real estate: Negotiating Tip: Consider The Alternative - 08/18/10 10:48 AM

 
I've done real estate transactions for 25 years - as an attorney, broker and principal. And there is one negotiating mistake that I have seen over and over: People negotiating with the wrong party.A common negotiation is between the seller and buyer of a house. The seller wants to sell his house, and the buyer want to buy a house (notice: 'a house,' not 'the house').Hypothetically, let's say the seller asks for $1 million, but is willing to accept $950,000. The buyer offers $900,000. The seller counters with $975,000. The game is on.Ninety percent of sellers make the following … (5 comments)

real estate: The Lowest Life Form: Those Who Prey On Dreams - 08/13/10 11:46 AM

 
Like many other baby boomers, I dreamed of getting rich - and quickly.
Growing up when real estate investing was the thing, I read every book by every guru I could get my hands on. I subscribed to their newsletters. (I would have bought CDs and DVDs but they weren’t popular yet.) I figured it was only a matter of time before I was driving my own Cadillac (the car of choice in the '70s).
I did everything the real estate books said. But I didn't get rich. In fact, I almost lost everything.
Fortunately, I stayed the course. … (2 comments)

real estate: Just Do It! - 03/26/09 11:29 AM
Taking a new direction in business or life is really really scary.  Inertia is a powerful force and it pushes us to do today what we did yesterday - for better or worse.
While I would never advocate “ready, fire, aim,” I do believe that there are times when you need to stop the analysis, take your best guess and go for it.  Or, as made famous by a former Nike campaign:  “JUST DO IT.”
No matter how much we plan, debate or labor over plusses and minuses, the fact is that we can never anticipate every factor of a prospective … (5 comments)

real estate: Cap Rate Decompression - 01/13/09 10:37 AM
Repost from 1-12-09
It seems like just a year ago I was speaking with a buddy of mine who specialized in investment sales of large real estate properties. As I was performing due diligence on some of these properties for an acquisition group I represented, I was very familiar with the numbers. When I heard the seller's asking price, and subsequently was stunned by the sales price, I asked (demanded?) my buddy for an explanation. "Jim, you just don't get it ... it's cap rate compression." Let me back up a bit for those who are not familiar with "cap" rates. … (4 comments)

real estate: Housing Predictions - 01/09/09 08:55 AM
Notwithstanding a lot of negative information about housing prices, I believe we will see stabilization in the markets by mid-year. Here is my thinking:The speed in which our economy crashed (housing and stock prices) is unprecedented. There were no economic models to predict what happened.Once the decline started, the fuel behind the fire was individual’s confidence (or rather, lack thereof) that the system would right itself. People (including lenders) began to believe that housing and stock prices were going to fall — and that is in fact a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once people anticipate price declines, they adjust their conduct accordingly. Certainly … (4 comments)

 
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Jim Randel

Westport, CT

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