S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

The TV ad for Priceline “pick your own price,” using humorist William Shatner of “Boston Legal,” encourages the consumer guy to “no, no, don’t settle, keep negotiating,” until the guy gets the $250.00 hotel room for $99.00 = “Now you’re negotiating!” …Probably the same advice is appropriate for today’s real estate market. What was a GREAT deal two years ago is not even close to a FAIR deal today. The few left with cash and credit are sitting on the sidelines and don’t know what to do, or they want both your daughters and your mistress or they won’t play.

The recently well attended S.E.C. meeting in Carefree, Arizona, was the epitome of a selfless collaboration of problem solving professionals. The treasure trove of experience, knowledge and creativity highlighted a most productive marketing session.

If you own a piece of land and would like to receive the highest value, but you are currently unable to sell it for that value, consider adding some cash to your land and exchanging it for some existing or to be created notes.

When you open a newspaper or any type of magazine, what do you see or read about? The key words today are Global Markets, Credits Crisis, Recession, Depression, Bail Out, The Big Three, Car Czar, Oversight, Failure, Housing Crisis, Obama’s Plan, and Fraud. Based on what we read, a normal person would dig a hole, crawl in, and wait for the sunshine of a new beginning…the decision of indecision.

Now that cash is king again because there is only 20% of what earlier was available to do real estate transactions compared to 2006 as sources for a lot of the prior available cash have been cut off by the “crisis” (i.e., less equity = no equity loans, no buyers = no cash out = lowering prices = no speculation = major reduction in interest in real estate as “upside” isn’t assumed anymore). So, some owners have increased MOTIVATION to get a SOLUTION [...]

Now that a year has passed since brokers realized the 12 years of free-flowing cash and lenders has disappeared from the R.E. market, some have learned to be good client counselors in order to be able to put closed transactions on the table. The first multi-leg transaction I ever put together (right after taking weeklong “The Reno Class” = Modern Real Estate Exchanging, which was a requirement in those days for an invite to S.E.C.), caused me to name the technique “STONE SOUP”. [...]

Diamond merchants have promoted diamonds as the greatest gift to show true love. Many great “love of life” relationships have been cemented with Zircons without anyone knowing the difference. A few might wonder where a guy with such short supply could find the where-with-all to produce a 1 1/2 carat stone [...]

A brochure for the first EXCHANGE COUNSELING one-day seminar given reminded me of a couple of cheerleading concepts we proffered upon the “great unwashed” [...]

There is nothing like closing on a parcel of land for development and finding after you close that:
1. The city is going to require you to provide a new 8″ water main to your property at a cost of $18,000.00.
2. Or the sewer cannot reach you-you are going to [...]

I have been railing at meetings that not enough COAGULATION thinking is used in creating transactions. So… I guess I’d better tell you what I mean so you can utilize the strategy.
The concept is simply combining more than one person’s transaction desires and capabilities to cause the required benefits to go to all involved. (It’s [...]