Dear Gary,
I read your article on financial advisors, and was wondering what your thoughts were for someone who wanted to invest in a few mutual funds and didn’t have enough business to excite most financial advisors but still felt uncomfortable doing it solo.
Anita

Anita asks a good question. Most of us don’t have large amounts of money to invest which limits our attractiveness to financial planners. And with investments becoming more complicated it’s harder for the average guy to know what to do.

Do I understand the nature of tax advice?

What follows is not tax advice. It is simply an overview of some of the federal tax rules affecting real estate investment property. It covers some tax breaks that may be available. Do not rely on this material. For tax advice you need to consult with a tax professional, such as an accountant or tax attorney.

Do I understand profit and loss from a tax perspective?

Hi there. I am a real estate investor up here in Canada and thought I would share some information on the BOOMING Real Estate market in Alberta, Canada. Let me tell you, we are sitting on an absolute Gold Mine…some calling it the Real Estate opportunity of a lifetime.
 
For example, property values in Calgary, AB increased 54% in the last 12 months. We bought a house for $350K 2 years ago and it was just appraised for $545K…an increase of $195K in two years!!!
 
Edmonton, AB increased 28% in the last 8 months. A recent real estate article stated values are increasing at a rate of $160 per day!
 
Heard of the Athabasca Oil Sands in Fort Mcmurray, AB…people are literally renting garages to live in for upwards of $1000 per month because there is no where to live. 2 bedroom condos rent out for $1500-2000 per month and are still relatively afforable selling in the $160-220K range.
 
If you are interested in more information on Real Estate opportunities in Alberta, Canada…drop me an email at mdobson@sasktel.net

About a year ago, I started to notice that the Real Estate market started to change. Rates were starting to go up even though they where at the lowest in 30 years.

Started to notice that many homes where not selling so I decided to put one of my homes on the Market in Kings County.

I had bougtht it for $163,000. Only put down 5% down. I decided to sell it for a wopping $245,000. The buyers expections was to get in as low as possible. So she did only putting down 10% and I would carry 10% on top of it.

As you do more investing, you will want to master creative financing. Your ability to construct creative financial Terms might get you into deals you might not otherwise be able to do. In some markets, as I experienced in the late 1970s and again in the late 1980s, creative financing may be the only way to get transactions done. There comes a time when conventional and institutional financing can be overly expensive or not available. This situation may be caused by general economic conditions or your personal financial position. Once you have a number of properties, institutional lenders may place limits on what they will lend you as an investor. You may have to wait until you have the equity in or positive cash flow from your properties that they require in order to lend you more. Finally, sometimes sellers have specific situations that may require or allow creative financing. This presents a unique opportunity to construct a creative transaction that meets the seller’s goals and still works for you.