What’s your American Dream?
As America is in a monumental economic crisis, the American Dream, however you may define that, is unraveling for many before our very eyes.
Here is the definition of American Dream by Wikipedia:
“The American Dream today often refers to one’s material wealth which is dependent upon one’s abilities and work ethic, and not on a rigid class structure.
Also the phrase’s meaning has evolved over the course of American history, for some people, it is the opportunity to achieve greater material prosperity than was possible in their countries of origin. For others it is the opportunity for their children to grow up and receive an education and its consequent career opportunities. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without the restrictions of class, caste, religion, race, or ethnic group. For others in this the dream of choice and flexibility, the ability to wake up in the morning and decide to drive, cycle or take public transportation to work.”
My personal American Dream is to be able to own a home, send my kids to college, pay for their weddings, buy my family homes, and travel when I want to amongst other things. As well, I want to help others realize their American Dreams. It’s possible, especially NOW.
Recession is an indicator of a time to invest rather than a time to watch your money dwindle in the market. Warren Buffett says, “I will tell you how to become rich. Close the doors. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.”
Let me help you reposition some of your retirement funds into a self-directed IRA to invest in well-researched Southern California land in the path of growth. Don’t be passive with your money just because you aren’t sure what to do with it. In these times, you must be safe and smart, and un-tap an increasingly scarce, non-renewable asset.
False Premise = False Conclusion
Today, people are much more cautious with their money. They don’t want to let it go. They need to know their investments make sense to them.
During the times when the economy was riding high, anybody and everybody can make money. Many of these people are opportunistic. They are sheep following the herd, salmon swimming upstream, a moth to a flame. Everything is “here today, gone tomorrow.”
In the 80’s, the opportunity was junk bonds. And guess what…that’s exactly what they were – junk! In the 90’s, it was .com this .com that. BUST! People valued AOL more than Coca Cola (a hard asset). Now in the 2000’s, it has been subprime loans. Now look where we are.
IF YOU START WITH A FALSE PREMISE, YOU GET FALSE RESULTS!
When the economy slows down, opportunities abound! I base my land business from low to low. What you need is continuity and longevity. Land doesn’t disappear or get worn out.
Did you know?
Very few people are aware that there is a massive overhaul of General Plans in areas where there is developable land in Southern California? What this means is that many areas that have low density could change to residential, industrial and even commercial, resulting in potential huge windfall!
California as a state has a total of 100 million acres. 76 million are already developed. Half of California’s land is held by some form of government and not available for development. The bottom line is that California is down to only 2 million acres or 2 percent of its land left and available for development and expansion.
This is a Cal-Berkley figure from a 2003 demographic study. Today, 37 million people live in California. By 2015, the head count will be over 45 million. California is truly out of developable land. Unstoppable population expansion puts crushing market pressure on scarcity of remaining land.
I HAVE ACCESS TO THIS MARKET!
Contact me at 310.619.4826
What’s up in Antelope Valley right now?
Copa De Oro is proposed for 2009 start. By the year 2012 Antelope Valley is projected to add 38,000 new residents. That’s 30 people per day moving into the Valley from now until 2012. We will face a housing shortage and will need 12,000 to 15,000 new housing. Copa De Oro, Pacific Legacy Homes, the Race Track, Del Sur, and all the Industrial developments coming to Fox Field Industrial Corridor is a sure sign of growth.
Construction costs including labor is reasonable now due to the slowdown in the residential housing market. You should see Antelope Valley today. New roads and amenities are being installed all over the place. The city is taking advantage of the low costs to make the improvements now for the coming rush. Now is an amazing time to land bank!
I got in before the rush, will you?
Top 4 Compelling Reasons to Invest In SoCal Land Now
The number one question people have when talking about real estate investments today is, “What about the decline in the real estate industry right now?” People are understandably hesistant because of the present state our economy and the subprime debacle.
Here are the top 4 compelling reasons why you need to invest in SoCal land now:
- China! Why? China is pushing Southern California into a logistics boom which calls for distribution centers. It takes roughly 80 acres of land in order to build a modern day distribution center. In the “gateway cities,” those close to the ports, land costs $20 per square foot in these areas. This would cost a company about $70 Million to build its distribution center. On the other hand, in “exurban cities,” or suburbs of suburbs in the inland areas, land costs only about $2 per square foot. Building a warehouse in these areas would cost only $7 Million. That’s a 1000% price difference! REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts) are already snatching up large tracks of land and consolidating to position themselves before the logistics boom. Yes, you could invest in a REIT; but why own a share when you could own acreage?
- Improvements in California’s infrastructure are on the way. We are so behind in infrastructure that we are just now considering a bullet train in California, whereas Japan built its bullet train in 1968. Governer Schwarzenegger states that in California we are in need of $550 Billion in improvements in the next 2 decades due to the impending population and logistics explosion. Therefore, he is proposing a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in order to alleviate this. Please see the article: Gov. Schwarzenegger Joins Gov. Rendell and Mayor Bloomberg to Reinvigorate Federal Investment in Nation’s Infrastructure for a more detailed explanation of this. I recommend watching the video, too.
- Hedgefunds, or private equity moneys, are creating a war chest as we speak. These funds are worth Billions of dollars. This includes hedgefunds with people like Kirk Krekorian and Michael Dell being involved. They are buying inventories of residential home builders, such as Sun Cal, KB Homes and Lennar, who got overzealous in the boom time. The builders are having to sell their assets cheaply to the big guys instead of weighing down their books – so they’re offloading them. The big guys are expecting that real estate will turn again, and they will then sell the builders assets back to them at an increased price.
- One can never predict cost of construction in boom times, so the cities themselves are putting in the infrastructure. The cities are also able to buy goods from the overzealous builders inexpensively and there are budgets to improve infrastructure. Here is where “Other Developers Money” (ODM) comes into play. Land Bankers are direct benefactors.
So while there’s less competition in this economic decline right now, take advantage and invest in SoCal to make money in the long-term.
Always split aces and eights.
My family enjoys going to Vegas from time to time, and we like to play Blackjack. The first time I ever played, I sat down with my Mom and Dad to play, and they gave me the Golden Rule of Blackjack…“Always split aces and 8’s.” Continue on to learn how one of our land bankers split his winning cards.
Part 1: How an investor turned $17,000 into $300,000 in 18 months…
As all of the associates that work for my company know what prime parcels we offer, we often end up investing in parcels in which our clients pass up. So they informed our investor that they wanted to invest in this parcel if he decided not to. Knowing what extensive research our company does as well as that our associates must be investors before working for my company, he decided to invest.
One of the first questions people always ask and that our investor asked is, “How long until I can cash out on this?” This investment is not for market timers. You have to invest and just forget about it because it is a long-term investment. Our investor, as well as most of us, is used to cash flow. However, he took our advice and just “forgot about it.”
18 months later, his parcel was part of a consolidation project. This project was an 80 acre housing tract. At arbitrage, he received $300,000.
“The Market Braces for Baby Boomers”
Recently I read an article, “The Market Braces for Baby Boomers” by Alan Murry at Wall Street Online. Many economic prognosticators, including Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad, Poor Dad in his book, Prophecy, have long feared that when the baby boomers all exit the work force and start cashing out on their retirement funds that Americans will experience another stock market crash to rival the Great Depression. What a daunting thought. In this article, Alan Murray discusses another point of view that I found interesting. Since technology has improved and people are living much longer now, he suggests that maybe our working years should be extended from age 65 to 70 or 80. Personally, I don’t plan on working that long, but maybe extended working years could create a softer landing for our market when the baby boomers retire.
Recession Panic!
Fear of recession got you panicking? My husband spoke with my brother-in-law on the phone yesterday. He told him he cashed out ALL of his stocks because of the recent stock market plummet and the indicators of an impending recession. I’ve been encouraging my B-I-L and S-I-L to transfer some of their retirement money into Southern California land for a long time. They didn’t believe me because they equate this type of real estate with residential real estate. Well of course they won’t believe me if this is how they look at it – because of the SUBPRIME DEBACLE!
I will say this again… residential real estate and land banking are not the same thing! Land does not depreciate because it does not wear out, become obsolete or get used up, like a house does.
The text in the chart below is a little fuzzy. The jist is that throughout the recessions in the last 50 or so years, land in Southern California has exponentially increased in value.
The Michael Vick House Project
Dear Animal Lovers,
Please read the below letter regarding the Michael Vick House.
“I am sure that all of you know about the tragic circumstances regarding the dog-fighting at the home of Michael Vick, the professional football player. I want to share with you a project that our non-profit organization, Jalie’s Butterflies, has launched for the purpose of giving dignity back to the dogs that were so tragically abused and lost to dog-fighting.
I am incredibly proud to be a board member for Jalie’s Butterflies, founded by our dear friend in Dallas, Michael Morford, to address ‘change’ and to support those going through the inevitable metamorphosis that ‘change’ brings. With the success of The Vick House Project, Jalie’s Butterflies, through the support of all who are committed, will ‘change’ this tragic story of the Vick house into a ‘no-kill’ sanctuary for abused and neglected dogs.
Our project is explained in detail on our website www.thevickhouse.org . I feel certain that once you have read our website, you will want to share this effort with all of your canine loving family members and friends. We need ‘mega publicity,’ so spread the word. Please forward this e-mail to all of your friends and family.
LET’S MAKE THIS DREAM COME TRUE!
Debbie Burch, Director
Jalie’s Butterflies
The Vick House Project
About
I’m so grateful you are visiting my blog. I think you’ll find it intriguing and that it will be valuable to your financial future.
I grew up just outside of Dallas, Texas in a city called Arlington. My parents, Chris and Debbie Burch, as well as my sister, Shannon Cox, have always inspired me to be a positive light to those around me. I grew up as a dancer and enjoying school with particular interest in biology and mathematics. After going to undergraduate school at Southwest Texas State University, I was accepted into a Physical Therapy program in the Netherlands at Fontys Hogeschool Eindhoven where I met my husband, Anthony Abrajano. We married in 1999.
While working as a Pediatric Physical Therapist, I had two children, Cate and Charley. After 10 years in the field of PT while raising my small children and moving to California, I had a paradigm shift. While PT is rewarding and I adore children, I wanted to find a way to invest in my family’s future and feel secure about it. Everyone told me to invest the max in my 401K, and I did. Boy, was that the wrong choice! I lost so much money in my 401K in 2002 by listening to this mainstream advice. Fortunately, I made almost all of it back very slowly over the next couple of years.
Then preparation met opportunity. My friend, Yuko Rodriguez, told me about Southern California Land Banking. Land banking is investing in pre-developed land in the path of growth based on growth factors such as population growth, affordable housing and large diversified job base.
“All a man has to do to get rich in America is find out where people are going, get there first and buy land.” General Douglas McArthur
OK, well obviously that was long ago; and women can also tap into this form of investment. So I became a land banker. I have invested in three parcels of land at this point and plan on becoming an all American Land Baroness!
Surely, you have many questions which I plan to cover in my blog site. Please feel free to contact me at my personal e-mail address if you’re ready to invest or just would like to further explore land banking: tkcabrajano@sbcglobal.net
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My Favorite Charities
I worked at Texas Scottish Rite as a pediatric Physical Therapist for 2 1/2 years, mainly on babies with foot demormities. This hospital provides whatever medical care necessary 100% free of charge to children with orthopedic and neurologically related deformities regardless of ability to pay. I would still be working there if I lived in Texas. If you are looking for a fabulous organization to donate to, please click on the crayon.
The Vick House Project is an opportunity to make a good ending to a sad story. For much of this past year, Americans have heard about the tragic tales of mistreatment and abuse to dogs for the purpose of dog fighting. Please click on "Tank" above to visit the Vick house Project.
