Social Security.

its borderline socialist, but its not secure.  i like this article:

http://constitutionalconservative.wordpress.com/2008/03/26/social-security-bankrupt-in-2017/

We all need to take control of our OWN retirement.  Company pensions have been slashed.  The stock market is hardly predictable for investing.   If (and when) nterest rates go up - the value of bonds and other interest bearing instruments goes down.

Real estate provides a unique combination of cash flow, real tax free appreciation,  principal reduction and certainty.  Remember travel agencies and storefront stock brokerages?  internet made them obsolete VERY quickly.  Those who invested in them lost when they closed their doors.  Houses??  People have to live somewhere.  And we are not making any less of them - the supply is unlimited!!!!

We have always had a good pool of potential tenants in Central Ohio:

• Relocation with our variety of companies
• Honda and affiliated plants have Japanese engineers come here for 3 - 5 years
• “Normal” amount of those who cannot qualify for a loan

The real estate market correction brought on by bad lending practices in 2004 - 2007 is yielding alot of new prospects:

• Renters whose landlord’s lose their home to foreclosure

      www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/07/11/ann11_ART_07-11-08_B1_GEANOA5.html?sid=101

• Homeowners who qualified for loans that they could not afford in the long term and can no longer qualify for a loan because of foreclosure or short sale
• Couples or individuals who would have qualified for FHA or conventional loans but cannot because the underwriting criteria are stricter than they have been since the late 1990s

Columbus SMSA (Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area) which includes all the major suburbs continues to grow while many Midwestern SMSAs lose.  Why?   We are not losing manufacturing jobs overseas!!!  We have:

1. State government 
2. the Ohio State University and other colleges
3. Several internationally reknowned research facilities including Battelle
4. Cardinal Health, the Limited and related companies, and other large headquarters
5. Many emerging technological companies

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/multimedia/data/censussearch.html?appSession=88613973909843

The number of Renters will increase substantially as people are unable to purchase homes and lose their homes to foreclosure.  We will finally be able to increase rents and decrease vacancy!!!  2004 - 2006 were bad times for Landlords - many “bought” homes on sub-prime, adjustable mortgages starting at unrealistically low rates and with little or no downpayment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/21/us/21renters.html

http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/rental/rh08_americas_rental_housing/rh08_intro.pdf

We have had few problems both leasing our homes over the past 12 months.  It’s getting VERY difficult for even quality people to get a principal residence mortgage loan.

1. Underwriters are really looking very hard at loan applicants
2. Credit scores need to be over 100 points higher for good interest rates and loan fees than 2007
3. Appraisals are being reviewed in detail
4. No downpayment programs are virtually gone
5. The loan process has increased to about 2 months rather than 2 weeks
6. The mortgage insurance companies are “underwriting” loans as well
7. Applicants need to completely document income and cash reserves