Announcement 1: The Secret Life Of Michael Ross

Hi Duane,

A few thoughts for you...

Buy Affordable real estate in small towns, especially Waterfront.

There's more Available than most think even Today...

Smart Boomers... way back Knew that small town real estate and... http://www.acreages.com/

Would turn a few dollars into Millions as the Growth of populations & cities long term would have only one place to Go.... into Major expansion of Cities...

If you're looking for ideas as to where one could look or how to determine the Future Growth Potential of an area Talk to Seniors who Are/Were involved in businesses and real estate...

I get Great Free investment information from a Barber who's in his 80's who Shares his life knowledge of what he would buy Today... Doesn't need that much money anymore...

And Actually neither do most people if they would only add a little bit of Real Estate and Diversification into their Portfolios... 2, 3, 4... Properties can Do just fine...

Depressed real estate in most Locations will always Do well long term before most retire...

Here's an interesting real estate web concept...

Steve Gillman shares excellent affordable information and a Simple business web model worth Studying...

http://www.housesunderfiftythousand.com/
http://www.webhikerllc.com/

If you have a little extra money consider some BC real estate...

Mild winters, retirement heaven... Always a Great long term investment... No matter where your home base is...

Phil

Duane,

Here's another one to throw into the swing of things.
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3768

Phil

Hi Phil,

Thanks for expanding the geographic scope of my thinking.

Small towns and waterfront property sound like a great longer term investment approach.

I like your idea about talking to seniors and getting
their life knowledge in regard to real estate. I do this frequently in other
areas. Shaves years off the darn learning curve LOL.

"BC eh?" Aaall the way at the other end of the country.

Hmm I guess when it comes to purely R.O.I ... geographic location is irrelevant.

Thanks for the tips and links Phil

Duane Adolph

Originally Posted by Phil

Duane,

Here's another one to throw into the swing of things.
http://www.sowpub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3768

Phil

Duane,

Thanks for asking.

...where does Manny make his money? ( a fee for negotiating the contract perhaps?)

Manny makes his money when you Buy In to his program - and - when you have him create a Contract for you. He can create a CFD without you Buying In, but it costs you more money that way.

Don't quote me on this, but I think his prices are something like $250 for a contract when you Buy In and $500 if you don't. Either way, still cheaper than a normal lawyers creating one for you.

I'm curious if you have any specific criteria or benchmarks you look for in regard to your rule #1 i.e "Buy in a Future Growth Area (rents will be higher compared to prices)"

I've lived in 3 different cities in two different states and the single thing that comes Before ALL Growth is...

Infrastructure!

And the thing with Infrastructure is, the full effects can take years to happen.

A new two or three lane motorway into an area can create ten to fifteen years of growth.

The city I live in now, I have identified Two areas with Good Future Growth prospects. Both are... slightly out of the city (not too far to travel to work daily) and both are benefiting from Infrastructure Improvement and Planned Infrastructure Improvement.

Without infrastructure - and I am referring to roads and rails and transport stuff - it's hard for people to move to those areas. Give them quicker transport and the place will take off.

Just today I was speaking to an old friend I haven't seen in 18 years. He was telling me all about the suburb we used to live in back then. There are two new motorways into the area and a new train line. And as a result, what was a no growing to slow growing place is now taking off. And much of the surrounding countryside is now ALL housing estates. The major shopping center has doubled in size, the town center shopping center has also expanded, as have some of the clubs. (A far cry from when I lived there and a major developer had to offload 3/4 of the development to the Govt Welfare Housing because he couldn't find anyone to buy it!)

I used to work at Australia's Wonderland - think Canada's Wonderland for a idea. The place closed in 2004 and was demolished in 2005, but there is now motorway access into that neck of the city and things have gone gangbusters. What used to take around 2 hours to travel into the city, now takes around 30 minutes.

It also helps if the population of the city is growing. For that you'll need to contact your local authorities.

And through it all, you'll need to keep your finger on the pulse of what's going on in your city. The two main areas I have identified were not viable 15 years ago. But now they are. As is a Third area that *I* avoid because everyone is talking about it - so prices are already artificially higher than they would be (still okay for most people to invest but *I* can get better bang for my buck elsewhere).

You could say, if the area was not viable 15 years ago but is now, doesn't that mean it was viable back then?

Well no, because no-one wanted to live there, the place was stagnating, prices were dead flat and places were empty for months at a time (even with dirt cheap rent and one month's free rent). No infrastructure was planned at the time.

But things change. And since then, infrastructure has occurred. Just enough to make the places viable but not enough to drive the prices through the roof, yet. But over the next five to ten years, things in those areas will be skyrocketing.

For example: Most housing in the city is $350k++. But just 30 minutes drive into those two areas and you can buy condos and townhouses for $130k to $180K and houses for $190k - $240k with rents around 5.2% or better. (You cannot find a condo or townhouse within 20 minutes of the city for under $250k, so these places are little goldmines.)

Infrastructure is moving into the areas - and there is also The Ripple Effect. Think a pebble in a pond and waves rippling out. Think of those waves as Price Rise waves. They start in close and gradually move out - along the infrastructure lines.

In this country, some smaller rural towns Seem like good places to invest. But what drives those prices is other investors and not true Living Demand. I avoid such artificial Flavor of The Month investing.

Anyway. MY experience tells me, New as well as Upgraded infrastructure points you in the direction of Future Growth. But make sure your city's population is also growing.

Michael Ross

[GordonJ]

Hi Duane,

If you want to SEE this concept, spend a few minutes and

Go to google maps. Type in Boston Heights, OH 44236

Use the HYBRID map. Find Rt 8 and Interstate 80. OK you are there.

You'll see a golf course on the corner of E. Hines Hill Rd and Rt. 8. That course CLOSED this year.

What is happening here is that from 303 to the South on Rt. 8 to Rt. 82 is being transformed into a 4 lane highway. Rt. 8 "Expressway" ends at 303.

So this whole 10 mile strip is being turned into an expressway. This whole area is getting NEW water, gas lines, electric...in other words, NEW infrastructure. And the surrounding communities are UPDATING theirs.

OK. If you look to the West of Rt. 8, between Boston and Alexanders...you'll find properties that have doubled and tripled in price in the last 18 months. AND, there are some small apt. complexes that will be filled UP in the coming months as the business section booms.

Rt. 82 and Rt. 8 in Macedonia has become one of those Retail Centers that draws people in. With the NEW expressway coming "online" in the next couple of years, we can confidently say that the RE market in that area is still BOOMING...while surrounding areas are still glutted with homes for sale.

IF you know of an EXPRESSWAY project taking place, say North or West of Toronto for example...there might be some INFRASTRUCTURE work going on.

For FUN, find Matthews Thomas Park on OLDE Rt. 8 and zoom in on the homes to the west on Ledgeview Drive and Rockwood Cir and you'll see some of MY favorite homes in the area. Any thing in that area has appreciated at perhaps twice to three times as much as surrounding RE.

That's the power of INFRASTRUCTURE. New highways to prosperity.

Gordon Jay Alexander

PS. And most of the people who live on Ledgeview do NOT Fly Low and Collect the Dough. http://www.flylowcollectdough.com

Wow Gordon What a Trip ...

Thanks for the REAL LIFE Example of the Infrastructure concept.

I WENT to the google hybrid map (What a Cool Tool)

I FOUND those HUGE Estate like houses on Ledgeview Drive.

I ZOOMED in...

I think YOUR favorite homes are now MY new favorite homes.

Those are NOT houses. Those are Estates!

Your Telling me that THOSE house prices have Double AND Tripled
in value. WOW. THAT is powerful demonstration of the Infrastructure concept.

VERY POWERFUL example.

Thank You for taking me on that Journey.

And you are right.

They DO NOT Fly LOW! ...

But ... Are you Suuure they are not NOW collecting the dough ?? :->

Thanks for the profitable journey Gordon!

Duane Adolph

Originally Posted by GordonJ

Hi Duane,

If you want to SEE this concept, spend a few minutes and

Go to google maps. Type in Boston Heights, OH 44236

Use the HYBRID map. Find Rt 8 and Interstate 80. OK you are there.

You'll see a golf course on the corner of E. Hines Hill Rd and Rt. 8. That course CLOSED this year.

What is happening here is that from 303 to the South on Rt. 8 to Rt. 82 is being transformed into a 4 lane highway. Rt. 8 "Expressway" ends at 303.

So this whole 10 mile strip is being turned into an expressway. This whole area is getting NEW water, gas lines, electric...in other words, NEW infrastructure. And the surrounding communities are UPDATING theirs.

OK. If you look to the West of Rt. 8, between Boston and Alexanders...you'll find properties that have doubled and tripled in price in the last 18 months. AND, there are some small apt. complexes that will be filled UP in the coming months as the business section booms.

Rt. 82 and Rt. 8 in Macedonia has become one of those Retail Centers that draws people in. With the NEW expressway coming "online" in the next couple of years, we can confidently say that the RE market in that area is still BOOMING...while surrounding areas are still glutted with homes for sale.

IF you know of an EXPRESSWAY project taking place, say North or West of Toronto for example...there might be some INFRASTRUCTURE work going on.

For FUN, find Matthews Thomas Park on OLDE Rt. 8 and zoom in on the homes to the west on Ledgeview Drive and Rockwood Cir and you'll see some of MY favorite homes in the area. Any thing in that area has appreciated at perhaps twice to three times as much as surrounding RE.

That's the power of INFRASTRUCTURE. New highways to prosperity.

Gordon Jay Alexander

PS. And most of the people who live on Ledgeview do NOT Fly Low and Collect the Dough. http://www.flylowcollectdough.com

[GordonJ]

Originally Posted by Duane Adolph

Thanks for the REAL LIFE Example of the Infrastructure concept.

Duane Adolph

Duane,

Let me give you an update. On that map, just a couple of miles South on Rt. 8 you'll see Seasons road. They are building an exit there. So what?

Just this past week, the cities of Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Hudson all signed a joint venture agreement, and a local hospital is going to build a new hospital at that intersection.

So what about the real estate? YEP, it's still one of the most desirable areas with some nice property, and very little at bargain, recession rates.

IF we had bought a house in this area when this post was originally posted, and we "flipped" it today...it would have turned a much higher than average profit. The state has committed millions of dollars to the INFRASTRUCTURE of this highway, cities have ponied up more millions with tax incentives to create an industrial zone...and once the new section of Rt. 8 gets finished, it opens up the East side of Cleveland to millions of people.

Just a mile or less off of this expressway in the making, are beautiful lots, older homes with acreage and some nice homes being built too. This area is as close to recession proof as it gets.

Infrastructure, it's the secret to look for still.

Gordon

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for the update and PROOF of the power of the "Infrastructure Secret"!

Originally Posted by GordonJ

Duane,

Let me give you an update. On that map, just a couple of miles South on Rt. 8 you'll see Seasons road. They are building an exit there. So what?

Just this past week, the cities of Cuyahoga Falls, Stow and Hudson all signed a joint venture agreement, and a local hospital is going to build a new hospital at that intersection.

So what about the real estate? YEP, it's still one of the most desirable areas with some nice property, and very little at bargain, recession rates.

IF we had bought a house in this area when this post was originally posted, and we "flipped" it today...it would have turned a much higher than average profit. The state has committed millions of dollars to the INFRASTRUCTURE of this highway, cities have ponied up more millions with tax incentives to create an industrial zone...and once the new section of Rt. 8 gets finished, it opens up the East side of Cleveland to millions of people.

Just a mile or less off of this expressway in the making, are beautiful lots, older homes with acreage and some nice homes being built too. This area is as close to recession proof as it gets.

Infrastructure, it's the secret to look for still.

Gordon

Duane,

Thanks for remaining interested.

Let me throw in something else to think about, and then, show how one guy in Nashville makes his bucks following the same Infrastructure Rule.

Ok. You've probably seen Reports in the Media about Mean House price changes. Well. Here is how such reports are next to meaningless...

Imagine a town where All 2 bed Condos sell for $200k, all 3 bed homes sell for $300k and all 4 bed homes sell for $400k. And, those prices remain FIXED for the next ten years. And each year, only ten properties sell.

Year 1: 8 two-bedders sell and 2 three-bedders. That gives total sales of 8x$200k + 2x$300k = $2,200k in sales. Or a $220k each.

Year 2: five 2 bedders sell and five 3 bedders. For total sales of 5x$200k + 5x$300k = $2,500k. Or $250k each.

Year 3: Four 2 bedders sell, four 3 bedders and two 4 bedders. Total sales are 4x$200k+4x$300k+2x$400k = $2,800k or $280k n each.

I don't think I need to go on for you to get the point... that even though the prices remain the same for each dwelling, the Mean changes depending on How Many of each type of dwelling sell in any given time period.

Also understand by this example... that different Types of Property sell in different amounts over time. Again, going Against whatever doom and gloom the media is reporting. Not to say the media isn't reporting what they are given, just that most people don't know what it Means when something is reported.

Ok. Now to something similar...

I was doing a bit of a search for Patrick McAlister. Trying to find his website. Anyway. I stumbled upon an article about a guy in Nashville called Patrick McAlister who is a bit of a real estate encyclopedia. And what *I* call Infrastructure he calls Arteries. And he throws in a couple of other thoughts as well. Well worth the read at http://www.growthstockwire.com/archi...007_jan_04.asp

Michael Ross

[Ankesh]

http://www.growthstockwire.com/archi...007_jan_04.asp

Thats an excellent excellent article.

Thanks for sharing Michael.