Issue #2282
- WEALTHY: A legitimate cash-cow investment (Marc Charles)
- HEALTHY: A mood booster in a bowl (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Clare Boothe Luce on money
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to get people to respond to your e-mails (Rich Schefren)
- 6 ways to fight Quotation Bloatation (Suzanne Richardson)
- It’s Fun to Know… about the world’s longest paper airplane flight
- Add "purblind" to your vocabulary
Confidential Report: Disillusioned Trader Opens "Money-Floodgates" to YOU…
Rob Banks Legally… With an Inside Job!
Are You Ready for a "Smash and Grab" on the World’s "Hidden" Money-Mountain?
Great! The getaway car’s leaving…
"Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable while you’re being miserable."
Clare Boothe Luce
An "On Golden Pond" Real Estate Opportunity
By Marc Charles
PS was a multimillionaire. (He died November 24, 2004. I still miss him.) He made his first fortune flipping HUD (Housing and Urban Development) homes in Los Angeles in the early ’70s.
His flips were not as glamorous as the ones you see on HGTV or Flip This House. They did not require a lot of time, money, or resources. He wasn’t restoring the homes to their original luster or even remodeling them. He would purchase properties from HUD for 10 to 20 cents on the dollar. Then he would gut most of the walls down to the studs. Sometimes he would replace the plumbing and electrical systems (but not always). He gave the new owners the opportunity to oversee the remaining construction, drywall, roofing, painting, and so on.
PS made his second fortune in what would become a multibillion-dollar market: self-storage real estate. He didn’t invent it. But he was instrumental in developing a unique aspect of it – the self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT).
Today, self-storage REITs are commonplace. And they offer the perfect opportunity for you to make money.
A real estate investment trust is a company (public or private) that manages a portfolio of real estate investments for trust holders (the equivalent of shareholders). To be classified as an REIT in the U.S., a company is legally required to pay virtually all of its taxable income (95 percent) to its trust holders every year.
A self-storage REIT is a company dedicated to owning (and in some cases, operating) income-producing self-storage facilities. These facilities (also known as "mini warehouses") lease space to individuals or businesses on a monthly basis.
PS always referred to the self-storage market – and the REIT aspect of it, in particular – as a veritable cash cow… an "On Golden Pond" investment.
On Golden Pond refers to the 1981 movie with Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, and Jane Fonda – an old-fashioned story in an idyllic setting. The reason PS considered self-storage REITs to be an "On Golden Pond" investment is because he could picture an REIT entrepreneur relaxing on the porch of his cabin overlooking a beautiful little lake, enjoying the benefits of being in this business:
- Consistent cash flow in good times and bad.
- The advantages of both real estate and living trusts.
- Capital appreciation without unnecessary risks and excessive overhead expenses.
Another advantage of self-storage facilities is that they do not have the headaches associated with residential rental properties, such as property management, tenant turnover, excessive maintenance costs, and tenant complaints.
Not having tenants living on the premises eliminates most of the problems – like plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling repairs… excessive damage to the units… residential zoning… and the lack of tax breaks.
What’s more, the upkeep is relatively simple (and inexpensive).
Some self-storage facilities are nothing but steel garage-type buildings set in concrete. In addition, most of them can be run with a full-time resident manager and a part-time employee or two.
There’s one more advantage of self-storage real estate that might surprise you. It has to do with a formula that addresses the "actual revenue per square foot." In some cases, properly run self-storage facilities can produce more actual revenue per square foot than Las Vegas hotel rooms, apartment buildings, shopping centers, and even medical office buildings.
This type of investment has the potential to generate a healthy cash flow. Plus, self-storage facilities have a decent net profit margin. When you add the REIT aspect to it, there are even more advantages and tax savings.
Almost any type of real estate can be assembled into an REIT structure, and you can reap the benefits. If the REIT is privately owned, you can purchase shares directly from the company. If the REIT is publicly traded, you can purchase shares through a brokerage or investment bank. You can research publicly traded self-storage REITs on the major stock exchanges and track their performance too.
There are a number of other ways to invest in and profit from the self-storage market. Perhaps you can drive to a professionally run self-storage facility in your area and have a look around. You’ll need to determine what strategy is the best fit for your objectives. But here are some possibilities:
- Develop or purchase one or more self-storage operations.
- Add self-storage facilities to your existing real estate portfolio.
- Invest in a private self-storage venture as an angel investor.
- Invest in a private or publicly traded self-storage venture by purchasing stock.
- Set up an REIT with an emphasis on self-storage acquisition and management.
- Invest in companies that serve the self-storage market.
[Ed. Note: Marc Charles, "The King of Business Opportunities," has launched more than 40 profitable businesses in the last 25 years. To learn more about how Marc is tapping into the multibillion-dollar self-storage industry, click here.
For more wealth-building strategies - including investing advice, entrepreneurship opportunities, and real estate investing techniques - check out ETR's "Profits in Paradise " Wealth Building Summit this April. For more information, click here.]
The Greatest Medical Discovery of the Century
Scientists have discovered a remarkable substance that has the power to prevent diabetes, stop heart disease before it starts, and kill cancer cells on contact. In fact, this substance has been shown to prevent and treat more than 20 major diseases in all!
However, more than 85% of the population is deficient in this disease-killer at least part of the year. And believe it or not, medical professionals and health authorities actually advise people to avoid the single greatest source of this vital substance.
Click here to learn why you probably haven’t heard about this revolutionary discovery.
Is Silence The New No?
With the increasing demands of the Attention Age, e-mails pile up, some tasks are left undone, and a few phone calls are sometimes not returned.
We’ve all been there, right?
But what happens when it’s you on the receiving end? Waiting for an important answer that you need before you can move forward. It sucks to be kept in limbo… but what can you do about it? You’ve got a few options:
- Track down the non-responsive party through a more immediate communication channel… like the phone, instant messaging, or a personal visit.
- Get in touch with someone who either works with or for the party you are waiting to hear from. And have them pass the message along.
- Include deadlines in your communications, along with an explanation of how things will proceed if you don’t get the answers you’re waiting for on time.
- Establish ground rules, so you’re clear how you’re going to escalate a request when there’s no response.
I have used all the above options at different times. And they are all effective.
What about you? How do you keep yourself from been dragged down by silence? I believe silence is increasingly going to be a standard response that must be planned for.
You don’t want your partners to procrastinate even further because of delays that have already taken place. That means if making progress on a particular project is important to you – the onus is on you. And you must do whatever it takes to get the ball rolling again.
[Ed. Note: Rich Schefren, president of Strategic Profits, is a business strategist and the coach to dozens of today's top Internet gurus. Rich has put together a free report that reveals how you can pull ahead of your competitors and position your business for invulnerability, pre-eminence, and market domination. Click here now to get his specific strategies.]
Praise for Ready, Fire, Aim : "I will recommend this book to my readers."
"I don’t know Michael Masterson personally, though we’ve been in similar businesses for years. After reading Ready, Fire, Aim, a solid respect for his wisdom, intelligence and foresight has been solidified within me.
"I will recommend this book to all readers of ‘Coffee With Kevin Hogan,’ and particularly to those who are thinking about going into biz for themselves.
"Really well done, easy to read, perhaps life-changing."
- Kevin Hogan
Minneapolis, MN
kevinhogan.com
The "Right" Way to Use Quotation Marks
By Suzanne Richardson
People all over the world are using quote marks incorrectly. What’s the big deal, you ask? Well, an incorrect quotation mark can completely change the meaning of a sentence.
Richard Lederer, grammar expert and author of Comma Sense, has this to say on the subject: "Don’t become a Typhoid Mary carrier of Quotation Bloatation, a symptom of which is those gratuitous quotation marks that increasingly surround words that have no business being quoted…. [S]ome people somehow think that quotation marks help emphasize the designated words. But all those squiggles do is make the reader chortle, ‘Oh, is that statement supposed to be a famous quotation by a high muckety-muck?’ Or, because ‘Fresh’ Fish is anything but fresh: ‘Is somebody trying to be sarcastic?’"
According to the Purdue University Online Writing Lab, you should use quotes only in the following situations:
- When you are recounting a conversation or other dialog.
- When you are quoting a book, movie, play, song, poem, or other work.
- When you want to indicate words used ironically, with reservations, or in some unusual way.
- When you are writing out the title of short works (songs, short stories, essays, short poems, one-act plays, book chapters, newspaper or magazine articles, or episodes of a television/radio series).
Purdue includes two guidelines for how NOT to use quote marks:
- Do not put quotation marks around the titles of your essays.
- Do not use quotation marks for common nicknames, bits of humor, technical terms that readers are likely to know, and trite or well-known expressions.
Now that you know the rules, you’ll never misuse quotation marks again. Unfortunately, most of the world’s population will still be flaunting their ignorance on signs everywhere. Check out "The ‘Blog’ of ‘Unnecessary’ Quotations" (written by 24-year-old Ph.D. student Bethany Keeley) to find plenty of examples of quotation abuse.
The Spice That Makes You Smile
The gentle waft of simmering bouillabaisse certainly puts a smile on my face. But the delightful aroma and taste isn’t the only reason this dish can make you feel happy. In fact, one key ingredient could have as much mood-boosting benefits as a common anti-depressant.
Earlier research pointed to saffron, an ingredient in bouillabaisse, as a potential anti-depressant. And new research published in the journal Progress in Neuropsychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry confirms this pricey spice’s ability to alleviate the doldrums.
In the eight-week study, researchers compared saffron’s anti-depressant activity to fluoxetine (the generic name for Prozac). Forty adults, meeting the criteria for major depression, participated. Group 1 patients received a capsule filled with 15 mg of saffron (C. sativus) morning and evening. Group 2 received 10 mg of fluoxetine morning and evening. At the end of the trial, researchers found that saffron had the same mood-boosting benefits as the drug.
So how much is 15 mg of saffron, anyway? That’s less than a tenth of a teaspoon. Most saffron is sold by the gram, at about $15.
While you can season your paella or bouillabaisse with saffron, a good way to make this spice a mood-lifting mainstay in your diet is to mix it right into your favorite organic, chicken-based pre-made soups. Or brew a cup of Spicy Saffron Tea. Just add one teaspoon of saffron, four crushed cardamom pods, and three teaspoons of erythritol to four cups of boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes. Enjoy.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: The World’s Longest Paper Airplane Flight
The International Space Station is a haven for serious research. At least it was until scientists from the University of Tokyo announced plans to launch a three-inch origami-crafted paper airplane from the station and let it glide to earth.
They say the aerodynamic design and heat-resistant covering of the paper glider will allow it to survive the extremely high temperatures and 5,000-mile-per-hour winds it will encounter on its journey. Testing began in early January, but no launch date has been set. (We’ll let you know when it is, so you can keep an eye out for it.)
(Source: Asahi)
Are Recession-Proof Profits Really Possible?
While many are worried about what happens next with the economy, here at ETR we are very excited about the potentially massive profit opportunities you can take advantage of right now. May we share them with you?
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We intend to hand you everything you need to set up and reap the rewards of passive income streams. You will get some of the SAFEST and yet most PROFITABLE business-building, income-generating and entrepreneurial opportunities available today!
And this isn’t speculation or pie-in-the-sky theory, but proven methods that WORK.
Our select team of experts will show you detailed, step by step “how to” for quickly creating income streams that throw off cash like crazy.
Even better, it doesn’t matter what shape the economy is in. You can consistently profit whether the markets are up or down. Isn’t it time you get your fair share of the profits available today ?
Join us and you can be on your way to shockingly high profits from a variety of passive income streams. Register today and you will lock in the lowest possible rate or early bird registration.
Word to the Wise: Purblind
"Purblind" (PUR-blind) means (1) having greatly reduced vision or (2) lacking insight or discernment. The word is derived from Middle English.
Example (as used by Eric Evans in an issue of History Today ): " On and on the weary litany of purblind negativity proceeds."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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