Realty411 Magazine Featuring Missy McCall-Hammonds | Page 110

When is the Best Time to Buy? pg. 83 America’s Top Attorney on Combating Fraud, pg. 82 which offer the most transparency and to pay attention to informa- tion access in initial agreements. Maintaining Property Values & Pioneering Change Real estate, as distinguished from publicly-traded REITS or funds, is typically an illiquid if not long-term investment. To realize maximum value, as Boesch notes, investors are often advised that the property must be held for some period of time, during which the market can fluctuate up or down. Whenever investors are involved in a partnership, or a limited liability company, or a corporation, and are required to hold the investment for some period of time, it is inevitable that partners or members can grow apart in their expectations. Family issues, divorce, death, personality clashes, life changes, job changes, often can lead to changing needs and expectations. And “change brought about by these every day human events,” Boesch says, “can lead to differences, over when and how to cash out of an invest- ment.” Ups and downs in real estate can be subjected to other legal challenges that impact value. Boesch cites changing shorelines from climate change, neighbors or public entities clashing with private property rights to exercise Several years before the real estate crash of 2007, people would ask me, “Is there a real estate bubble?” I had to em- phatically tell them that we were already deep into a bubble with some areas having already “popped”. One of the reasons they would ask was because they wanted to know if a particular area was going to appreciate in value. control over development, and environmental challenges, as just a few of the current events that are affecting real estate investments. En- vironmental issues in particular have attracted the Boesch Law Group’s attention as Philip Boesch has developed the reputation as one of the leading legal minds and protectors of the environment. During his tenure as President of Heal the Bay, the organization achieved the adoption of rigorous new standards to reduce coastal pollution, the completion of a multi-billion dollar sewage treatment facility, and successful litigation against the EPA to enforce protection laws. Presently active on the Board of Directors of TreePeople, the leading environmental group promoting sustainable solutions for our urban environment, he is not only passionate about dealing with water and climate change issues, but about green solutions, sustainable self-suf- ficient development, and organic construction materials. All of these items should be on the radar of real estate investors and developers. Here is the lesson that so many investors had to learn the hard way — including myself: Don’t buy real estate with the idea that you are going to make your money through apprecia- tion. It’s a huge mistake and an easy trap to fall into. It’s hard to predict the future, especially years in advance. Back during the boom, ev- erybody was looking back in hindsight and saying, “Boy, what if I’d invested in that city and got the 30% annual increase in value on the house I bought – that would have been great!” But hindsight doesn’t do us much good. It’s like gambling and is usually based on luck. “Investing” based on appre- ciation is called speculation, but what I’m talking about is a much more conservative approach to building wealth with a real estate portfolio. Build it so you know there will be cash-flow and equity growth when you’re ready to retire. If you’re going to speculate then you’ve got to be prepared to lose all of the cash you spent to ac- quire the property and potentially more. Continued success! v The Future of Real Estate for Sophisticated Investors Anticipating future challenges as shorelines are altered by climate change, and as pollution and regulations evolve into new legal battles, Boesch encourages real estate investors to pay attention to how these changes will affect prop- erty values. Coastline erosion and waterway pollutants, for example, could dynamically shift demand and value to properties several blocks inland, but increase disputes over walkways and views. Those with the foresight to recognize these trends and optimize their investment strat- egies appropriately will be those that are most successful. Empowering Your Legacy “Being a good neighbor and working with local governments doesn’t mean surrendering your private property rights,” Boesch says. He directs those passionate about sustaining the value of their real property investments to Tree- People’s mission, as a strong example of how to preserve wealth by sustainable, environmental- ly sound management. v Realty411Guide.com PAGE 110 • 2014 For more information about Marco Santarelli, please visit http://NoradaRealEstate.com reWEALTHmag.com