One of the greatest services that Empowered Investor offers (for free) is to deliver Pro-Forma analysis of pre-screened real estate deals. These Pro-Forma summaries are constructed using the Property Tracker software suite, and communicate a wealth of useful information about the deal in question. To demonstrate the power of this tool, let’s examine one of the low down payment deals in Atlanta.
Year: 2011
5 Everyday Costs You Should Negotiate in 2011
Negotiation absolutely has its place in the world of Bible believers. Think of it like this. Do you trust the secular world to always look out for your best interest when it comes to arriving at an amenable price to both parties? Please, please, tell us you answered that question with a hearty, “No!” The word ‘negotiation’ has come to take on something of a bad reputation over the years, thanks to corporate lawyers, mafia godfathers, and Mexican street vendors.
SS 25 – The Solomon Portfolio with Robert Katz
Jason Hartman talks with Robert (Bob) Katz, author of The Solomon Portfolio. Robert W. Katz has been a partner in a New Orleans-based certified public accounting firm for the last 30 years. His...
Fiscally Fit: A Check Up for Your Financial Fitness
Fiscally Fit: A check-up for your financial fitness
1. What is the best way to avoid future market bubbles?
a. Gold . . . lots and lots of gold
b. A survival bunker isolated on 30 acres in the woods, surrounded by barbed wire
c. By directly controlling universally needed assets
d. By only investing with the ‘good’ fund manager
The Madness of Crowds
If you’ve ever been tempted to follow the crowd when it comes to investing, thus shirking your responsibility to research and understand the asset on your own first, here’s a good bit of advice. Don’t. Crowds normally haven’t a clue about what they’re doing and, by the time they’re drawn like a moth to the flame, there’s nothing left but to get burned. For a lesson in the madness of crowds, let’s turn to 16th and 17th century Holland and the tulip bulb mania. Your eyes do not deceive you – tulip bulbs were the perfect example of an “investment” craze driven by nothing but speculation.
Inflated Egos: Why the News Media is Dead Wrong About Inflation and the Economy
Recent news cycles have been peppered with reports of looming inflation from economists and business leaders, along with the expected denials and excuses from politicians and their propaganda outlets in the news media. Chief among the distortions being advanced is the notion that inflation cannot persist in a down economy.
How Big Government Perpetuates Big Business
In the midst of the recent bailout initiatives and unprecedented expansion of the government bureaucracy, there is a perception by many that the unparalleled expansion of government power is necessary to control “Big Business.” This perception comes from the relentless news stories chronicling the excesses of major corporate executives. The net result of all this propaganda is inevitably to create a swell of envy that compels the listless masses to insist that “somebody do something” to stop this perceived atrocity.
God’s Credit Card
Without researching chapter and verse regarding God’s point of view about credit card debt, the cold, hard truth is that those little pieces of plastic can generate a lot of stress and turmoil in your life without half trying. High balances, high interest rates, and usurious late fees combine with often chilly customer service to turn this “free” money into an albatross around your neck. The good news is you do have some leverage when negotiating with the credit card company for better rates. Try the following process.
Side Step the Bubble Machine: Using Direct Investment to Shield You From Wall Street
A recent article published by Matt Tiabbi in Rolling Stone magazine articulated role that Goldman Sachs is believed to have played in market manipulations since the Great Depression. The thesis of this article is that Goldman Sachs places itself in the middle of speculative bubbles by selling financial instruments that it knows are of low quality, and then re-purchasing them at depressed prices after the market bubble collapses. In the midst of the populist political rhetoric and conspiracy theories peppered throughout the article, there are some important points that can be taken away by those who are astute enough to see them.
Too Big to Fail: How Incompetent Companies and Politicians Are Kept in Power
Within the lexicon of business terminology, there is a popular phrase entitled “too big to fail” that is frequently used to describe large industry players that are kept afloat by the government when they are faced with financial ruin. The theory behind these bailout initiatives is that liquidating a major industry player will result in a total market collapse. These claims are very difficult to substantiate since the government frequently uses this rationale to justify its arbitrary actions, but never seems to allow one of these failing ventures to go into liquidation like a normal business.