Greg is a long time listener of the Creative Wealth show and purchased his portfolio properties through Jason’s channels way back in the late 2000’s. Greg heard his hometown of Detroit was battered in Jason’s property tour review episode. So he called in to set the record straight about possible opportunities in Southern Michigan. He and his wife work in the automotive industry and are successful real estate investors in several different states.

Key Takeaways:

[2:45] Greg is a Jason Hartman real estate investing success story and Jason’s favorite listener

[6:01] All real estate is local

[8:23] The 11^th wealthiest city in the U.S. is in Detroit

[10:59] Trends in the Detroit area

[12:56] Optimism for the city proper

[18:05] Investing in an industry that is not your bread and butter

[19:05] Greg’s PowerPoint presentation and the syndication

[25:44] Export Marketing and Product Forecasting for Ford

[26:36] The self-driving car is a project every automotive company is working towards

[29:51] Ann Arbor has a fake city to test self-driving cars

[31:42] The freedom that goes along with self-driving vehicles

[35:31] The parking real estate conundrum

[37:53] Painting a better picture of Detroit

[39:52] A flipper who became a long-term investor

Mentions:

Hartman Media

Where is the best place for you to live? Did you know it may be different than the best place for you to die? There are an alarming amount of different taxes to pay depending on which state you reside in. And while you may save money because your social security income isn’t taxed in your current state, you may pay more than that amount in property taxes or estate taxes – like in New York. Even the most gifted accountants have difficulty charting the tax waters. Especially this year when dealing with a lame duck congress, who allowed tax extenders to lapse at the end of 2014. The IRS expects delays and may possibly extend the tax season to accommodate all the changes. Ashlea and Jason discuss the myriad of taxes, Roth IRAs and more, in this episode.

Key Takeaways:

[2:08] The Cliff provision in the state of New York

[5:43] Look at the entire tax picture before moving

[6:34] Connecticut is the only state with a gift tax

[7:37] 4 Ways people get around a state estate tax

[9:07] Forbes interactive map of where not to die

[10:55] State by state capital gains tax and inheritance tax

[13:33] Charitable remainder trust & the Roth IRA

[15:29] Will the government change the rules in the future regarding a Roth IRA? 

[17:31] Research all of your self-directed options before committing 

[18:22] 2016 Tax changes and delays will make for a difficult tax season

[22:10] Find articles by Ashlea by typing her name into forbes.com

Mentions:

Hartman Media

Forbes

@ashleaebeling

The motivation for investing in real estate income property varies greatly between individuals, institutions and private investors. Economic factors play a large role in the preferred investment vehicle each type of investor chooses. Jason’s guest, writer of The Philosophical Investor and President of CWS Capital, Gary Carmell, shares with us why he prefers variable rate financing for large, upper scale apartment complexes. He also details chapters of his book and explains how he used past real estate values and current economic indicators to reach his conclusions.

Key Takeaways:

[3:40] Describing a Philosophical Investor

[6:38] Taking a step back to respond instead of react

[8:10] During a ‘Munger moment’ you go for the jugular

[9:45] People will rebuild their credit through renting

[13:20] The Philosophical Investor looks at indicators and real estate values of the past

[17:23] If rents are below replacements’ cost you have hedged your risks

[20:17] Long-term views of institutional investors are more risk/reward

[23:25] Positive characteristics of mobility and flexibility

[28:05] Future global economic prediction

[30:56] Taking interest income out of the economy

[33:45] Contact information for Gary Carmell

[35:25] A shareholder economy creates insecure growth

[37:09] Borrowing by way of the variable rate loan is not for everybody

Mentions:

Gary Carmell

CWS Capital Partners

The Philosophical Investor

Hartman Media

This episode is all about taxes, and how as a real estate investor you may be able to avoid paying them. Think of how much faster you can build your wealth if you use the 30% you would be giving to the IRS to re-invest in additional properties. The government wants us to do this. And, if you are a real estate professional who owns an investment property you should not be paying taxes. If you are paying taxes, you have the wrong CPA working for you.

Key Takeaways:

[2:48] Defining tax drag

[5:31] A stepped-up basis – aka no depreciation recapture for heirs

[7:10] CRT – Charitable Remainder Trust

[9:09] Life insurance policy as an investment or as asset protection

[11:31] The magic of the Real Estate Professional status

[18:50] Getting a retroactive Aggregation Election within the statute of limitations

[21:40] Effectively self-managing a distant property

[27:07] What if I have a real estate license?

[29:54] ‘Married filing jointly’ is required for US taxes

[31:24] Contact Diane for tax advice

[31:40] Pay attention to the business structure you have for your properties

[34:56] Investors need to be careful with LLCs and offshore corporations

[35:44] Depreciation is the Holy Grail to tax write-offs

[36:02] Qualifying for the IRS tax depreciation for owners of investment properties

Mentions:

Hartman Media

Jason Hartman - Properties

US Tax Aid

How do families with a high net worth keep, grow and protect their wealth for future generations? They put their families to work in single, family and virtual family offices. The idea behind the resource is to allow the wealth creator of the family enough time and space to create additional wealth while everyday tasks such as investments and insurance can be handled by industry specialists. Basically, when you are ultra-rich you need someone else to manage your daily and long-term financials to avoid possible costly mistakes.

Key Takeaways:

[1:41] A family office is a money management system for the wealthy

[2:26] There are 14.4K ultra-wealthy people in the world

[4:40] Family office terms: multi, single and virtual

[8:16] We are in the process of crossing the chasm to public awareness

[10:44] The reason Family Offices exist is to curb costly mistakes

[16:20] Investors can use real estate strategically to get more deal flow

[20:42] The Family Office structure should be based on core goals

[23:37] Family members run the family offices for a spectrum of privacy

[24:12] The U.S. is still the #1 place for value growth

[29:24] Traditional and creative ways to provide support to Family Offices

[32:11] Contact information for Richard

Mentions:

JasonHartman.com

Mastering the Rockefeller Habits

EO

Family Offices

The Single Family Office book

Crunching the numbers sounds easy enough, but which numbers do you use? National data doesn’t always reflect individual markets and using geographical data isn’t always a telling sign due to widespread changes in Fannie and Freddie’s level of risk. Jason and Daren take a deep dive into analyzing market data and how tagging markets as linear, cyclical and hybrid allow investors to understand good properties based on cash flow and ROI.

Key Takeaways:

[2:20] National data doesn’t always reflect geographic niches

[3:59] RealtyTrac is, at its core, a data company

[6:43] Licensing and re-selling the data to other companies

[8:16] Home sales are at an 8 year high when analyzing 190 markets

[10:38] The homeownership rate helps our clients to analyze markets

[12:30] Analyzing the tax assessor information for rental properties

[14:50] Everything is relative

[18:44] Thinking of real estate markets as linear (boring), cyclical and hybrid

[24:15] A combination of jobs and universities help real estate markets

[28:41] Extend and pretend, or delay and pray markets

[31:24] Market influences are tipping towards introducing additional risk

Mentions:

Hartman Media

RealtyTrac

CoreLogic

Black Night

Quick answers in the lightning round to all of the most important financing questions. We dig in and ask prudent questions of Joe, our financing guru. If you are looking to create your wealth through real estate investments, this is the episode for you. Down and dirty details of what it takes to get the best financing deals and the specifications you need to qualify for up to 20 properties. Expert advice – free of charge!

Key Takeaways:

[2:38] How many companies can one finance at the same time?

[3:16] The first 4 properties financed need 5% down

[4:05] Financing through an LLC

[4:45] One loan, one property with vanilla residential financing

[6:14] Multiple inquiries about your credit score can lower it over time

[7:06] A LLC needs different insurance

[8:10] Is a power of attorney sufficient to close the loan?

[8:51] An attorney is not needed to close the loan

[10:20] A 2-year landlord history – Fannie Mae: No, Freddie Mac: Yes

[11:19] The minimum credit score is 620 for the first 4 properties, 720 for 5-10

[12:14] Cash out refinancing on investment properties

[14:06] You can always finance your primary residence but different guidelines may apply

[14:45] Lenders need 6 months of reserves

[16:26] Offsetting the mortgage payment based on possible rental income

[18:27] Rental income loss

[19:06 Technical refinance or delayed financing

[21:01] 100% replacement cost needed in homeowners’ insurance

[25:01] Do your due diligence but beware of multiple credit checks

This provocative conversation features best-selling author and Professor Philip Kotler. Professor Kotler’s new book, Confronting Capitalism, looks at the dark side of Capitalism in the U.S. and provides solutions to core areas, which would reverse our troubled economic system. Both Jason and Philip agree that the current government has been hijacked by the modern version of organized crime – better known as Wall Street – and that a smaller, localized government would make for a more efficient system. While Jason and Professor Kotler find difficulty agreeing on every issue, they both recognize the need to preserve the American middle class and the importance of closing tax loopholes.

Key Takeaways:

[2:46] Americans live under two systems: 1) Capitalism, 2) Democracy

[3:28] The supply-side of Capitalism causes the wage/income gap

[6:26] The rich should help reduce poverty

[7:24] Does the Henry Ford wage increase really work?

[9:05] Many low-income workers are on publicly funded programs

[13:52] Factories have moved abroad along with the money

[17:49] 3 investments the U.S. needs to make: 1) Infrastructure, 2) Public schools, 3) Debt

[19:19] Closing tax loopholes – Capital Gains 

[22:59] Could entrepreneurs scale businesses in the same manner if taxes were doubled?

[26:48] Big government and big business are inefficient

[28:09] Cities are the engines of growth, not the states

[31:22] Democracy is there to protect citizens both rich and poor

[33:00] Unions – Good or bad?

[34:32] The “Just” index

Mentions:

Hartman Media

Kellogg School of Management

Confronting Capitalism

Citizens United

Patriotic Millionaires

Lou Dobbs Books

pkotler@aol.com

Many people believe the key to winning at chess is the number of moves the player is able to see in advance, but the masters will tell you it is not the case. The key to winning at chess and investing is constantly re-evaluating the moves you anticipate making. If you are truly interested in improving your financial portfolio, you should be ingesting every piece of free financial information available to you. Amateurs at both chess and investing can win by making small, incremental changes to their knowledge-base and income level.

Key Takeaways:

[2:58] One piece of good advice can help you win the game

[6:34] Constantly re-evaluating your portfolio is more important than thinking about future moves

[8:25] Don’t make a move with your money if you don’t have to make a move

[10:06] Behavioral finance - People get overconfident in their decision-making abilities

[14:00] Any investment without income is a speculation

[15:14] Small advantages are worth the risk

[20:43] What exactly are Zero Coupon Bonds?

[23:01] Physical securities need to be validated before selling

[24:10] Take advantage of every free piece of information available

Mentions:

Rich as a King

@richasaking

Thinking Fast and Slow

JasonHartman.com

Finally detailed information on self-directed savings plans. This episode contains information on the costs to set-up and administer a solo 401(k), traditional and Roth IRAs and an HSA (Health Savings Account). Edwin Kelly of Specialized IRA Services also shares tips and tricks for managing your savings account while building your personal wealth. He cites two examples of new investors who were able to gain wealth for their retirement in a short period of time.

Key Takeaways:

[5:13] What is the difference between a custodian and an administrator?

[8:57] Success in self-directed IRAs requires a customized approach

[12:26] Self-directed IRAs offer sufficient passive income in a short period of time

[13:45] Typical Americans can double their monthly retirement income

[18:30] Additional benefits of traditional and Roth 401(k)s

[23:01] How expensive is it to open up a solo k or a self-directed IRA?

[26:50] The HSA marries tax benefits of both the traditional IRA as well as the Roth IRA

[34:17] Invest in real estate for a cash flow machine that funds your HSA

[35:56] How easy are investment plans to administer?

[36:37] Should an investor add an LLC in an IRA?

Mentions:

JasonHartman.com

Specialized IRA Services