Is this your last chance to get rich in real estate?

Is this your last chance to get rich in real estate?

Several months ago Silvia Cuevas took stock of her life, and it was a profoundly unsettling experience. At 40 she had a solid job with a modest salary at the public library in Santa Ana, Calif. She’d carefully squirreled away some savings and bought herself a little house. She was financially secure – and utterly dissatisfied. All around her, Santa Ana throbbed with the feverish energy of recent immigrants eager to cash in on the promises of America. A short drive from Disneyland, Santa Ana boasts one of the highest concentrations of Latinos of any city in the U.S., and these days it is a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity. Cuevas, though, felt as conservative, meek, and, well, dull as a church mouse in Vegas. “I was going nowhere,” she recalls. “How was I going to find my fortune?” Then a girlfriend introduced her to Nouveau Riche University.

Not exactly a university, Nouveau Riche offers real estate investment classes -and a host of related products and services – to would-be tycoons. In April, Cuevas plunked down tuition of $16,000 and attended a weeklong program in Phoenix. Two weeks later, emboldened by her instructors and an advisor assigned by the university, she refinanced her home, taking out $200,000 – a large share of her equity. She used the money for down payments to buy – sight unseen in one case – three investment properties through a real estate agency controlled by Nouveau Riche. By midsummer Cuevas’ portfolio of investments had grown to include a condo in Colorado, three acres of undeveloped land in the Smoky Mountains, and a three-bedroom house in San Antonio. Her debt load has grown too, thanks to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans she took out on the properties, but she doesn’t worry. “I learned how to be bold at Nouveau Riche,” Cuevas says. “They’re the market experts, so I trust them to help me buy. I can’t wait to make my next purchase!”

Owners struggle to sell condos as boards impose tough standards [South Florida]

Owners struggle to sell condos as boards impose tough standards [South Florida]

Jane Consiglio has been trying for a year to sell her one-bedroom apartment in section 4 of High Point of Delray Beach.

She finally got an offer from a disabled Vietnam War veteran and his wife, but her condo board turned them down.

“How unfair is this?” Consiglio asked.

Boards statewide have begun toughening their standards because of concerns about applicants’ ability to pay monthly maintenance fees. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, buyers were qualifying for low adjustable-rate mortgages with little or no money down. Unable to pay both their mortgage and association obligations, the new owners ignored their maintenance and special assessment obligations.

Walkaways increase at WCI condos [South Florida]

Walkaways increase at WCI condos [South Florida]

Builder WCI Communities said more buyers are walking away from its condos, though the company said it is ready to withstand what it called a `protracted downturn.’

WCI Communities said 17 percent of its condominium buyers have walked away rather than close on new units this year, the latest indication of trouble in the condo market.

That’s higher than the 8 percent to 10 percent rate WCI predicted at the beginning of the year.

With a record number of condo towers under construction and the housing market slumping, market watchers are keeping a close eye on how many buyers actually close on units they contracted to purchase. More cancellations mean more condos on the market, and more downward pressure on prices.

How To Make More Money with My Real Estate Investments

How To Make More Money with My Real Estate Investments

Dr. Morgan has owned the 10 thousand square foot strip center at the corner of Cornell and Baseline in Portland for 20 years. His father helped him buy it and over the years deeded his interest to the good doctor. His kids are all grown and done with college. He sees himself working until he is 65. Now at 60 years of age the doctor needs to make a decision: to sell or not to sell?

His phone was ringing off the hook. Real Estate brokers were calling him every day quoting sales prices that were off the charts, close to $240 a foot or $2,400,000 dollars. He and his father had bought the property for $400,000, and he was struggling with his decision.

With only limited time to pay attention to his investment, he has relied on a competent property management company to help him manage the property. The property has a great cash flow. The tenants are all on absolute NNN leases. The mortgage is all paid off. Before income taxes, he’s taking home close to $12,000 a month, or $144,000 a year. With a 50 percent tax rate, he nets about $72,000 a year.

Developer active in Florida has a cash crunch [South Florida]

Developer active in Florida has a cash crunch [South Florida]

Even as the condo market flattened in 2006, Cay Clubs sold more than $300 million in condos in a portfolio stretching from Crested Butte, Colo., to Marathon. Last year’s profit: $46 million.

Now the company says it’s in a cash crunch, without enough money to cover lease-back agreements with as many as 140 condo buyers.

Where did the $46 million go? Most of it — $41 million — was paid out to Chief Executive Officer Dave Clark, President David Schwarz and their minority partners, according to corporate records and interviews with executives.

Acting Chief Financial Officer Mike Matte said the executives invested most of the money in ventures not covered by financial statements needed for Cay Clubs to complete its planned merger with a publicly traded shell company later this year.

Plans for early retirement, paying off home get some fine-tuning

Plans for early retirement, paying off home get some fine-tuning

The north Clairemont resident says her plan is to start paying more each month on her $1,200 mortgage so she’ll be left with only a few, less costly, living expenses to cover when she retires in five years. She’ll also be left with the time and freedom to pursue a personal goal of owning a dog-wash business.

Although Regan, 50, doesn’t yet have all the details worked out on how she’ll begin her second career, she says she’s positive that retirement after 20 years as a human resources assistant is just around the corner.

“I love where I work. It’s enabled me to live comfortably and start saving for my dreams,” she said. “I’m just ready to do more with my life. I want the time to do some volunteer work, and I want to investigate opening my own business. I’m ready for new adventures.”