Weekend Update  

        November 21, 2008 

Erik Stephens 
Office: (704) 556-3011 
Cell: (704) 564-3113 
Erik_stephens@countrywide.com

 Call me for Today's Rates 

30 Yr Fixed – 5.625%
 

30 Year FHA – 5.875%

15 Yr Fixed Conforming –  5.375%

5/1 LIBOR ARM (I/O) – 5.375%

30 Yr Fixed Investment – 7.125%

30 Yr Fixed Jumbo –  7.5%
 

This information is not intended to constitute an advertisement for purposes of the Truth-In-Lending Act or Regulation Z. It is intended solely for use by Licensed Real Estate Professionals. The interest rates shown are accurate as of the date of this publication, but are subject to change without notice.  
 

Upset pick of the week: 
 

NCSU over UNC!!!

  Need a good Investment???

As kids, we were told to save our money and put it away for when we retire. Most of us listened to this advice and placed some of our earnings in 401Ks and/or IRAs. 

We carefully positioned this money in relatively safe instruments that were managed by money managers who had track records of conservative 7 to 10% returns each year on average.  

The thought that your entire life savings could fall 40% in just 6 months never occurred to most of us. Unfortunately, for the average American this has happened. The DOW Jones, since June of this year, has fallen 40%.  

So, with all of the recent losses, is there anything you can do to recover your hard earned dollars???  The answer is YES!!!... And the investment is Real Estate!!!

Despite the massive decline in many IRA portfolios, many Americans, especially those in their late 30’s to 50’s still have significant IRA savings and are looking for a place to invest these funds that will provide a return that is relatively safe.

The place could be in a rental property.  If housing prices are in fact nearing a floor, you might want to look to purchasing a rental home with some of your IRA monies. Let’s take the example of a $120K home…

If you paid cash for this home with your IRA and collected a rent payment of $1200 per month, you would be receiving monthly gross income of $1200 per month while holding an asset that will most likely rise significantly over the next several years. This strategy might work much better for you as opposed to trying to pick stocks or funds that may or may not be at their lows and have little to no monthly cash flow.

In a lot of areas, real estate has been hit hard over the past 18 to 24 months and it is not a matter of if it will return but rather when it will return.  When it does return, that $120K investment could be worth much more, and the profits from the sale of this asset may avoid potential taxation since the asset would be held/shielded by the IRA. The returns using this strategy could be much more profitable for you and/or your client in the long run. 

-  (I am not a CPA, nor a certified financial advisor, so please contact your tax advisor or financial planner for further details about whether this potential retirement strategy is available for you.)

WOW…. considering current prices and rates, it could not be a better time to buy a home!!!