Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 4

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 4

TAX ADVANTAGES- Whether you are buying your first home in Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos or you are an investor, there are numerous tax advantages that exist!

You can deduct, as an expense, all of the interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, inspections, and depreciation on your investment real estate- no matter how much you own.

Do not confuse this with the rule for personal residences. While you can only deduct interest on up to 2 personal residences, you can write off unlimited investment interest.

The IRS also allows you to take a paper write off (depreciation). You can depreciate the structure (not the land) as if it would be worth nothing at the end of 27.5 years! Of course we all know that the property will probably be worth much, much more in 27.5 years than it is now -not less. Nevertheless, on a 500,000 house (assuming, for example sake, the structure is worth 80% of the total) we are allowed to write off nearly $15,000 in depreciation alone each year!

Stay tuned for more helpful investment tips!

Marc

For my FREE Newsletter and everything you need to take advantage of the current real estate market go to: http://www.MarcVonMusser.com

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 3

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 3

The next advantage of Investing in North San Diego Real Estate:

LEVERAGE- A great thing about real estate is that you can tie up a big asset with a relatively small amount of money. You can easily buy a $400,000 home with either a zero down or only 10% ($40,000) down payment. To illustrate the power of this, consider this example.

Suppose you bought $40,000 worth of gold, mutual funds, or some other investment. Let’s say that it goes up 10% for the year- not bad. Your investment is now worth $44,000. So your return is 10% of $40,000 = $4,000. Now lets suppose that you take that same $40,000 and put it as a down payment and buy a $400,000 house. Again, let’s say that it goes up 10% for the year. Your property is now worth $440,000!

Your $40,000 investment increased by $40,000. That is a 100% return on your money (not even considering the equity build-up resulting from the constantly decreasing mortgage, cash flow, or tax advantages)! If the property appreciates 20% that home would be worth $480,000, a 200% return on your investment!

"But, Real estate values went down" If you purchased below market, you can still see huge returns. For example, if you bought a home worth $400,000, but you only paid $360,000, and it went up to $440,000 after one year, that's over $80,000 in equity.

If you opted for a zero percent down loan, your investment would increase between $40,000 - $80,000, with little or no initial cost to you! This simply cannot be done with stocks, bonds, mutual funds or gold.

Get started! These conditions WILL NOT LAST! Ask yourself how many real estate booms you've missed thus far, and make a decision to be in front of the next one!

Stay tuned!

Marc

For everything you need to take advantage of the North San Diego Real Estate market and my FREE newsletter go to: http://www.MarcVonMusser.com

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 2

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 2

Let’s look at advantage number 1 in more detail:

APPRECIATION- Over the past 100 years, real estate values have continually increased. There have, of course, been some periods where values decreased, but the overall trend has been nothing but up. Like anything else, the value of real estate is determined by supply and demand. Are people moving to Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos, La Costa? You bet!

In our area, real estate prices have appreciated at least 20% per year for the last 5 years!!! Currently the market has softened quite a bit. So is real estate a bad investment? Not even close!

Economists have commented repeatedly, that this upward trend will continue for at least the next ten years, maybe not as fast, but still upwards. They are predicting almost 1,000,000 more people to move here before 2015! Unfortunately new home starts will only accommodate a small fraction of these new arrivals, thus pushy property values even higher.

Today’s market is prime for great deals!!! Sellers are scared, agents are uninformed and deals ABOUND! The secret to making money is to find homes that will sell at tens of thousands below market! This insulates the investor from market corrections, and increases the return to investor.

So what are the factors that have made real estate in such high demand over the years? One of the main reasons is that shelter is a basic human need. People need places to live, work, and shop where they aren’t exposed to the weather. In periods of high inflation, real estate values go up. Real estate is an investment that benefits from inflation.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting more insider Investment strategies. So whether you want to buy in Oceanside, Carlsbad, La Costa, Vista, San Marcos, Encinitas, Solana Beach, etc. this information will help!

Marc

For everything you need to capitalize on North San Diego Real Estate go to:http://www.MarcVonMusser.com and sign up for my free "Service for Life" newsletter!

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? PART 1

Why Invest In San Diego Real Estate? Part 1

There are truly many advantages of investing in real estate. More millionaires have made their fortunes in real estate than anything else!

Here is what some of the wealthiest Americans have said:

“Real estate is the basis for all wealth.” -Theodore Roosevelt

“Buying real estate is the best, safest way to become wealthy.” -Marshall Fields

“90% of all millionaires made it through real estate.” -Andrew Carnegie

Over the next few days, I'll outline several points about real estate investing. It doesn't matter if you want to buy in Carlsbad, La Costa, San Marcos, Oceanside, etc. the benefits will exist.

So tune in and bookmark this BLOG!

Marc

For more information about Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, La Costa, Bressi Ranch, Encinitas or the rest of San Diego; go to http://www.MarcVonMusser.com

Why even invest in Real Estate?

Why Invest In The First Place?

The sad truth is that only 1 out of 20 Americans is financially independent when they reach retirement. The rest are dependent on family, friends, or charities, and millions exist at the poverty level… literally waiting around to die.

If you plan on spending all your money when you make it and retiring on your social security, you need to wake up from your dreams! Social security is designed to merely provide a supplement to your investments and retirement plan. If Social Security is all you’ve got, you are either going to have to continue working well past normal retirement age, or be living a very meager lifestyle.

You deserve more than that, and you can have it… with some financial discipline and planning.

Why not just put your money in a mattress or safe deposit box? Because inflation will kill you. It will eat away at you money’s value, actually making you poorer and poorer with each day that goes by.

For those of you who need some explanation, inflation is simply the general trend of prices to rise over time. Think back to 25 or 30 years ago. You could buy a nice new car for $5,000. A hamburger for 20 cents. An average new house in Carlsbad for $25,000. You certainly can’t do that today the average priced home is over $600,000. While the prices of some items are actually coming down (computers, for example), the overall trend is up.

This means that over time your money will buy you less and less. For example, if inflation is running at 4% per year, you need to earn 4% on your money just to break even, more if you want to build wealth. You want to invest in things that not only give you a good return, but that also go up in value over time.

Becoming wealthy isn't an accident! Stay tuned for proven strategies and tips that will help you retire RICH!

Marc

Go to http://www.MarcVonMusser.com for everything you'll need to capitalize on North San Diego's real estate market! Whether you want to buy or invest in Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos, La Costa, Encinitas, etc. the principles are the same!

Is the Media reporting the facts?

Is the Media reporting the facts?

The sky is falling! Home sales plung! Record slump! The Bubble has burst! These are just a few of the "National Enquirer" type headlines that have graced much of our media for the last year; but are they accurate?

Yes and No!

Yes... in that sales were less than the year before. Yes... that prices dropped in Carlsbad, San Marcos, Oceanside, etc. Yes... that inventories grew from 2 months supply to 9 months supply! So if that's true, how is this "media spin?"

Easy. You will also not see mentioned that since 1996, homes have more than tripled in value. The median priced home in San Diego grew from $166,000 to over $540,000! Not to mention the additional tax savings that come with ownership!

No headlines mentioning that 2006 was the 3rd best year ever! Sure prices dropped, but why not mention these types of statistics? Simple.....ratings and readership!

Negative news sells better than good news! Negative 'spin' creates better ratings/readership, which turns into better ad revenue.

My word of advice, do your own thinking! If demographic growth estimates are correct, and San Diego adds another 1,000,000 people in the next 10 years, where will they live and what will that do for housing prices? New home growth might help about 100,000 to 300,000; which means housing prices will have more demand than we do now!

Long term investors are ecstatic with current market conditions: low interest rates, lots of inventory, yearly season slow down, media throwing out negative hype to get ratings......things couldn't be better!

Take advantage, these conditions won't last!

All the best
Marc

For everything you need to take advantage of the current real estate market go to: http://www.MarcVonMusser.com

How to Make Money in the current Market!

How to Make Money in the current Market!

Investing is a lot like sailing. A sailor must interpret multiple factors and select, set his sails accordingly.

What direction and how strong are the currents, how strong is the wind, what direction? What are the tides? What is the forecast? How long should the journey take? These are just a few of the variables a sailor must answer if he is to answer the single most factor..... Where does the sailor want to go?

Real estate is very similar. A 1st time home buyer, investor, retiree, etc. must understand some of the variables in today's market to fully capitalize on the current market.

Interest rates are still at 25 year lows, flexible loan programs, current home inventory is high with approximately 6.9 months, many sellers are scared and willing to take less out of fear, economists are saying that the worst looks like it's behind us.

This market has lined up perfectly for investors and homeowners looking to hold for at least 2-5 years. This isn't a buy and flip market, but rather, Buy it right up front and hold it!

So whether you want to buy a home in Carlsbad, Oceanside, San Marcos, La Costa or anywhere in North San Diego, you need to get in the boat!

Let me know what you think.

Marc

For everything you need to prosper in this Real Estate Market go to: http://www.MarcVonMusser.com

Has the Market finally hit bottom?

Has the San Diego market finally hit bottom?

Good news for San Diego real estate. Everyday, more and more economists are saying that if we haven't already hit bottom, we're close!

The most recent came from David Berson, Fannie Mae Chief Economist. Berson told reporters last week that the "biggest declines are behind us. He also said that by mid-year, most of the decline in investment activity should be behind us."

That's great news! This means there is a small window where prices are likely still artifically low, along with low interest. These conditions are prime for investors and 1st time home buyers looking for a long term strategy, as opposed to the buy and flip strategy that was so popular a few years ago!

Have a blessed day!

Marc

Go to http://www.MarcVonMusser.com for everything you need to capitalize on the current real estate market!

I just learned that Oprah will be having a special on "The Secret" on January 31st! I can't recommend this enough!

Here's the press release:
Oprah is hosting a show dedicated to The Secret, tentatively scheduled to air LIVE on January 31st.

If you haven't seen it, this is an empowering movie about designing your life. How to make it what you want! The movie can be watched online for $5, and purchased for around $29.95. You can also see some free clips on YouTube to learn a little bit more about it!

Here's the link to the website: http://theSecret.tv

Enjoy!

Marc

http://www.MarcVonMusser.com for even more helpful tools and information

How to get you Property Taxes Reduced!

The recent price adjustments that have occurred in various parts of San Diego: Carlsbad, Encinitas, Oceanside, San Marcos, Vista, Escondido, Solana Beach, La Costa, etc. can mean that you might be paying too much in property taxes.

Here's why:
Property taxes are based on the assessed value, generally the purchase price. The tax base is around 1.1% when you factor in Mello Roos and special bonds. Meaning if you recently bought your home, say in 2005 or 2006; it is quite possible that the assessed value has gone down.

Note to my clients: Most of my clients purchased way below market value, (between $40,000 to $100,000) so this probably won't affect you, but for others that I didn't represent, it is a strong possibility. Check the recent comparables. If you need help, call me.

For example, I have seen numerous homes that were purchase in 2006 for around $600,000; while the exact same models are now selling for $550,000. A couple of reasons for this: buyers agent was not a skilled negotiator, buyer was not properly educated by agent, offers weren't made to motivated sellers, buyer had their closing costs rolled up into the loan, market shift, reactionary/passive marketing approach by current listing agents, etc.

If this is your situation, here's what you do:

1. Write a letter to:
Assessors Office
Gregory J Smith, County Assessor
1600 Pacific Coast Highway, Room 103
San Diego, CA 92101

2. Submit your justification for why you think you are over paying your taxes: Recent comparables from your area.

3. You will then hear back around July. If you disagree, you can appeal between July 2 and November 30.

WARNING: There are several companies that are charging BIG MONEY to do this for you! Save your money, and do it yourself!

Enjoy!

Marc

http://www.MarcVonMusser.com for more helpful information

Welcome Everyone!

Well based on numerous recommendations, I have finally joined the BLOGGING world! In the past I have provided valuable information about real estate investing, developing wealth, debt reduction, credit repair, etc. to my friends and clients. This same information will be the core topics to this BLOG.

I will post free, helpful information that can change your world! There is no cost for this information, eventhough I have easily spent over $100,000 aquiring it. All I ask is that you provide feedback and suggestions. I want to make this an active BLOG that Helps!

Here are a few of the topics I'll cover:

• Steps to becoming a Real Estate Investor
  
• Real estate vs. Stocks as an investment
  
• How to identify great deals
• How economic factors (unemployment, consumer confidence, housing starts, etc) affect RE investing.
• Credit repair and how it can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars!
• The truth about loans: What lenders Pray you never find out.
• When to buy, where to buy and what to buy for investmentsHow to become financially independent.
• The most common reasons people fail to invest and how to solve them!
• How to identify people to help you become wealthy

You get the idea. My clients already get this information, but they felt it was time to expand the number of people that can benefit.

That's it for now, thanks for reading, here's to a tremendous 2007! Stop by my website http://www.MarcVonMusser.com for everything you need to prosper in the current real estate market! Whether you want to buy a home in Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, La Costa or anywhere in North San Diego, we can help!

All the best
Marc

Marc Von Musser, MBA

http://www.marcvonmusser.com