baby boomer retirement planning: Don't Go To Jail, Collect Your $200 - 03/25/08 10:56 AM
Don't Go To Jail, Collect Your $200 by Bill Roberts
I received an email the other day from an ActiveRain member asking about using his Self-Directed IRA to buy a house that he could "rent" to his son. I want to respond to this by saying that a Self-Directed IRA should be … (20 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Timing the Market - 03/03/08 11:20 AM
Timing the Market by Bill Roberts
Qualcomm is a local high tech company here in San Diego. Owning their stock has made quite few of their employees and other local people Millionaires. I figured that everybody could understand making money this way. You simply bought Qualcomm stock in the beginning and sold … (15 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Memories Or Just Getting Old - 02/29/08 11:39 AM
Memories Or Just Getting Old by Bill Roberts
My wife was off work today and she wanted to watch Rachael Ray. OK, I like to cook so I used to watch her on Food Network all the time so I said "sure, let's watch her."
Lara Spencer, another of my "faves" from the … (12 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Money, Money Everywhere - 02/27/08 06:27 PM
Money, Money Everywhere by Bill Roberts
Every newscast talks about the economy, the mortgage meltdown, and what the government is doing about it.
I'm sure that by now you realize that the housing crisis was brought on by the Fed's actions vis-à-vis interest rates. They (specifically Greenspan and Bernanke) destabilized the mortgage market, … (8 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: The Big Money Mystery of 2008 - 02/27/08 12:45 PM
The Big Money Mystery of 2008 by Bill Roberts
Everybody has an opinion about the Mortgage Meltdown. Everybody has a suggestion about how to "fix" it or prevent another occurrence.
I have my doubts about all this.
My friend Bill Archambault writes extensively about all aspects of the mortgage industry. If you don't know … (2 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Not Again! A Real Estate Market Update - 02/27/08 11:18 AM
Not Again! A Real Estate Market Update by Bill Roberts
This morning on the CBS Early Show Mark Zandy, the Chief Economist for Moody's economy.com said that he expects another 10% decline in real estate values over the next twelve months.
Why are they doing this? Haven't they fueled this market decline enough? … (17 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Spiderwick Chronicles - Not Really A Review - 02/25/08 11:46 AM
Spiderwick Chronicles - Not Really A Review by Bill Roberts
Yesterday we went to see Spiderwick Chronicles. It is a Nickelodeon production so I thought it must be "kid friendly." It just goes to show how out-of-touch I am. The special effects were great. It is a combination of "live" actors and … (10 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Hey Super Agent What Do You Want? - 02/23/08 02:34 PM
Hey Super Agent What Do You Want? by Bill Roberts
Lenn Harley recently posted HOW TO SUCCEED IN REAL ESTATE SALES. GET REINTERMEDIATED . It was "Featured" so you may have read it. If you haven't read it you should.
I read and then commented on her post:
Lenn, As we take back the business, we … (4 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Suspend "Due On Sale," Fix The Problem - 02/22/08 04:27 PM
Suspend "Due On Sale," Fix The Problem by Bill Roberts
Back in the good ol' days when we could buy property subject to the existing financing and there was nothing the bank could do about it, anybody could buy real estate. Qualifying wasn't an issue.
If a seller was "in trouble" it … (65 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: What This Country Needs Is A Good 5% Home Loan - 02/19/08 10:54 AM
What This Country Needs Is A Good 5% Home Loan by Bill Roberts
Here we are in the middle of a mortgage meltdown and a presidential campaign.
What good can come from all this?
One of the things that has really bugged me is all the negative comments made about people that couldn't qualify … (27 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: What Do You Do During A Recession? - 02/11/08 12:21 PM
What Do You Do During A Recession? By Bill Roberts
For the most part economic activity slows down during a recession. That is actually the definition of a recession: two successive quarters of decreased economic activity. There are various technical descriptions but this is good enough for our purposes.
Recessions always lead to … (12 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: How to Find Land - 02/08/08 12:03 PM
How to Find Land By Bill Roberts
Man has always had the urge to find new lands. It is what led to the discovery of the New World. It is what pushed us west from the Eastern Seaboard.
But just because all the land has been discovered doesn't mean that our thirst for … (5 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: How Low Can You Go? - 01/31/08 06:29 PM
How Low Can You Go? By Bill Roberts
I've been hearing a lot of criticism of the NAR's campaign that now is a good time to buy real estate. It seems that these self-professed experts on economics and the real estate markets think that this campaign reflects badly on Realtor's® because they … (23 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Elements of Retirement Planning - 01/30/08 03:09 PM
Elements of Retirement Planning by retirement planning specialist Bill Roberts
If you are not yet retired (and maybe even if you are) there are things you need to know about planning for that (dreaded) day when you quit working (at your regular job).
Is it going to be a walk in the park? … (12 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Lying In America - 01/29/08 10:33 AM
Lying In America by Bill Roberts
It would seem that lying is not acceptable in America. Look what happened to Martha Stewart. When they couldn't ‘get" her for insider trading, they got her for lying to a federal investigator.
But what about when the police lie? The other night on the CBS show 48 … (8 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Buy Low, Sell High - 01/26/08 11:47 AM
Buy Low, Sell High by Bill Roberts
All the stock market pundits echo this mantra but then they advise just the opposite in their specific recommendations. When prices are going down they say "SELL" and when prices are going up they say "BUY."
The technical analyst looks for a "breakout" formation before … (8 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Have You Ridden The REO Express? - 01/25/08 01:49 PM
Have You Ridden The REO Express? by Bill Roberts
This morning on Good Morning America there was a story about a bus tour of foreclosed houses. I think it was in Pismo Beach, California, but it could have been anywhere. Apparently they charge $20 a head and they take a busload (what's … (30 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: What Good Is A Neg Am Loan? - 01/20/08 11:04 AM
What Good Is A Neg Am Loan? by Bill Roberts
There is a lot of talk lately about people getting stuck with PAY OPTION ARMs that are really negative amortization loans. The general consensus seems to be that the mortgage industry really took advantage of people with these types of loans. It … (22 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Baby Boomer Retirement Planning - The Basics - 01/20/08 10:53 AM
Baby Boomer Retirement Planning - The Basics by Bill Roberts
Retirement Planning is like planning for a trip. You can't really do much planning if you don't know where you want to end up. Just putting a little money aside with the idea that you'll need it when you retire is kind … (12 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: A Special Request and A Special Gift - 01/11/08 11:50 AM
A Special Request and A Special Gift by Bill Roberts
My ActiveRain friend from Kansas City, Chris Lengquist asked me to write a guest post for his blog, BBQCapital. Chris is in an area of the country that a lot of us can only envy. Income property actually produces income even with … (2 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: A Penny For Your Thoughts - On Second Thought You Better Make That A Dollar - 01/08/08 05:18 PM
A Penny For Your Thoughts - On Second Thought You Better Make That A Dollar by Bill Roberts
I recently read an article by Matt Heaton explaining the role of the Fed on interest rates: Why does no one in the media understand The FED?
I wrote my own take on this: Greenspan, … (10 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Why Buy Land? - 01/07/08 11:52 AM
Why Buy Land? By Bill Roberts
I am always hearing people say "I would never buy raw land." It's like they don't know that it is land that appreciates. They think that only improved property appreciates. But actually it is the land component of improved property that appreciates, not the structure. The … (12 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: How Much Should I Offer For Your House? - 01/07/08 10:55 AM
How Much Should I Offer For Your House? by Bill Roberts
We are well into a BUYER'S MARKET. Some people think this means that you can "steal" any piece of property that catches your eye. It doesn't matter what the seller wants, or needs, or even what the comps are. You smell … (10 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Happy New Year - 12/29/07 01:57 PM
Happy New Year from Bill Roberts
Here we are. The old year is almost over. The new year is just around the corner.
2007 was certainly an "interesting" year. Real Estate may never be the same.
Personally, I hope it won't ever be the same. I'm an eternal optimist. I think it is … (20 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Are You Ready For 2008? - 12/29/07 01:51 PM
Are You Ready For 2008? By Bill Roberts
As New Year's Day approaches, we begin thinking about our New Year's resolutions. But we should also be developing our Business Plan for 2008.
A business plan is a budget created around a set of goals, along with a "plan" which lays out how you … (8 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: If You Buy Investment Real Estate What's The Most You Can Lose? Part 2 - 12/19/07 02:04 PM
If You Buy Investment Real Estate What's The Most You Can Lose? Part 2 by Bill Roberts
You really need to read Part 1 for this to make sense.
Just to recap the basic scenario:
Some might say it is the property. You could get foreclosed and lose the property.
Do you think that … (18 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: If You Buy Investment Real Estate What's The Most You Can Lose? - 12/17/07 02:13 PM
If You Buy Investment Real Estate What's The Most You Can Lose? by Bill Roberts
Some might say it is the property. You could get foreclosed and lose the property.
Do you think that is the right answer?
Well the answer is NO that is not all you can lose. You could lose everything … (30 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Retirement Planning For Baby Boomers - 12/11/07 06:33 PM
Retirement Planning For Baby Boomers by Bill Roberts
I have written extensively about the retirement planning process. All the way from assessing your needs, to where it's all going to come from, to where you will spend it.
I would recap all that here but I think I did a pretty good job … (10 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Would You Give $10,000 For $2,500? Are You Kidding Me? - 11/23/07 10:52 PM
Would You Give $10,000 For $2,500? Are You Kidding Me? by Bill Roberts
Most people facing retirement are asked to make this trade. They are currently earning about $10,000 per month (husband and wife) and probably getting by OK. They can even take vacations, buy gifts for the Grandchildren, and entertain friends.
But … (29 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: If You Haven't Saved Enough Money to Retire You Better Read This - 11/05/07 06:22 PM
If You Haven't Saved Enough Money to Retire You Better Read This by Bill Roberts
Why? Because....
Building up an estate that can supply enough income to maintain your lifestyle after retirement is the desired goal.
A lot of us have puny IRAs that don't seem to grow fast enough to ever throw off … (14 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Fun With Ken and Barbie, Part 2 - 10/28/07 07:42 PM
Fun With Ken and Barbie, Part 2 by Bill Roberts
Last time in Fun With Ken and Barbie we calculated their Cash Needed Budget for when they retire. They "down-sized" from their big family home into a nice two bedroom house in a very nice gated community with all the amenities that … (8 comments)
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baby boomer retirement planning: Five Resort Plan© part 2 Baby Boomer Retirement Planning part 6 - 08/19/07 12:57 PM
This is part 2 of the Five Resort Plan. Read part 1 here.
The Fun Begins
We decided to check out Palm Springs. It met our criteria of being within driving distance and a resort destination where there would be demand for our house. The numbers had to check out also. The rental … (8 comments)
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