From CEOs to Opera Singers – How to Harness the “Superstar Effect”

From CEOs to Opera Singers – How to Harness the “Superstar Effect”

This is what I feel like working with lenders on loan mods and short sales

Testimonial from a Recent Satisfied Client

Dear Wade

We both thank you for being patient with this whole process. We are extremely satisfied with your knowledge, professionalism, and the "never give up" attitude. We hope that this is not the end of our "business transaction". We believe we can always count on you on other real estate related matter that we might later encounter. If we know anyone who is planning to buy a house we will definitely refer you to them. Thank you both Wade and Karen. You are both such sweethearts. We hope that your business will continue to prosper.

Regards,
Minh and Thuy

Goldman Sachs Pay $550 Million Fine - Big Deal.

You may have heard about Goldman Sachs paying a $550 million fine to the Feds for fraud — on the condition they admit to no wrongdoing. For you and me, $550 million is a lot of money. For Goldman, that's three-days income.

You may also know why they were fined. It seems they were selling collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) as an asset to clients like big banks, pension funds, and governments.

At the same time, another client named Paulson, not related to Treasury Secretary Paulson, was creating another so-called "asset" betting against the CDOs. Here's the problem: Goldman allowed Paulson to select the so-called "assets" that were included in the CDOs he was betting against. Goldman allowed Paulson to literally stack the deck with losers.

Now, if this is confusing, let me simplify. It would be similar to you going to Las Vegas, walking up to the black jack table, and begin playing with only one other player at the table. For an hour, all you get are losing cards. Meanwhile, the other player is winning every hand. Later on you find out that the other player paid the dealer to deal you only losing cards.

How would you feel about being cheated and about the dealer? What if your losses were your life savings and your retirement? Would you be OK with the dealer paying three-days wages to the gambling commission and being allowed to continue working?

Personally, I think Goldman's $550 million fine is a joke. It hardly begins to reflect the pain these large banks have caused throughout the world. Think of the millions of people who've lost their homes, their jobs, their businesses, their savings, and their
retirement. $550 million is a drop in the bucket when compared to the trillions in debt taxpayers will have to pay back via higher taxes.

If the world knew that Las Vegas dealers were cheating, Las Vegas would close. But in the world of banking, crooked dealers are only fined, not shut down.

There is something very rotten going on at the highest echelons of global financial power. This is why I'm an advocate for financial education so that you can protect yourself from crooked dealers.

Source: RichDad

Why I Like Land Trusts

The land trust is a very powerful tool for the savvy real estate investor. A land trust is a revocable, living trust used specifically for holding title to real estate. Each property is titled in a separate trust, affording maximum privacy and protection. I have been using them for about a decade now. Here's the reasons why:

Seven reasons to use land trusts:

1. Privacy. In today’s information age, anyone with an internet connection can look up your ownership of real estate. Privacy is extremely important to most people who don’t want others knowing what they own. For example, if you own several properties within a city that has strict code enforcement, you could end up being hauled into court for too many violations, even minor ones. Having your real estate investments titled in land trusts makes it difficult for city code enforcement to find who the owner is, since the trust agreement is not public record for everyone to see.

2. Protection from Liens. Real estate titled in a trust name is not subject to liens against the beneficiary of the trust. For example, if you are dealing with a seller in foreclosure, a judgment holder or the IRS can file a claim against the property in the name of the seller. If the property is titled into a trust, the personal judgments or liens of the seller will not attach to the property. This effectively separates the owner or seller from the property.

3. Protection from Title Claims. If you sign a warranty deed in your own name, you are subject to potential title claims against you if there is a problem with title to the property. For example, a lien filed without your knowledge could result in liability against you, even if you purchased title insurance. A land trust in your place as seller will protect you personally against many types of title claims because the claim will be limited to the trust. If the trust already sold the property, it has no assets and thus limits your exposure to title claims.

4. Discouraging Litigation. Let’s face it, people tend to only sue others who appear to have money. Attorneys who work on contingency are only likely to take cases which they can not only win, but collect, since their fee is based on collection. If your investment properties are hard to find, you will appear "broke" and less worth suing. Even if a potential plaintiff thinks you have assets, the difficult prospect of finding and attaching these assets will discourage litigation against you. This is a huge benefit!

5. Protection from HOA Claims. When you take title to a property in a homeowner’s association (HOA), you become personally liable for all dues and assessments. This means if you buy a condo in your own name and the association assesses an amount due, they can place a lien on the property and/or sue you PERSONALLY for the obligation! Don’t take title in your name in an HOA, but instead take title in a land trust so that the trust itself (and thus the property) will be the sole recourse for the homeowner’s association’s debts.

6. Making Contracts Assignable. The ownership of a land trust (called the "beneficial interest") is assignable, similar to the way stock in a corporation is assignable. Once property is titled in trust, the beneficiary of the trust can be changed without changing title to the property. This can be very advantageous in the case of a real estate contract that is non-assignable, such as in the case of a bank-owned or HUD property. Instead of making your offer in your own name, make the offer in the name of a land trust, then assign your interest in the land trust to a third party.

7. Making Loans "Assumable". A non-assumable loan can become effectively assumed by using a land trust. The seller transfers title into a land trust, with himself as a beneficiary. This transfer does not trigger the due-on-sale clause of the mortgage. After the fact, he transfers his beneficial interest to you. This latter transaction does trigger the due-on-sale, but such transfer does not come to the attention of the lender because it is not recorded anywhere in public records. This effectively makes a non-assumable loan "assumable".

These are just a few of the uses I found for a Land Trust.

Quote of the Century? What Do You Think?

Some people have the vocabulary to sum up things in a way you can understand them. This quote came from the Czech Republic.

"The danger to America is not Barack Obama, but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president."

Who Will Be The Next One To Lose Their Job?

I find it mind-boggling that our leaders don't seem to understand why unemployment is so high. While the “official” report places unemployment at 10 percent, it's actually much higher when you count the people who've been unemployed for so long that they've given up looking for a job—or those who are quite happy not having one. When you count those categories, we’re looking at over 20% unemployment.

One simple reason why there are fewer jobs, especially in developed countries such as the US, Europe, England, and Japan, is because wages are too high. Today, US wages are substantially higher than wages in emerging countries. Why would a business owner want to pay $20/hr to US workers when they can higher someone for $5/day in China?

Today, the highest paid workers in America aren't from the private sector—they're in the government. Although many state and local governments are letting people go, the federal government is hiring and paying wages that are significantly higher than the private sector, on average over $71,000 per year for federal workers vs. $44,000 for private sector employees. This makes our economic situation worse because in order to pay for those high-paid workers and their benefits, the government must print more money and increase taxes. This leads to inflation, and more probably hyper-inflation down the road.

In England, the new British government has declared war on middle class benefits, the poor, and parents by cutting many cherished social programs. Meanwhile, here in America, we're increasing benefits for federal workers and the poor—the healthcare bill is a good example. It seems to me that the US should learn from Britain, since Britain is about five years away from bankruptcy. If the US keeps increasing benefits for government workers, the US will go bankrupt faster.

Unfortunately, politicians see the world in terms of election to election—not in terms of the long run. They'll do whatever it takes to get re-elected, which is what the Democrats are doing today. Business people and the rich, however, need to plan for the long term. And they need to see and anticipate the consequences of politicians' short-term, reelection-oriented actions.

For now, in the US, the smart thing to do is get a federal job. That's a good move in the short term. But if you look at Britain, that choice may prove to be a bad idea.

So who will lose their jobs in the near future? I predict it will be anyone who expects to be paid more and do less work that will eventually lose their job. As the bankruptcy of Britain and the US looms, job cuts will come—and high-paying jobs will be the first to go.

For those of you who have read in this field, you know that it's the Fed and the world's central banks printing excessive amounts of counterfeit money that's keeping this economy from going into a depression. The problem is that printing money and creating multi-trillion dollar deficits can't go on forever. If our leaders don't make drastic changes, as Britain and Germany are doing today, the global economic collapse will be severe. Always remember, the bigger the boom the bigger the bust—and it’s very possible that the biggest bust in history is still coming.

Rather than look for a higher paying job, I continue to recommend starting your own business, educating yourself financially, buying some silver rather than saving cash, and preparing for the worst. If the bust never comes, you'll still be better off in the long run.

Britain has about five years to make changes, and the US has about ten. If our leaders make the appropriate changes, we'll all be better off. But if they don't, I'm afraid we're in very serious trouble.

Sources:

“Conspiracy of the Rich” by Robert Kiyosaki
“The Dollar Crisis” by Richard Duncan
“The Corruption of Capitalism” by Richard Duncan
“Guide to Investing in Gold and Silver” by Michael Maloney
“The Ascent of Money” by Niall Ferguson