO To My Little Friend...

Love'em or hate'em, city (municipal) inspectors have a job to do. Some don't appreciate the way they do their job, or they way they're perceived to be doing their job, but if you intend to efficiently accomplish what you want in the world of real estate, you better learn to love'em, even when you think you probably hate'em....

Fact is, dealing with (building, plumbing, etc.) inspectors is a lose lose proposition unless you bite your lip and keep your mouth shut. In fact, making nice (kissing ass) is probably the best approach at ALL times. Unless you've never heard the phrase "you can't beat city hall" you know what I'm talking about. You CAN'T! You can holler and jump up and down all you want, if the man says you need 6" copper pipes to the toilet, he can make you do it! End of story! Unless you want to take the city to court. Yea right.

So, once again, my advice is to play VERY, VERY, VERY nice with the man....if you ever want to see that project get approved! Oh, and, make sure your contractors heed the same advice....or be there when it's meet-with-the-inspector time!

The Glamour of Real Estate

You'll be rich. You'll escape the rat race. You'll get off the merry go round. You can quit your job. You don't need any money. You can do what you want. You won't have to punch a clock. People will envy you. Did I mentioned you'll be rich?

All of the above and MORE are the promises of more than a dozen or so local real estate gurus just dying for you to give them $4,000, $5,000, $9,500 or more to show you how to instantly achieve all of the above AND more!

When you're there ask them about these unglamorous topics:

Uncooperative and/or deadbeat tenants; vacant properties and how to keep them secure, not to mention keeping squatters out; the ramifications of possession and stupid things like what happens if a tenant leaves and there are possessions left in YOUR property; Property Managers and their ilk; dealing with city-owned utilities like Philly's PGW and Philly water and the spectre of liens from tenants not paying their bills; mechanics liens (yea, that's a good one)... The list can go on and on and on. The point is not to scare you or even to dissuade you from investing, actually to the contrary. But get into it with your eyes WIDE open! And cut through the mountains of BS you're gonna hear on your way in!

Go Ahead, Make My Point!

As I ranted about recently, the economy, and how it affects the populace, and in turn, how the people affect the economy, is largely about perception. Here is case-in-point. From the Chester County Daily Local's ViewPoint guest column in yesterday's edition comes this ditty from Joel L. Naroff, the chief economist for Commerce Bank. It is entitled Whatever You Call It, Economic Conditions Are Not Good. His first sentence is "The economy managed to eke out another quarter of growth during the first part of this year." Hmm, so far so good, or is that bad? His next sentence, "But that will not change how anyone feels: We are in a major slowdown and it is irrelevant whether we technically meet the criteria for a recession." Um, excuse me but, and I'm certainly no economist, but I thought the fundamental definition of recession... well, actually, here is the definition from investorwords.com: A period of general economic decline; specifically, a decline in GDP for two or more consecutive quarters. More from Mr. Naroff: "The economy actually managed to expand during the first three months of the year. Of course, a second consecutive 0.6% growth rate is hardly saying much."

Wow, talk about negative spin! In Philadelphia, where the perception of our sports fans is bad and worse, the term Negadelphia was coined by a local talk radio host. I now crown Mr. Naroff NegaEconomaniac!

Yes, just keep on spewing negativity whether the facts stand in the way or not. Now I'm not gonna try and say that 0.6% growth is something to stand up and cheer, but to me it represents an economy with underpinnings that are trying to maintain an even keel despite all the negative news and undercurrents wobbling consumer confidence. So, let me get the facts straight here. The economy grew by 0.6% EACH of the last two quarters. The definition of a recession is two straight quarters of decline. Hmmm, what exactly is the goal of mis-stating the facts here? Or is is just ignorance?

Anyway, whatever I call it, the economy is not in a recession. That's a fact.

Wilmington Done, Baby Done

Well, finally, the Wilmington project has drawn to a close and the sale sign is UP! Only a few final touches remain to truly be finished, hanging six more blinds and putting some window treatments on the barren front door, but those can wait. For now the focus is on getting some interested parties in to drool and make an offer! I'm acting like a seller for now, and not like a Realtor and am actually not taking our Delaware Realtor's advice on price, which also flies in the face of practical investor pricing practices, but we'll see how it goes.

In a very short time I will post the numbers for this project for all to see!

Yes, I'm a Sinner...

...go ahead and whip me, whip me good for I am a sinner! Yes, I'm a damn sinner! It's been over a week without a post and THAT is a sin in the world of BLOGS.

Interestingly (yes, I'm evading the subject) there was quite a controversy brewed up during that week regarding the world of the BLOG and the sports world and the responsibilities, or lack thereof regarding what is spewed in these BLOGs. Well, not THIS BLOG, but important ones about life and death stuff like baseball and football.

Um, last I heard the sport of BLOGging is all about personal commentary and I'm not sure exactly what responsibilities go along with having and writing ones own opinion. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot we now live in the world of political correctness where no one is supposed to offend anyone else with an opposing opinion on anything....

So, anyway, yes, I've been lax for the last week keeping up with my BLOGsponsibilities. Well, it's because I've been busy, yea, that's it, I've been busy....

The First $2-Billion Home Is Coming

The world’s largest and most expensive home will be completed in January.The 27-story skyscraper in downtown Mumbai, India, will be the residence of Mukesh Ambani and his wife Nita. Ambani, head of Mumbai-based petrochemical company Reliance Industries, is the fifth richest man in the world.The couple who have three children, are custom designing their $2 billion property with help from architecture firms Perkins + Will and Hirsch Bedner Assoc., based in Dallas and Los Angeles respectively.

The home will have 400,000 square feet of interior space, nine elevators, a ballroom and a section for security guards and assistants to relax.There will also be an ice room where residents and guests can escape the Mumbai heat and be dusted by man-made snow flurries.

Source: Forbes, Matt Woolsey (04/30/2008)

Okay, so like what exactly do five people need with 400,000 sq ft?

And the Beat, Well, Keeps On Beating...

Of course the self-imposed Tuesday deadline for the GC to finish up in Wilmington came and went as expected. But on Friday things were pretty close to complete and the "final" cleaning was to have started. U&O inspection is scheduled for Monday, so keeping our toes crossed the house should be on the market the beginning of this week, only 10 weeks and $20k over budget.... But it is nice...

What Does THIS Mean To You?

The number of vacant homes for sale in the United States set a new record in the first quarter of 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Monday.The Census Bureau reported that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes or 2.28 million properties, not including rentals, were vacant and for sale. It was the highest quarterly number as far back to 1956 when records of such vacancies were first kept.

The West had the biggest gain in vacancy rates among home owners, rising to 3.2 percent in the January-March period from 2.6 percent in the same quarter a year earlier. Vacancy rates inched up in the Northeast and remained steady in the Midwest and South.

Source: The Associated Press, Alan Zibel (04/28/08)

I suppose this reflects the uptick in foreclosures and other distressed situations. I also assume this implies that there are that many more motivated sellers. Unfortunately, it also implies that many more REO (bank-owned) properties are sitting there. And we know how difficult it can be to get some of those financial institutions to perk up and respond to an offer on those vacant properties rather than let them sit and decay...