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        <title>Gulf Shores Real Estate  and Orange Beach Real Estate - Alabama Gulf Coast and Mobile Bay</title>
        <link>http://www.gulfshoreslife.com/blog/tags/gulf-coast-real-estate-news/</link>
        <description>Alabama Gulf Coast Real Estate - Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Ono Island, and Fort Morgan plus the Mobile Bay communities of Point Clear, Fairhope, and Daphne in Baldwin County, Alabama.</description>
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            <author>info@gulfshoreslife.com (Cal Carter Team Leader)</author>
            <title>Gulf Coast Real Estate News</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
 


Shore to
Shore 



Lake Lanier GA and AL Gulf Coast
Real Estate News



&nbsp;



December, 20, 2009



&nbsp;



In this Issue:



The NorthGaLife.com Team World: December activity strong



The GulfShoresLife.com Team World: December activity strong



Special
Report: Are you prepared for survival?



Featured
Article: Focus on investments you control



Recommended
Resources: &ldquo;Confessions of a Real Estate
Mini-Mogul&rdquo;



&nbsp;



The NorthGaLife.com Team world



&nbsp;



The NorthGaLife.com Team is seeing more buyer activity.&nbsp; It seems that the Alabama
Gulf Coast
vacation market locked up much sooner than the Atlanta metro area and also is coming out of
that lockup a little sooner.&nbsp; More than
likely this is the difference in buyer behaviors for primary homes versus
vacation / second home buyers. None the less, the area North of Atlanta offers
many great buying opportunities - a lot of home for the money. 



&nbsp;



Lake Lanier finally came back to full pool during major rain events during the summer,
yet activity is still somewhat slow on the lake market. Many waterfront
opportunities are available in price ranges that simply were not present 2
years ago. 



&nbsp;



www.northgalife.com 



&nbsp;



The GulfShoresLife.com Team world



&nbsp;



The GulfShoresLife.com Team has been quite busy with buyers in December.
The talk in the local real estate world is that many agents are seeing
unexpected activity for December.&nbsp; Prices
have declined considerably in the last 2 years and appear to be leveling.&nbsp; Foreclosures and short sales are still a
substantial portion of the market, but not necessarily the only bargains
around.&nbsp; Dont neglect non-distressed
properties in that these sellers could very well be just as motivated as the
distressed sellers yet may yield a much easier negotiation process and quicker
closing.



&nbsp;



Des reports that he is seeing bargains showing up on the hotlist getting
snapped up quickly on a regular basis by smart buyers that are monitoring and
ready to pull the trigger.&nbsp; These
properties are typically already deeply discounted from the market peaks and
the successful buyers are not successful with further deep discounts in their
offering price.



&nbsp;



Typically buyer search activity picks up substantially the last week of
December.&nbsp; If you are watching a
particular property that is attractively priced, dont wait too long!



&nbsp;



www.gulfshoreslife.com



&nbsp;



&nbsp;



Special Report



&nbsp;



Are You
Prepared for Survival?



&nbsp;



Recently,
I've read a couple of columns that predict the recession is not easing, as some
are saying, but that instead the worst is yet to come.



&nbsp;



I think
that reasoning makes sense in some ways. For example, the fact that gold
continues to rise indicates that investors are betting that inflation will
become an issue, despite what the feds are telling us. It also makes sense that
as our aging population moves wealth from the young to the older people in our
society, the large percentage of &quot;savers&quot; rather than
&quot;spenders&quot; in the U.S.
population will slow any recovery.



&nbsp;



All the
talk of &quot;the worst is yet to come&quot; and the &quot;next financial
disaster&quot; reminded me of a book I read -- &quot;Emergency,&quot; by Neil
Strauss -- earlier this year.



&nbsp;



Now, I
firmly believe there is opportunity to add to wealth during these tough
economic times. Don't get me wrong. But I also believe there are steps we can
take to prepare for the worst, just in case. I am big on backup plans. So amid
talk of the next financial disaster coming, ask yourself:



&nbsp;



Can I
survive a financial disaster?



&nbsp;



In
Neil's book, he details his own story, how he went from fearful of events
largely beyond his control to self-confident in his preparation for such events
-- controlling what he can.



&nbsp;



Instead
of remaining in this fearful state, he decided to prepare himself for what he
feared. I found this to be very educational. Today, many people are worried
about their financial futures.



&nbsp;



However,
they dont seem to be taking any action to prepare themselves. They worry about
their jobs. They worry about their retirement. They worry about having enough
money to pay their bills. They worry about funding their children's college
education. They worry, worry, worry&hellip;.



&nbsp;



I
certainly understand this fear. What I dont understand is the lack of action
to mitigate these challenges. Why dont more people do more to prepare?



&nbsp;



Think
of this in a different way. Lets assume that for some reason some deadly gang
were out to get you and your family. Would you just sit in your home and wait
for them to come crashing through the door? Probably not.



&nbsp;



You
would probably take several precautionary steps to prevent or avoid their
attack. You might get an alarm system. You might get new locks. You might arm
yourself and have the police department watch your home more closely. You might
go on an extended vacation. Hell, you might even move.



&nbsp;



If you
felt this concern for your safety, you would take action, wouldnt you? Well,
how come people dont take the same action when they have the same threats to
their financial well-being?



&nbsp;



I
honestly dont know.



&nbsp;



The
only way to eliminate worry is through preparation. Neil Strauss learned skills
that would help him in the event of a physical crisis. He is now prepared.



&nbsp;



Here
are a few questions you should ponder:



&nbsp;



1. What
skills do you need to survive a financial crisis?



2. What
would you need to be able to do in order to have complete peace of mind over
your financial situation?



3. What
would you do if you lost all of your money tomorrow?



&nbsp;



You
need to ask yourself these tough questions. And come up with answers. I predict
that, like Neil Strauss, doing so and being prepared for the worst will give
you the courage and confidence you need to make your current situation better. 



&nbsp;



&nbsp;



Feature Article



&nbsp;



Focus
on Investments You Control



&nbsp;



Control
is a very, very important part of wealth-building. There are lessons all over
right now about what happens when you don't control your investments. The
Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme and&nbsp;the failing of some 529 college savings
plans are a couple of recent examples of what can happen when you give up control.



&nbsp;



Lets
start out with my definition of control:



&nbsp;



Investing
Control: The ability to influence or impact the future value and net income of
the investment.



&nbsp;



Investing
control is important for almost any type of investment.



For the
stock market, this means controlling a majority of a companys shares. Now,
this is extremely difficult for average people, like you and me. This is why we
should invest a smaller portion of our money into the stock market.



&nbsp;



However,
you could invest and obtain control of smaller, non-public companies. By having
control, you can directly impact the growth, income and expenses of your
investment.



&nbsp;



For
real estate, the best investors want active control over their properties.
Active control can be obtained in partnerships and individual investments
alike. Most people would rather be passive real estate investors. The tiny few
who grow wealthy prefer to be active investors.



&nbsp;



The
majority of families focus their investments into assets they do not control.
This is why they struggle to accumulate &ldquo;real&rdquo; wealth. This is also why many
people will not have enough money accumulated when they retire.



&nbsp;



In
fact, it boggles my mind that most people prefer not to be in control of their
investments. They would much rather have an mutual fund planner, stockbroker or
someone else control their money. &ldquo;Done for you&rdquo; wealth is not available. You
are going to have to do much of it yourself. You do it by controlling assets.



&nbsp;



It is
perfectly fine to invest a small portion of your money into investments you do
not control. But I would be very careful investing large sums of your money
into uncontrollable investments. I have investments into assets that I do not
control. However, these investments represent a small portion of my net worth.
I have control over the assets in which the majority of my money is invested. 



These
same assets also represent the largest portion of my net worth.



&nbsp;



If you
study wealthy people, youll quickly see that they do the exact opposite of
everyone else. They desire, fight for and cherish control. Everyone else
desires, cherishes and pays big money to have no control. Notice the
difference. 



&nbsp;



I
remember&nbsp;reading a biography on Kirk Kerkorian, a billionaire. In every
single investment Kerkorian made, he fought for control. When he didnt have
control over an investment, he&nbsp;quickly divested himself of the investment.
Same goes for Wayne Huzienga, who built three separate billion-dollar companies
(Waste Management, Blockbuster and Republic Industries).



&nbsp;



I
believe most people prefer passive investments because they are easier. Passive
investments allow the investor to invest without having to take any
responsibility. Passive investments do not require the investor to be decisive.
Passive investments do not require the investor get his hands dirty.



&nbsp;



Control
requires that you take responsibility for your investments. Control requires
you to be active. Control requires that you pay attention. Control requires
that you be decisive. Control requires you to roll up your sleeves and get
dirty every once in awhile. Some believe control is risky. I believe lack of
control is risky.



&nbsp;



Once
you have control of your investment, you should work hard to increase its
value. You increase value by increasing its income.



&nbsp;



One of
the most valuable wealth-building skills you can have in life is the ability to
increase the net income of your investments. With this skill, you can literally
write your own ticket.



&nbsp;



For&nbsp;example,
Kerkorian purchased enough stock to control MGM Studios in the late 1960s. By
the early 1970s, he had built the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. This hotel and casino dramatically
impacted the value of MGMs stock. Guess what happened to Kirks wealth? Within
three years, his wealth was in excess of $100 million.



&nbsp;



This is
how powerful control can be. Could Kerkorian have created $100 million&nbsp;if
he wasnt in control? No.



&nbsp;



You
must strive for control over your investments. Control is critical for true
wealth. Dont be lazy. Dont&nbsp;copy the masses and happily turn over control
to your hard earned money. 



&nbsp;



&nbsp;



Recommended Resources



&nbsp;



Confessions
of a Mini Real Estate Mogul



&nbsp;



I highly recommend Jim
Pockrosss book titled &ldquo;Confessions
of a Real Estate Mini-Mogul.&rdquo; In the book, Jim shares his
journey building an apartment-building empire, encompassing more than 270
units. 



&nbsp;



He details his first few
investments, how he raised the funds to acquire each one and the results of the
investment. In addition, he shares stories of challenges with building
inspectors, pit bulls, ghosts and more. 



&nbsp;



Jim started investing in the
1980s when interest rates were in the double-digit range. Sellers were
motivated, and buyers and investors werent interested in real estate. In other
words, it was a down market, somewhat similar to todays real estate market. 



&nbsp;



The properties he acquired
during this time turned out to be enormously profitable for him and his
partners. He bought when others were selling. In many of his investments, he
got partners to help raise funds to buy the property. He also had sellers
finance purchases so he didnt have to qualify for a loan with a lending
institution. Something investors today should consider doing, too!



&nbsp;



If youve ever thought about
real estate investing, or if you just want an entertaining and educational look
at real estate, pick up a copy for yourself.



&nbsp;



&nbsp;



Have a
great week!



&nbsp;



Cal
Carter and The GulfShoresLife.com
 Team
Keller Williams
 Alabama Gulf
 Coast



Fairhope, AL



info@gulfshoreslife.com



www.gulfshoreslife.com



&nbsp;



Laura
Carter and The NorthGaLife.com Team



Keller
Williams Lanier Partners



Gainesville, GA



info@northgalife.com



www.northgalife.com


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            <pubDate>Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:29:23 -0600</pubDate>
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