My Birthday Horoscope!

Yes.  March 21st is my Birthday.  So, I wondered just what the Stars had in Mind for me today?

"You've got an edge when it comes to financial, legal or medical matters. Focus on what you want to see transpire and make it so. Luck is in your corner, so don't hesitate to ask for what you want. 3 stars"

Okay! What I want is my deal on the Fontainebleau Las Vegas to go into escrow and close!

We'll see if that is in the stars!

Contacting David Howes is easy -- either by: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR call him at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

While Americans complain about Taxes, Foreign Investors are beating them to the Las Vegas CRE Punch!

Via my web site and other real estate sites that I have subscribe to over the years, I have been approached by many Foreign Investors -- whether Asian or European -- looking for a good investment because as we all know the European and Asian economies are just as bad as ours -- IF not worse!

Most of the Foreign Investors complain about the taxes they have to pay in their respective countries. One Asian investor told me he just wants to get a better value for his money.  He said he has to pay 52% of his gross income as income taxes.  By the way, he says his country doesn't have deductibles.  So, his income tax IS 52% of his income regardless of how the money is earned.

He also said he is surprised at how much Americans complain about their income taxes.  He reiterated that at least we have nice roads and bridges, etc to help get us to where we want to go across the US continent.  AND, he said we can do that (basically) without fear from highway bandits (his words) who prey on travelers.

So, American Investors: Las Vegas does have some very good deals waiting for you to pounce on them.  When Net Leased Investments are going for 4% to 5% Cap Rates in other states, a 6% to 7% Cap Rate in Las Vegas looks pretty darn good.

So, either email or call me to discuss a potential Las Vegas CRE property purchase.

For more Information about any Las Vegas Commercial Investment Real Estate Property, contact David Howes at: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR 70 25 01 93 88!

Las Vegas Casino Resort Hotels For Sale!

If you have been following my blog, you undoubtedly have seen several postings about Las Vegas Resort Properties that may/may not be available in the Las Vegas Metropolitan area.

Since the Buyer MUST compensate me for my endeavors, I must ask that the authorized signatory for your company be the one to sign a Non-Circumvent, Confidentiality and Commission Agreement.

A telephone call to me telling me how much of a good guy/gal you are simply won't work.

So, as of today, there are three potential Resort Casino Hotels which could be acquired.  They range from --- well, let's just say for the sake of lowest common denominator without giving out  more information than is needed at this time -- it will run you more than $250 Million and they go up from there.

All offers to acquire any of these Resort Casino Hotel Properties will require that you disclose yourself fully; All persons that will be holding 5% or more ownership interests will be required to disclose their complete personal and financial capability; you will be subject to Nevada Gaming Control Board preliminary background check -- and this will also be done by the Resort Owner and it is absolutely necessary you be vetted.  The reason is that they do NOT want to become involved in anyone who may/may not be shady characters.  You do NOT have to be stellar!  You just MUST be honest.

And, they obviously do not want to be barraged by unqualified persons who are only simply looking for proprietary information.  This will NOT be given until/unless you have passed muster of the current Owner's vetting process.

Lastly, IF you even think you may NOT be Nevada Gaming Control Board Approved, then please do NOT waste my time.  You do NOT have to be squeakily clean, however, in terms of criminal activity or other illegal marks on your record, it is best you disclose everything.

Contacting David Howes is easy -- either by: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR call him at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

Never help family with real estate! - Mike Sitren

Twenty something years ago, Mike Sitren was the very first real estate broker I ever worked for.  He was a very short, stout man who was in his 60's.  I soon learned that Mike was well liked by his clients; and NOT liked at all by other real estate brokers.  And, he seemed proud of that.

You see, Mike was always telling me to tell your clients the truth.  And, he was insistent on that. And, I always understood his reason why: When you lie to a client, you disrespect them, he once said.

"It is truly NOT that hard to be honest in real estate.  Most clients already know enough about real estate to get themselves into trouble," he would say.  "Our job as a client's broker is to show them the way to a successful -- hopefully -- profitable sale.  And, the profit was to the client with the broker receiving a fee for rendering service."

I always thought that was the way to go.

Anyway, a few years ago, my very own Mother was selling the last parcel of land that she and my Dad owned on Cape Cod.  My Mom never, ever called me to even ask for my advice prior to putting the property on the market.  (This probably turned out for the best.)  Anyway, she listed with a person she was friends with because he was a "new" real estate agent and she wanted to help him get his business started.  As it turned out, he was very, very inexperienced.

And, I did NOT find out about the sale until one day, while talking to my Mom on the telephone, she started complaining about "how" the transaction was going.  The Buyer wanted a second 30 day extension; and the Buyer wanted a sales price reduction, The Buyer refused to do the "round table close." (Massachusetts for some stupid reason believes only attorney's are capable of closing a real estate transaction.)

Anyway, the Buyer was holding up closing.  I asked my Mom, "Why didn't you just take the deposit as non-refundable and have them put another deposit into escrow to do an extension?"

She replied that she didn't know she could do that.  She said, "It was the Buyer's money."
Then, I asked, "Why are you telling me this now?"
Her answer, "I thought you could help."
I replied, "I could have IF you had included me from the beginning."
I told her it was too late for me to get involved. I would be interfering in another broker's transaction.

I proceeded to tell her to have her "new" agent send the Buyer -- who by now was disclosed to be another RE broker, who was trying to flip the property on my Mom -- a notice that escrow was being canceled and the Buyer's deposit was being forfeited to the Seller.

My Mom said, "She couldn't do that.  She would be in a law suit she couldn't afford."
I said, "Unfortunately, that is exactly what you have to do.  Otherwise, the Buyer/Broker would be "stealing" the equity in your property."

She relented, and the agent sent the notice, The Buyer closed within a few days.

Later, she said, while talking, that, that "trick" worked.  I reminded her that picking the right broker/agent was key to a successful real estate sale.

She asked me "How did you know the Buyer was trying to re-sell the property, I reminded my Mom, that I have been a working Real Estate Broker for 20 years.  You learn "things" as you go along."

Anyway, I knew Mike Sitren was right about helping family -- even IF it is your Mom.  She would have fought me all along and IF it wasn't a successful transaction, I would still be getting the blame to this day.

NOW, when it came time to help my "Know It All Younger Broker"....  I will spare you.

Contacting David Howes is easy -- either by: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR call him at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

Should you invest in Commercial Real Estate or BitCoin?

Since I agree with Warren Buffet: "I don't invest in things I don't understand," I will just say the link to the CNBC article (alleging) that Bit Coin may be a Poncy scheme truly scares me.

I fully understand Commercial Real Estate.  On the other hand, I do NOT understand Bit Coin at all. So, am I surprised to read an article about a Bit Coin exchange company in Hong Kong that might  (possibly) be a Poncy scheme?  The answer is: NO!

Now, Bit Coin might be a real, honest to god currency that I just do NOT understand.  But, I can tell you, I fully understand commercial real estate.  There is Land, Building(s), Easements, and egress access to and from the Land.  And, you have the ability to actually go and stand on the Land parcel in question.  IF NOT fully developed, you could reach down and pick up the dirt that makes up the land.

Bit Coin not so much.  What, where is the value to it?

Anyway, I placed the link below so you may have to copy and paste in your browser to read the story.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102410095

Between the two, I will take CRE every day over Bit Coin for return on investment.

Contacting David Howes is easy -- either by: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR call him at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

Sleazy People give Real Estate its Bad Rep!

A few years ago, just when I thought I had seen everything in the real estate business, another "Real Estate" person came along and tried to make my life more...interesting.

Two years ago, I received a telephone call from another NV licensed Broker. (To protect me from litigation, I will be using the "Broker" alias.)  "Broker" had written an offer and submitted it to my Seller through an unlicensed person who had decided he could act as a real estate broker for my client. Let's call him "Sleazy Non-broker." (Still following?)

My Seller hadn't -- yet-- contacted me about the received offer, but "Broker" was calling me to let me know that he wrote an offer for $3.7 Million and submitted it to the Sleazy Non-Broker.  This offer was for much more than I had listed the property at.

So, I asked "Broker" to email the offer to me.  I told him that I would discuss it with my Seller.  Contacting my Seller, the Seller said he was going to counter at a HIGHER PRICE!  Taken aback, I explained the situation with my Seller, that from what I saw in this offer, this was a one time offer, and was to be accepted "As Is."

He immediately decided to not accept the Offer. I asked him to meet me at my office because I said there were other language provisions in the offer that were not -- correct?  I also asked him why he was allowing this Sleazy Non-Broker to represent him in Selling his property when he listed it with me.  He said that the "Sleazy Non Broker" was a friend of his.

Anyway, when he arrived, I pointed out that the Offer was filled with clauses that prevented him as the Seller from: a.) collecting the full $3.7 Million purchase price -- even before the close of escrow; b.) prevented him from suing the Buyer IF he as the Seller found anything during the escrow to be illegal or unethical; and c.) the Buyer had a Power of Attorney clause inside of the offer that would allow him to make Seller decisions during escrow.  Huh?

My Seller was upset.  Though he is NOT born in America, he has lived here the majority of his life.  He was upset that his "Friend" -- the so called "Sleazy Non-Broker" had called and convinced him it was a good offer.  And, when I pointed out that the total amount of Money he'd actually be entitled to upon the close of Escrow was $50,000.00 Max!,  He was not amused.  That's correct: Fifty Thousand Dollars!!  I asked him to tell anyone making or trying to submit offers to have them talk directly to me -- ONLY!  He agreed.

And, he was most upset that he would NOT be able to sue WHEN he discovered that he would have agreed to NOT SUE if he endorsed the offer.

I would love to tell you the names of this "Sleazy Non-Broker," and disclose  the supposed Buyers' names so that you can avoid them at all cost.  But, as I said above, I want to avoid litigation.  As for people who know me well, you can ask me at some time in the future quietly.

For "Honest" Information about Las Vegas Commercial Real Estate Investments, contacting David Howes is easy -- either: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND you can Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

Endgame: What there is out there for young athletes to earn during their retirement.

I still believe that a good portion of anyone's retirement should be a CRE property with a national credit tenant in a NNN Leased investment.  This should provide walk around money during your retirement.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102313811

Copy and paste link in your browser to read/watch.

Contacting David Howes is easy -- either by: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR call him at: 70 25 01 93 88 AND Follow David on Twitter: @DavidAHowes

Commercial Real Estate Investment Formula!

About 2 years ago, I wrote this to help first time CRE Buyers learn how to view an investment property.

Going through past Posts, I thought this important enough that it should be run again.

Have you ever thought that maybe you were all alone in a situation; you definitely needed help; but, you were too timid to ask for the help fearing you would be embarrassing yourself for NOT knowing simple information?

It's at those moments you need to remind yourself of the old saying: There is never a stupid question! Especially when it comes to Commercial Real Estate (CRE).

So, in order to resolve any anxiety for those new to the CRE world, I present to you (below) information that is absolutely necessary for calculating annual income from a marketed Net Leased Investment Property that you may be considering acquiring for the annual income.

About a year ago, I laid out in this blog about how to calculate net income from a triple net lease.

A lot of you are lay people and this sounds foreign because it is an area of real estate you do NOT usually get into in your daily lives.

Now net income is also known as passive income.  It's the type of income you earn monthly or quarterly as a dividend or investment. The good thing about this is: You only pay a MARGINAL RATE of Income Tax on this earned money -- and that could be zero taxes!  ***Please check with you Tax Professional to verify this!!***

So, the main goal of this formula is to allow you as a Buyer (Investor) to predetermine the (estimated) annual net income (the rent you receive) from a Net Leased Property that is being marketed either by a Sales Price or a Cap Rate.

Usually, the marketing entity for the property will only disclose what the Listing or Asking Price is; and they will state that, that List or Asking Price is a certain Percentage of Return on the Investment (ROI); or, as it is better known as: Capitalization Rate (Cap Rate).

Now, from just these two disclosures, you -- as the lay person -- will be able to get an idea of just what the (estimated) annual income should be and whether or not the acquisition of this net leased property will "fit" your investment income needs -- or not.

The formula goes like this:

Sales Price times Cap Rate equals Annual Income.  (SP x CR = AI)

For example: $1,970,000 x 8.79% = $173,163.00+/-.

And once you have the estimated Annual Investment Income from the Asking or Sales Price plus the additional disclosed Cap Rate, you can figure out your Sales Price by dividing the Annual Income by a Cap Rate you desire to acquire the property at; OR by a Sales Price you deem as a fair market value.

You take the Annual Income you figured by the formula, and divide by the Sales Price you feel is a fair price or by the Cap Rate that you want as an ROI.

Either way, you can figure out from just two disclosed items the third item in such as you can for the Physics Traveling Formula: Rate times Time equals Distance (RxT=D).

So, this is just a basic formula.  The Actual Annual Income should be disclosed in the current owners Financial Statements kept for this particular investment property.  AND, during due diligence it is absolutely necessary to review those statements carefully when considering the acquisition of a Net Leased Property.  And, most Sellers will NOT disclose actual financials unless there is an accepted offer and escrow has been opened.

So, hopefully, this will help most of you who are not that experienced in acquiring income producing properties.  And, hopefully, you will be at ease when considering the next step in actually making a purchase move in that direction.

Now, take a look at the property information buttons in the right column.  Click on one and try the formula out to see if you can calculate an offer price or acquire the property at a higher Cap Rate!

For more Information about Las Vegas Commercial Investment Real Estate Property, contact David Howes at: davidATdavidhowesDOTnet OR 702-501-9388!
AND AS USUAL, ALL INQUIRIES ARE KEPT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL!