A FEW QUICK COMMENTS

I'm not posting as often as I would like. So many times I've heard retirees say that they don't know how they ever found time to work. I'm not exactly a retiree but I now understand that comment. I used to go to the office every day. I attended to day-to-day affairs and had numerous meetings with clients and potential clients. I don't do that any more. I don't know where the time goes except that I am certainly more diligent with health issues and exercise schedules. Of course, I still meet with clients and occasionally potential clients but I no longer actively market my services or that of the company. Anyway, I plan to post more often in the future by just speaking my mind and not being so critical of what comes out.

I Attended the Exchanger Meeting Yesterday. I also had lunch with several old-timers who have observed many market cycles in this town. Now is not a good time for a real estate agent that spends most of his or her time collecting residential listings and trying to market the same. We all agreed on that. But we disagreed somewhat on the signals that indicate we are in a good market for investors. As I mentioned in my last post, we are evaluating some residential investments here and there. The signs I look at are the rental market and the amount of inventory for sale. These are somewhat positive in that vacancy rates are low, indicating high tenant demand relative to the supply of rental units. Inventory levels are still high which means that buyers have a lot of choices. Foreclosures are high which means that there are numerous properties that have to be sold (although many lenders haven't figured that out yet). You can sometimes cut a good deal on pre-foreclosure property by convincing the lender to take a short pay off to save the hassle of foreclosure. The trick there is to find some one in the lender's office who can make a decision. I guess I still think your best bet is to find a foreclosure property already listed with an agent so you have someone who already has a contact with the proper representatives in the lender's office. According to one of the old timers at yesterday's breakfast, another quick measure of whether or not the market is nearing a bottom is monthly rental rates near 1% of the purchase price. This means a $120,000 property that rents for $1,200 a month. The average isn't quite there yet but careful screening can locate a property here and there. We are going to continue researching these markets. More on this soon,