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Why Real Estate is Such a Good (Great) Investment: Part 1-Use it

Today's topic is a bit of a macro topic, we would like to look at why exactly is real estate such a good investment. Please consider this 7-part blog post to be a primer rather than the authority on the topic, its purpose to think about things in a new way.

There are seven things we can do with real estate:
  1. Use it 
  2. Rent it
  3. Sell it
  4. Finance it
  5. Improve (Build on) it
  6. Tax Benefits
  7. Legacy
Today we talk about 'using' real estate. As simple as it sounds people do not fully appreciate home-ownership as a concept; there is really only 4 living status you can have: own, rent, live with family, homeless. The road to homelessness is not as far as people think. 78% of Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck. If a renter lost their job, eviction proceedings will likely begin 3-5 weeks from when the rent is due, depending on landlord. If a homeowner (in California) is laid off, they have up to 3 months to pay prior to receiving a notice of default, then 3 months before a Notice of Trustee Sale, then 3 weeks for the auction house (foreclosure).

Remember, rent is paid in advance (Jan rent is due Jan 1st, for Jan 1st to Jan 31st), mortgages are paid in arrears (Jan mortgage payment is due Feb 1st, with a grace period until the 15th for most lenders). The most important reason for owning your home (aside from massive tax benefits) is that you have fixed your expenses and (hopefully) stabilized your life.

An advantage, if an owner were to improperly remove asbestos from their home as a home improvement project, they may be fined $300 because they 'did not know better', however if a licensed contractor were do to it, they would be lucky to get away with $30,000 in fines. 

Another advantage, if an owner were to do a room addition, they can apply for permits themselves and state that workers were 'working under their direction', they (in California) have no restriction as to who they hire (friend, family, licensed or unlicensed). A general contractor are subject to much more oversight.

Consider, how can you fulfill your destiny, your life's work, your legacy, if you did not have a housing payment? This is a very viable prospect to "pay off" your mortgage over the normal course of life. One would be surprised how their outlook on life changes, and what they can do for others rather than to feed the debt beast.  We do not live to work, but to be generous to those of our choosing and to 'owning' your life and not 'renting' it.

Feel free to #askGene about real estate, it is a little bit of a focused topic for him.

 Yorba Linda, CA-TRREG DRE#01843673-RP100 DRE#02059058-P:714-831-1800-E:info@theresultsrealestategroup.com-W:www.theresultsrealestategroup.com-Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - LinkedIn
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Location: Brea, CA, USA

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