Love or Money ? + Estate Planning , Norair Yeretsian

Why do we do it ?

Why do we go out each day , risk life , invest our time – risk opportunity of loss ?

Do we do it for Love or Money ?

Most of us do not do it for the love of money.
But necessity ; food and shelter .

Most of us , start doing it for money and we evolve into doing it for love.

That is after we have enough money ( food and shelter, a little reserve ).

However how much money do we need to inspire us to start enjoying life
and doing the things we do for love and be happy.
The answer is as different as each of us.
For some never is enough, for others happiness is here everyday ( regardless of money or material ) .

If we were to quantify life and our  average life span.
Most of us will have 30 to 40 good years to spend 8 to 12 hours a day working or worrying about work.
After which we get a few years of retirement –to perfect our hobbies.
Then it’s over, lights out and we move on to the next level of play.
Some to a higher cooler place others to a lower warmer place.

So if these are the two ends of the spectrum and the game does eventually end for each of us.
We have to play the game each day as if it is our last one. With a bigger dynamic view.

We need to plan our investments with this eventual possibility in mind.
We need to communicate with our spouses and children ( our loved one)
about the investments we make , where and how  they can find them and
have access to them ( add them as a joint account holder ? ).
Talk to a lawyer about estate planning and set up a proper will and last testament
( and keep it up to date , regularly reviewing it 3-5 years).
Discuss your investment philosophy with your loved ones.

Educate them with your wealth of experience.
Discuss taxes with your accountant and arrange your affairs
in the most tax efficient manner and ease of transfer.

Then after all your hard work, your loved ones can have the freedom
to do the things they love and time for contemplation about living and play life to the fullest.
This is what everyone wants for themselves and their children…

Be happy !

What are your thoughts? leave a comment and let’s discuss it.

Twitter @ EnvoyCapRealty

nyeretsian@yahoo.com  July 6, 2010.

Is this the New Normal or Double Dip coming? Norair Yeretsian

Mr. Mohamed El-Erian (PIMCO, CEO: over sees more than $ 1 trillion of assets )
said we need only look to the key indicators to understand
where we are and what is happening in our economy and here is the short list ( below ).

This is the new normal economy get use to it . Things will move slower, on employment front.

Employment :  rather unemployment , well at least it is not increasing — its steady .

Consumer Spending : consumers are cautiously spending and not taking on any new debt.

They are starting to work on reducing debts.  Household’s de-leveraging – working on reducing of debt .

Government spending : Government is increasing spending and taking on more debt .

Government is increasing leveraging ,  increasing debt . This is not going to help in the long run.

Business :  Small businesses can’t borrow to spend and grow .
Big corporations have the credit ( and lines of credit ) but  not borrowing and
using their cash to buy back stock.
Not expanding , investing in new plant and equipment to grow.
This is not good for the long-term.

Housing starts : steady , stabilizing , getting better .

Demographics : the population, increasing / decreasing — aging .
The new tax base and the pension(s) – health care, more things to worry about.

The economist Nouriel Roubini described things and generally things are not good
in the economy and government does not appear to be doing anything right at this point
- this is a major concern and will affect all our lifestyles  in America.
With the future only having increasing taxes and possibly cuts to spending in many areas.

There is good liquidity in the economy, Government printing lots of money .

The U.S. economy is still the best on the planet, however  Asia will be coming up .

Roubini is concerned we may be heading for another Dip as the stimulus money
runs out and few to no other measures available for more stimulus.

El-Erian believes we are not heading towards a Dip again, however we
should not expect the economy to perform as it has/ had in the past.

It is always good to have at least two views on where we are and where we may be heading
think about your local economy and the status of its health :
where you are and where you might be heading.
The Key indicators and plus the Demographics of your location should give
you a better understanding of what is happening at the Micro level.

What is happening with the supply of re-sale housing , listings to sales
how many weeks / months supply is there at current demand ?

Most of my colleagues complaint of  lack of inventory ( good salable listings).

What’s the employment statistics in your area of the country .
Does the national average – really matter to you / your area’s economic health ?

If interest rates move, how will that effect the supply – demand dynamics in your area?

Will the interest rate movement effect affordability to the extent that
prices/valuation will be impacted in your location.

One of these factors ( variables) a lone, will give us the answer we are seeking -
- but the mix of these variables at the right time will lead us in the direction we end up.

What happens at the Macro level ( the nation) is more challenging to understand
immediately and we see the data historically ( end of quarter / half/ year ).

Mohammad El-Erian and Nouriel Roubini  [ Crisis Economics , new book ] on CNBC discussion June 15/2010

( The Realist and The New Normal )

Mirco -data ( and what it says ) and Marco ( what actually happens ).

What about innovations by individuals and companies ?
What about alternative energy sources development and implementation into our economy?
What about new discoveries  , that are game changers for the economy ?

What is happening in your area of the economy or country that is raising hope
for a new dynamic economy where new types of  jobs are be created and
new demands for housing are being driven?

Let’s discuss it below with your  comments / or on Twitter EnvoyCapRealty .

nyeretsian@yahoo.com    June 20, 2010

Even Professionals Learn Valuable Lesson, Norair Yeretsian

G.E. Capital was struggling with its huge commercial real estate
portfolio of approximately $80 billion.

GE Capital is planning to reduce this by about half to $40 billion.

” It was just the toughest market I’ve seen in my lifetime. ” said GE Capital’s
chairman and CEO Mike Neal. Coming through the economic crisis,
GE Capital will be” smaller and stronger with a goal on returning to profitability.”

The goal is to make its real estate portfolio about 10% of its overall assets.

The company will be exiting commercial properties as it can.

On commercial real estate market conditions,  overall
” we are largely through the free fall , better days are ahead.”
said Mike Neal.

In addition to cutting back on real estate assets, the portfolio is
also likely to shift to more debt holdings than equity.
And that the company’s goal is to transition to more of an
asset management platform, according to Neal.

” When you talk about what we learned, Neal said,
“one is that with small operations at a distance you can’t earn very much.”

This advice was given many years ago by a master builder and founder of
Tridel Corporation Jack Del Zotto,’ try to buy properties that are within a
day’s drive of your home — you will be able to manage them and
you will make more money ‘.

Sage advice, as Pension Funds and other large entities are searching the planet
to invest the billions of dollars intrusted to them and believe they must diversify
it all over the world to better protect the capital for their stakeholders / investors/ pensioners .

I have a feeling they too will learn this simple lesson years from now.
However it will not be at their expense.

Keep your investments close to you. So that you can see them everyday, as need be.

Let’s continue the discussion and comments below or at Twitter @ EnvoyCapRealty.

Costar was source of material information, June 14/2010 .

nyeretsian@yahoo.com     June 15, 2010

How much for a Phone Call ?

” In my business, developing networks is an integral part of the game”
As it should be in any business that’s successful.

” My business contacts have value“. says Robert Dilenschneider
“A man came to my office recently and asked if I would call four important people on his behalf.
I knew those people well, and knew I could get them on the phone immediately. I asked the visitor
how much he was prepared to pay for my calls.
“Well ,I will give you $5000“ the man said.

“I told him that I wanted $ 25,000 to initiate those four phone calls.”

” That’s awfully expensive for four telephone calls” the man said

You can’t do it without me,” I replied

” You mean you can just sit there now and make the four calls, and I give you $25,000?”
my visitor said.

“That’s how it’s going to work, ” I said.

” But it’s just four calls,” he said.

“If you only want to make one call, I’ll charge you $ 10,000,
but the bottom line is that you can’t  make the calls and I can,” I said.

Robert Dilenschneider claims he was strong and firm and he received
$ 25,000 for the four telephone calls he made.

Everything you do in your relationships and in your business is valuable .
Build your network , nurture and treat it seriously — it has value.

The above conversation was quoted from the book, Power and Influence :
The Rules have Changed by Robert L. Dilenschneider . (2007)

Let’s continue the discussion with you comments below or Twitter @ EnvoyCapRealty

nyeretsian@yahoo.com      May 30, 2010