Market Advisors, LLC

Have you checked out Fortune or Money magazine lately?

Take a look at the June 2010 Money Magazine…specifically page 82…”Stock up for more Income”. Or, the June 14 2010 edition of Fortune Magazine, specifically page 82 “Our 2010 Retirement Guide: You Can Still Win”.

Let me summarize…Its all about investing in “Funds” and it is all about being satisfied with marginal investment gains…apparently less than 5% if you are LUCKY!

Fortune magazine even goes so far as to suggest “asset class diversification” …but sadly stops short at anything other than publicly traded Funds. (of course that is where the big $$$ are, especially when  it comes to fueling advertising for these financial rags.)

True diversification should also include “alternative assets” , such as Real Estate, and look toward specialized niche sponsors that can offer greater returns with minimal risk.

Just how can you find out more about how to take advantage of these opportunities? May I suggest you first become knowledgeable of your retirement options. Look to these websites for easy to understand content about self-directed retirement.

Pensco Trust Co.

The Entrust Group

U Direct IRA Services

Lots of good info…and when it comes to a good investment opportunity, specializing in real estate, contact me at

john@mymarketadvisors.com

Foreclosures Good for the Economy?

Strange as it may seem there actually might be a consumer spending benefit to the economy due to increasing defaults on home mortgages.

WHAT ??!!

Yes, the latest rise in consumer spending numbers is juiced by the simple fact that as more and more Americans stop paying on their mortgage…that frees up cash which finds it way into retail coffers.

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING??!!

No, strange but true. Check out this latest report from CNBC and Realty Trac.

Though someone might seem to think this is good news, think again, Foreclosures, NODs and Short Sales are INCREASING at a record pace which is continuing in the 3rd year since the burst of the bubble. Home values continue to suffer.

Let’s not forget that the single most important asset to the average American family is the “HOME”, which is being wasted. What this country needs is a paradigm shift back to values, and Government needs to do all it can to support “HOME VALUE” by creating JOBS and stimulating (or rewarding) HOME BUYERS.

Why Invest in Condos…

Interesting how a great majority of real estate investors shun investing in Condos during this fantastic distressed property extravaganza. I wonder how well thought out their investment portfolio strategy might be when investing in foreclosure real estate?

Here are some points to consider when comparing condo product to typical single family.

• Price per sf  in todays distressed market averages 30% less.
• Investor competition is minimal.
• HOAs provide a wealth of information on product condition, amenity condition, restrictions and HUD compliance before you buy.
• Monthly assessments are competitive to insurance, maintenance, and services required for a typical single family.
• You can insure against unforseen special assessments.
• Gross rents per sf are superior.
• Remodel costs are less.
• Optimizes Buy/Flip or Buy/Hold strategy.

These are just some of the reasons why I prefer Condos for my Buy/Flip and Buy/Hold strategies.

Real Estate Rants

Today Case Shiller released its 1st Quarter 2010 report on home prices, so lets sum it up… “Housing prices rebounded from crisis lows, but recently have seen renewed weakness as tax incentives are ending and foreclosures are climbing.”

As an active real estate investor it is of no surprise to me that housing is soft again. When will we learn that short term government stimulus programs are just that?…short term.

When will we learn that real improvement in unemployment will lead to a sustained housing recovery?

When will we learn that investors should be given incentives to put more money to work in real estate, rather than impede their profit?

When will we learn that overly strict lending guidelines are a constraint to the housing market recovery, rather than a  remedy to the cause of the foreclosure crises?

What will save the housing market, and where can an investor put money to work?

Quite simply “Jobs” will save the housing market overall, and in todays market an investor should put money to work in properties that offer real value and savings to a prospective buyer…meaning  “You can own this house for less than rent”.

I am putting my money to work in properties like these…check it out http://mymarketadvisors.com/deal.html

Market Advisors…Focus on the Sweet Spot

Successful investing in today’s real estate markets requires discipline, patience, and cash. The cash component is obvious, however, the patience and discipline is what most Investors lack resulting in missed opportunity or even disaster.

The “Sweet Spot” in today’s investment market is based on the following parameters:

• Market Momentum principles point to “BUY FLIP” strategies…check out Robert Campbell’s Real Estate Timing and get his newsletter.
• Location is still key as you must invest where demand is high
• Price Point is crucial…stay in the 100,000 range. See why in Diana Olicks blog.
• Know where and how to source properties at wholesale discounts…Trustee Sales and Short Sales.

Finally, you must exercise determination and patience as competition is high…Rewards extraordinary.

Cheap Money…Stupid Decisions

As of yesterday the latest headlines from the commercial real estate markets…”Commercial Behemoths Tishman Speyer and Blackrock WALK AWAY AND HAND OVER THE KEYS from their $5.4 BILLION 11,400 unit apartment project in Manhattan”

Yes, it is the confirmed trend, not only in residential but in major commercial to simply hand over the keys to properties, rather than fight it out.

Tishman and Blackrock paid $5.4 billion with $4.4 billion in debt for the project at the peak of the bubble. Now it is worth maybe $2 billion. The answer….walk away.

Hmmmm…now you know why BIG BANKS are not lending money. Because Creditors do not value their assets.

My question, however, is not yesterdays action by these two major developers…it is why did they buy this project in the first place at the peak of an obvious mega bubble, when all, obvious market momentum indicators were pointing to SELL SELL SELL?

The answer my friends….TOO MUCH CHEAP MONEY MAKES FOR STUPID DECISIONS.

So, here is my pitch to Tishman and Blackrock…Hire us to implement our Market Advisors Method momentum analytics for your projects. Your Investors will get the benefit of clear BUY and SELL signals which makes money for your Investors…NOT LOSE IT.

The Federal Government Now Needs $1.9 T To Pay Its Bill!

If you look back at the focus of my blogs you will see that my agenda has always been to keep up with what is happening in our economy and how it is affecting the foreclosure market.  Let’s face it; the Market Advisors Investment Fund depends on the foreclosure market for its continued success.  In addition, I feel our readers need to know what’s happening in that market for their own real estate investing as well, whether that be through our Fund or strictly on their own.

So, in this blog I am reporting on a January 20th Associated Press article by Andrew Taylor about our record setting deficit!  And this folks is the end result of all the Wall Street bailouts, fiat money, unprecedented government spending and “meddling” that our leaders have been doing to “fix” our economy.  All of this during a recessionary period when tax revenues have been drastically cut.  Interesting philosophy – revenues are down so let’s spend more!  The bottom line is the $1.9 Trillion dollars being asked for right now (bringing the national debt up to $14.3 Trillion!!) won’t even carry us through the year!  Here’s what the White House has to say about this record breaking increase:  the increase “is critically important to make sure that financing of federal government operations can continue without interruption and that the creditworthiness of the United States is not called into question.”

Believe me the credit worthiness of the US is already being called into question.  Some how, some way, we are just going to have to eventually “bit the bullet” and let the market take over.  Stop with the programs!  It will hurt but the only way to get rid of all of this over leveraged debt is to let the market move it through the system.  Yes, a lot of Wall Street “icons” will suffer and many will fold, along with a lot of banks, but it will force the “pig through the python” a lot faster then with all of this government manipulation.

These deficits in spending will not go away and we, the taxpayers, will have to pay for them.  So we need to stop the spiral.  It’s not a party issue – it’s a freedom issue.  How many more years of record deficit spending can we stand?  I say none – what do you think?

Paul Davis, Market Advisors, LLC

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission!

Did you know we have launched a commission to study just what it was that brought our financial system to its knees in 2008?  Maybe greed had something to do with it!  Anyway, I found this report in an article published last week in the UK Daily Mail.  This commission is a prototype of the Pecora Commission, the Senate committee that investigated Wall Street abuses in 1933-34.

The commission has pledged that it will make “a full and fair inquiry into what brought our financial system to its knees”.  They further say they will “explain it in a way the American people can understand”.  Now that would be a switch!  The Commission started off by interviewing high profile financial leaders such as: Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein, J.P.Morgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, John Mack of Morgan Stanley and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan.  As a group these leaders all tended to apologize for their risky behavior and poor decisions during the turmoil of  2008 but to a man they all justified their current compensation decisions.

The general “party line” seems to be, as expressed by Brian Moynihan, that “the vast majority of our employees played no role in the economic crisis’ and therefore do not deserve to be penalized with lower compensation.  Of course we all know that B of A paid their Bailout money back early and most analysts believe they did that so they wouldn’t have to follow the Obama guidelines to lower high bonuses.  I for one sincerely hope this commission will uncover just how these institutions actually were able to generate the fast profits used to make their early Bailout payoffs.  If they do, I think we will all find out that it was a combination of manipulating “free” government money for high profits and implementing changes in accounting and reporting standards – to favor the banks balance sheets of course.

Anyway, you should check out this article for yourself and I will try to find out what the US media has to say about these commission hearings (if anything!) as well.  I’ll report on what I find in a future blog.

Paul Davis, Market Advisors LLC

Why The TEAM Matters…

And YES this has absolutely nothing to do with the playoffs…

Today’s Blog has everything to do with improving your real estate investment results by joining the RIGHT TEAM.

I have been doing a lot of public speaking lately, the subject of which continues to be educating Investors as how important it is to assemble a TEAM that can improve your chances of success.

The fact of the matter is that it is difficult and time consuming to put together a winning TEAM…and…wouldn’t it be easier just to join a winning TEAM?

I am inviting you to join the Market Advisors TEAM; our expert bird-dogs who feed us property deals in choice markets, our phenomenal design team that can transform a wreck of an REO into a valuable property (Watch Foreclosure Makeover), the portfolio managers who maximize the value of our Funds assets, to our expert Preferred Advisors who can counsel our clients investment/retirement strategy, together with our continuous education (Webinars and Seminars) make for a priceless combination.

Why not supercharge your investment and retirement portfolio today! Contact Us and find out how you can join our TEAM.

Disaster strikes Haiti…where next?…do the right thing!

When cataclysmic tragedy strikes we, as fellow Human Beings, can empathize with those who are suffering. Certainly the events in Haiti are a reminder to all of us that everything we have can be lost in an instant. As fellow Americans we should be proud that we have organizations comprised of  people who jump to the call of need when disaster strikes, at home or abroad.

The organization that I am most thankful for is the American Red Cross. Do you realize how much this organization does not only at our community level, but for others around the world? I strongly suggest you take a look , here is their website, Red Cross

Now do the right thing;

Text 24357 with the message GIVE, this will send $5 to the Red Cross. Here is the link for the instructions Click Here

Now send the link to this blog to everyone you know to do the same.

Do the right thing.

John