Stuart Dobson’s Blog

Rebating commissions to Home Buyers

I’ve seen some debates recently among Real Estate agents about discount firms rebating a portion of the agents commission on the buying side back to the buyers.  After researching some of the firms, reading some online posts and talking to some of my clients I think its a great idea under these conditions:

Outsourcing manufacturing to China too expensive? Try Monterrey, Mexico

There have been a couple articles recently about the number of companies that are bringing their previously outsourced products back from China to the United States.  While I am glad this is happening from a domestic economic viewpoint there are still more companies and products being newly ’sourced’ in China than there are being brought back to the US to be manufactured.  I’m not going to go into the myriad of reasons at to why this is the case, or debate the merits of outsourcing to China.  Instead I would like to offer those companies that have found outsourcing to China to be too expensive with the increase in oil, metals, transportation, etc. an alternative.

Try outsourcing your manufacturing to Monterrey Mexico .  I have personally outsourced to China for an affiliated company for labor intensive metal manufacturing for over 5 years, but after a recent trip to Monterrey (at the invitation of a good friend) and an extremely well connected international commercial property broker, I think I’ve found what may be a far superior location for many small and midsize companies’ products.

Larger companies like Maytag, GM, etc have known for a long time about Monterrey, but with the fallling dollar, higher transport costs, language difficulties, and work quality coming from China for small to midsize products, Monterrey may be the better location.  The city is a mere three hours drive time south of Texas and has a major highway (I-10) that is heavily traveled by truck transport.  The ease of travel, proximity to the US, quality of work, cost of labor, and appetite for US investment all make Monterrey an attractive investment for outsourced manufacturing for US based companies.

If you are considering seeking space, property or business opportunity in Monterrey, please give us a call first so that we can offer you the proper connections to the right real estate inmobilliario that can help you achieve your goals.

For further information contact:

Stuart Dobson
Bachelor of Science Finance and Real Estate
Certified International Property Specialist CIPS
Transnational Referral Certified TRC
Quality Service Certified QSC

Stuart@StuartDobson.com
303.919.0309 cell or text
303.327.7642 fax
303.410.8300 office

International Real Estate in Monterrey Mexico

Colorado Real Estate Sellers - In this market, you need every advantage. You still need proper staging, signage, brochures, curb appeal and pricing, but to neglect the largest source of buyers (online) by not hiring a broker who is familiar with online marketing (and can demonstrate it) to represent you is starting your real estate selling experience with a handicap.

Some questions to ask:

1. Do you blog?  where?  This may demonstrate committment and understanding of the web as well as keeping up with the latest in buyer and seller demands
2. What’s your web site address?  Take a look at their site, what is on it?  do they even have a site?  Amazingly there are some agents out there that still don’t have their own website.
3. Do they have their own site, or are they just a tagline at the end of a larger companies site?  They may point to rankings, brag about ‘their’ site, and then you find out that it is a company site…
4. Where does your MLS propagate my listing to?  Realtor.com is the most viewed site for listings, but even they only have a small share.  There are many sources online for listings these days.  It takes a lot of work and upkeep to maintain them all, but isn’t that what your agent is paid to do?

This is not a comprehensive list of all the things you could or should ask a prespective listing agent, but it may give you some questions to ask that you haven’t thought of before.

We have the weekly residential pre-foreclosure lists available in .pdf format for those investors looking for that information.  The list is the NED (Notice of Election and Demand) list to be precise.  Please contact us directly and we will be happy to send you the information.

Investments available June 20081)      Investment in Coldwell Banker Master Franchise for India.  1-5 Qualified Investors for a total of $20,000,000.  400% return to the investor in 3-5 years.

2)      Shopping Centers in Texas, Florida, Chicago, Atlanta and New Mexico. Additional shopping centers just received in Washington DC Suburbs, North and North West part of USA.   Price from US$ 3 million to $ 46 million.   CAPS of 6.5 to 9.0 %

3)      Office Buildings, California, Colorado, Illinois, Texas Price $1-45 million.  Caps 5.5 – 8.5

4)      Investment in INOVA Hurricane resistant Homes.

       A) US$ 50,000-200,000  Investment for 1-2 years with a 16% return annually paid semi annually.   Principle repaid at the end of the 1 or 2 year period.  This is a special short opportunity to get 16% on your money.  The company continues to sell its specially constructed Houses in a generally slow market because these Homes are replacing houses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.  The company makes approximately 10% net Profit on each house.  The money is reinvested 5-6 times per year.

         B)  US$ 1 Million Investment.  $450,000 in Models and $550,000 equity investment in the company.  Yearly return of 33% over the 5 year hold period. This regional company will be sold or merged in 5-6 years to larger national builders who will want access to this system and marketing.

5)      Gas Well investment in Colorado and Wyoming  2-3% return monthly total of 24-36% return annually!!  The wells are currently producing.  The money is used to install new casings in the wells to make them more productive.  This new casing system is what is making the wells produce so efficiently and get the 20% + return starting the Month after you or your investor invests!    Limited investment available $200,000 to $500,000.00  

6)      Gas Well investment Kansas, 21% return each year for next 10 years.    $1.6 Million for 50% JV Joint Venture Ownership.  Assets of Company over $ 3.6 million

7)      Gold Mine in USA.  Great returns with the current price of gold.          Not on the market details after Non Disclose Agreement.

8)      Gold Bullion up to 20,000 Metric tons available.  3 reliable sources.  .

9)      Silica Mine in USA.  This Silica Mine is available for US $ 40 Million.  The Net returns are about US$ 18.8 Million Annually.  There are reserves for over 65 years.  So for an Investment of $ 40 Million you will get back close to US $ 1.3 BILION!   A true cash cow that will produce excellent returns.

10)  Frac and Foundry Sand mine. US$ 40 Million for 50% ownership.  $ 70 Million for 100% ownership.  This mine will have annual projected NET Pre Tax Profit of over US$ 38 Million.  Get your investment back in 2-3 years.  Total revenue projected over the life of the mine is US$ 3.8 BILLION.

11)  Hotel in Bavaria.  In the area where sound of Music was filmed.  Price Euro 12.9 Million, about US$17.6 Million.  Netting about Euro $ 4 million per year.  Investment can be paid off in 4-5 years.  Current owner’s husband and wife want to retire and have no heirs.  They would stay on for up to two years to assist with the transition.  Currently a 3 Star Hotel that could be upgraded to a 4 or 5 Star Hotel.  Or / and a wellness Hotel.  It has underground parking and an indoor swimming pool.  Property appraised at Euro 17.5 Million.

12)  Investment Properties in Germany.  Great locations, Dresden, Hannover, Luebeck, NRW, etc.  Excellent appreciation potential.  Currently a 6.5 to 7.2 CAP.  Priced from Euro 900,000 - 1.500,000 to Euro 8 – 28 Million  We have similar properties in the Leverkusen, Dortmund, Cologne area.

13)  Nursing home facility in the USA with a 9 CAP.  US$ 7.5 Million

14)   Development Properties in Panama, Mexico and Costa Rica

15)   Diamonds in Bulk for sale.  Excellent contacts and sources.

16)   Master Piece Paintings.  Private Collection.  Priced from $14-21 Million.

17)   Have buyer looking for Portland cement.  Looking for 20,000+ Metric Tons

For further Information contact:

Stuart Dobson

Bachelors of Science in Finance & Real Estate

Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS)

Transnational Referral Certified (TRC)

Quality Service Certified (QSC)

Stuart@StuartDobson.com

http://www.StuartDobson.com

Infinity Real Estate Services LLC

Broker Associate

303.410.8300 office

303.919.0309 tx msg

303.919.0309 cell

303.327.7642 fax

For licensed brokers, we pay above average co-brokerage commissions!

Seller’s concerns about agents listing a home vs. actively marketing the home

Most sellers these days, especially with advancing internet access into people’s lives, are concerned that real estate agents actually do very little with respect to actually marketing a home vs. simply listing it, along with a grocery list of the properties features, on their local MLS and letting the MLS propagate thru the web.

I believe they are correct!  Very few agents today have the SEO tools, or have actively studied online marketing to know how to properly optimize a listing.

Sure we are all great face to face, on the phone and with correspondence.  But when it comes to actually standing out with exceptional marketing vs. sales (yes the two are different), very few of today’s agents have a clue.

This must change, or the realities of the market will change it for us.  For instance, Trulia, Zillow, the Justice Dept. vs. NAR, these are the harbingers of the futures.  If we cannot offer a distinct advantage online with superior marketing skills using the online SEO tools and avenues available to us; then maybe most of the agents out there should find a different line of work.

Why Invest internationally?

1. Diversification - This one is fairly obvious; International investing, whether it is a condo in Cancun or a Hotel in Germany is a great way to lessen your overall portfolio risk.  Non correllating assets tend to lower the overall Beta of your investment portfolio because they are unlikely to all move in the same direction at the same time at the same rate.

2. Currency Hedge - The US dollar has been falling, it is one of the causes of inflation here in the US.  In order to protect your purchasing power when measured on a Global scale, you need assets that are NOT denominated in US Dollars.

3. Great Return on Investment (ROI) - Many opportunities exist in other parts of the world for returns in excess of what you can earn here in typical US based investments. 

We have the connections worldwide to satisfy whatever global investment objectives you have.  International investing is smart, makes sense, and if done properly with the right connections (people) involved is very lucrative and can lower your overall risk while making you more money.

Please contact Stuart Dobson directly for International investment.

There are some statistics that most Realtors are familiar with that indicate a housing market improvement; days on market, new listings per month, pending home sales, new construction activity.  But there are other indicators that savvy investors and home sellers and buyers may also want to look at.

1.  New job creation in your area.  According to NAR research, one new homeowner is created for every two new jobs.  So if your area is improving on the job front it follows that housing demand will increase.

2.  The months supply of homes for sale in the market.  The historical norm is about six months supply, currently, nationwide there is about 10 months supply right now.

3.  Number of visitors per listing.  Both actual and online visitors should be tracked.  Also, how long they stay online or in a house, do they view the virtual tours?

4.  Rising apartment rents.  Rising rents normally precede buying on entry level homes in a market, typically a potential homeowner is willing to pay 10-20% more to own than rent, so when that parity is reached in a particular market, entry level homes should be the first to see increased buying activity.

There are many more indicators of market direction and activity that can be used.  Commercial activity, investor buying patterns, etc.  But the above are some often overlooked and easily trackable data that can give additional insight into a particular markets direction.

Let me start by defining what certain rates mean and translate this back into what triggers mortgage rates to move. What the Fed cut on January 22nd by 0.75% and then again on January 30th by another 0.5% is the FED FUNDS rate. The cumulative drop brought the Fed Funds rate down from 4.25 to 3.0%, currently. What the FED FUNDS rate is what banks charge other banks on overnight loans and as such is totally controlled by the Federal Reserve (not to get off on a tangent, but to quickly explain the reason that banks loan money to other banks is because they need to keep a minimum amount of cash reserves in deposits; they cannot reinvest everything). Where in the mid-to-long term, the Fed lowering the Fed funds rate is usually a good sign for other interest rate indices to follow that pattern, often in the short-term, interest rates move opposite from the Fed Funds move. This is what has happened this past few weeks.The main correlative factor in determining 1st trust deed mortgages rates is the 10-YEAR US TREASURY BOND. This index is traded on the open market every business day and as such is not directly controlled by anyone (it works just like the stock market). Initially, after the Jan. 22 Fed rate cut, the benchmark 10-year T-bond rallied. Conforming loan rates (loans $417,000 and under) came within 0.5% of the 50 year lows we hit in August 2003 & March 2004. In the last hour of the day on January 23, there was a major sell-off in the 10-year bond, causing the yield to go up (this money was in large part transferred to stocks and hence, why the Dow had a 600 point reversal in that last hour). On January 23rd, the 10-year bond hit a low of 3.30, but has risen to 3.67 at the close of Jan. 30; this has caused mortgage rates to go up approx. 0.5% in the past week.

I talked about this subject on my September 19, 2007 article.  At the time I mentioned that congress and the president have put the national housing issue on the agenda and it would be wise, based upon history, to go against those two groups on an issue.  Since that time, congress has passed an economic stimulus package and the president has said he’ll sign it.  One of the key components in that package is the raising of the Fannie Mae loan limits in certain areas. 

The lower end (sub $200k) section of the housing market was the hardest hit by the foreclosure/subprime crisis, and that is currently the section that is recovering the fastest.  Some of that recovery is by investors looking to buy, rent and hold the properties.  Let’s assume that we are in a recession right now, most of the people who have money to invest are looking for the best return, and the investors, the ’smart’ money if you will, have looked at all of the their options and decided housing is the best.  They have congress, the president, and apparently the Fed on their side.  Furthermore, at least in Denver Colorado, the low end of the housing market is seeing a ‘natural’ recovery from first time buyers, buyers vs. renters, and a healthy necessary transition from people who should never have been given mortgage money to those who are well qualified to handle the responsibilities of home ownership.

If we assume that we have bottomed out price wise ( I think we have, or are close), then since we are approaching the summer season with the fundamental factors of demand, low unemployment, low interest rates, and positive net migration to the state on the side of price appreciation it looks like this summer will be the low point in residential housing in Denver.  Time will tell if I’m correct or not, but I believe that the smart money buying rentals is going to be proven right again.