Do you feel wealthy? - It just may depends on how much money you make and where you live.

A year ago, Wealth Report readers told me how much money it took to be considered “rich” in their town. The answers ranged from a $500,000 income in Manhattan to $1 million to $2 million in total net worth in Kansas City.

The point, of course, is that wealth is relative. Being “rich” depends on where you live.
Now, the folks at U.S. News & World Report have come up with a more scientific process of defining “rich” in various towns. Basically, they used census data to calculate the top 20% of earners and top 5% of earners in 40 metro areas. Then they did some division and multiplying to calculate top-wealth levels for childless couples and families of four (methodology fanatics can click here. Be warned, as readers astutely pointed out to me, the numbers are averages, which can be highly skewed by extreme earners).

Here is how much household income it takes to be in top 5% in the following communities:

Atlanta–Couple (no kids), $268,264. Family of four, $536,528.

Colorado Springs, Colo.–Couple, $207,472. Family, $414,943.

Dallas–Couple, $267,344. Family, $534,688.

Honolulu, Hawaii–Couple, $235,190. Family, $470,380.

Kansas City, Kan.–Couple, $219,300. Family, $438,600.

Las Vegas–Couple, $240,359. Family, $480,718.

Los Angeles–Couple, $315,996. Family, $631,992.

New York–Couple, $359,494. Family, $718,989.

San Francisco–Couple, $359,061. Family, $718,123.

Washington, D.C. –Couple, $347,917. Couple, $490,436.

I don’t doubt the tabulations. But I would bet that people living in these communities with the above incomes don’t feel “rich.” Americans always look up when it comes to wealth. So if you asked someone in Colorado Springs with a household income is $414,943 or more, they probably would think of themselves as upper middle class. And they probably wouldn’t guess they were in the top 5%.

Then again, in the current crisis, maybe those with incomes of $400,000 or more would consider themselves rich.

To read complete article:
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/10/15/what-it-takes-to-be-rich-in-your-town-part-2/

What about trust? --- I mean a family trust.

Not Bob Johnson, Oprah Winfrey, or Shaquil O'Neal --- you may still benefit from a family trust.

It used to be that only the extremely wealthy set up trust funds for their children and grandchildren. Today, with ordinary people becoming millionaires through the increased property value of their homes, stocks, and retirements accounts. Trust funds are becoming more commonplace. Parents and grandparents in this category are undertaking estate planning to preserve their wealth and minimize death taxes.

The term family trust refers to a discretionary trust set up to hold a family's assets or to conduct a family business. Generally, they are established for asset protection or tax purposes.

A family trust:

• is generally established by a family member for the benefit of members of the 'family group';
• avoid unnecessary stress by dealing with inheritance issues before death.
• gain peace of mind in the knowledge that property will pass upon the terms of the trust after death.
• avoid delays after death. Properties in Family Trusts may be sold without a Grant of Representation. The trustees can sign all the paperwork.
• can be the subject of a family trust election which provides it with certain tax advantages, provided that the trust passes the family control test and makes distributions of trust income only to beneficiaries of the trust who are within the 'family group';
• can assist in protecting the family group's assets from the liabilities of one or more of the family members (for instance, in the event of a family member's bankruptcy or insolvency);
• properties in Family Trusts may be sold without a Grant of Representation. The trustees can sign all the paperwork.
• provides a mechanism to pass family assets to future generations; and
  can provide a means of accessing favourable taxation treatment by ensuring all family members use their income tax "tax-free thresholds".
• benefit from tax advantages. In most cases, there is no Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax payable by transferring your home into a Family Trust. Inheritance Tax will remain unaffected.

A family trust has many other potential benefits, including avoiding issues such as challenges to the will following a death of a senior member of the family.

Important note
This page contains only the briefest of summaries relating to Family Trusts. It is not a substitute for full legal advice. Advice can only be given after consideration of all relevant facts. This is a complex area of law and therefore any planning should be done on the advice of an expert, in order to ensure as far as possible the protection of the estate.

From whom should one receive real estate advice? -- well maybe Terrell Owens.

Throughout his NFL career, Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens has collected touchdown passes, including four this season. Now, he's also collecting Dallas real estate.
T.O. owns six townhouses and condos in the city, valued at more than $2.5 million based on tax records. He acquired five of the properties within the last year, most of them as investments.

"Those are going to be worth a lot of money someday," he said, when asked after a recent practice about his holdings near the eastern end of Commerce Street. "I think it's going to be a big area in a few years."

The units are a short distance from the Fair Park Station, scheduled to open next year, on the DART Green Line. It's a transition neighborhood with a mix of older buildings, newer residential buildings and vacant lots.

Owens formerly lived in one of the units and acquired three more in nearby projects. They range in value, according to tax records, from $356,000 to $405,000.
Britt Fair, executive vice president at Hexter-Fair Title Company, closely follows local sales trends. He said there is risk, as well as potential reward, in pioneering an area. I'm not sure I'm going to take investment advice from Terrell Owens," Fair said. "But he may be on to something."

Patience is critical, especially in a slow market like this, advises Realtor Jerold Smith, who blogs about Dallas and Plano real estate. Smith said an investor such as Owens should plan to hold the units "for a minimum of five years to see a return."
Owens now lives at the Azure, a high-rise building in Uptown. His home is on an upper floor, where one of his neighbors is Cowboys running back Marion Barber. Former Cowboy Deion Sanders owns a penthouse unit, according to tax records.
Owens also owns a smaller unit on a lower floor, valued at $346,000. He is disputing the assessed value of the larger unit. Condos in the same position on nearby floors range in assessed value from $719,000 to $1.2 million. Assessed valuations often are lower than market values.

"I don't want to talk about my stuff," Owens said, when asked why he decided to invest in Dallas real estate. In a telephone interview, Jeff Rubin, Owens' financial adviser, acknowledged that the townhome purchases are investments. He said that rents are covering mortgage payments and that the holdings are being put into a limited liability corporation, a common practice for tax purposes. He declined to give further details.

Rents in newer buildings in the neighborhood near Fair Park run about $1 a square foot per month, according to current listings. Owens' units range from about 2,200 to 2,600 square feet, according to tax records.

In T.O., Owens' 2006 book, he wrote about his realization that, despite his big football contracts, he didn't have the financial security he thought he had. Pro athletes need to plan for when their playing days are over.

With the Eagles at the time, Owens fired his agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus as well as other advisers, including Rubin.

"I now had an effective, powerful machine working for me," Owens wrote. He added: "Although I respected their advice, the final decision was to be mine, not theirs."

The Cowboys signed Owens to a new contract this summer, a four-year, $34 million deal, which included a $12.9 million bonus.

Based on the contract amounts he details in his book and the terms of his new deal, Owens has earned about $67 million from NFL teams to this point in his career. If he completes his Cowboys contract, he could earn an additional $21 million through 2011.
Owens, who has 133 career TD catches, also owns homes in New Jersey and Georgia and condos in Atlanta and on the beach near Miami, according to online tax records.
The New Jersey home is listed for sale at $2.96 million, less than Owens paid in 2004With 20 percent down and a 30-year mortgage at 6 percent, the monthly payment would be $14,197, according to an online site that lists the house.

Tom Granese, a developer of one of Owens' units near Fair Park, said he anticipated that the area would develop more quickly than it has, but the economy has put everything on hold. However, Granese said, with the DART line opening, city investments in Fair Park, and a new bike trail, he expects substantial growth over time.

"I'm glad that someone like him is investing in a neighborhood like that," Granese said of Owens.

Article Courtesy of By GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News

Play golf with Tiger Woods ....well maybe just on a Tiger Woods designed golf course - The Tiger Woods Dubai project.

Tiger Woods Dubai Residential Golf Development Launches Sales Center

This coming Sunday will see the launch an exclusive sales center for the Tiger Woods Dubai residential golf community development

The Tiger Woods Dubai comprises an exclusive golf community which includes a professionally staffed golf academy, a 14,000 square meter clubhouse with premium amenities, and the Al Ruwaya, the first golf course designed by Tiger Woods. The project is schedules to be completed in 2009.

For complete article:
http://blog.luxuryproperty.com/tiger-woods-dubai-residential-golf-developement-launches-sales-center/trackback/

So -- what is the price per Sq. Ft. ? ---The 10 Most Expensive Streets in the World

The Wealth Bulletin (a Dow Jones site) has come up with a list of the 10 most expensive streets in the world. Granted, this is an inexact science, but the list includes some jaw-dropping price-per-square-foot numbers for some of the richest blocks on earth.

Topping the list is Monaco’s Avenue Princess Grace, the palm-lined street named after Grace Kelly that overlooks the water. Forget buying a house there — just getting a beer at Jimmy’s Bar on the Avenue will set you back more than $100. But living on the avenue gets you a chance to rub elbows with Russian oligarchs, Middle Eastern oil sheikhs and the occasional Monaco royal.

The two streets to make the list from the U.S. are New York City’s Fifth Avenue and Carolwood Drive in Beverly Hills.

Here is the complete list, with some sample property prices as tallied by Wealth Bulletin:

1. Avenue Princess Grace, Monaco — $17,750 per square foot.

2. Severn Road, Hong Kong — $11,200 per square foot.

To see the complete list
http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/08/05/the-10-most-expensive-streets-in-the-world/

Is now a good time to invest in real estate? -- in Atlanta that is a YES!

Metro Atlanta ranks No. 3 on HomeVestors of America Inc.'s new list of the top 10 U.S. markets for residential real estate investing, released Tuesday.

For complete article: http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/07/14/daily32.html

Do I really need to give?

"As I give, I get." Mary McLeod Bethune African-American educator (1875-1955)

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." — Booker T. Washington

Jackie Robinson Foundation

Warrick Dunn Foundation

Deshawn Snow Foundation

Magic Johnson Foundation

Bill Cosby - Hello Friend/Ennis William Cosby Foundation

Opran Winfrey - Oprah's Angel Network

Tyra Banks - T-Zone

What difference do you want to make in the community?

Today donors are driven by personal quests and a desire to make a difference. They are more focused on the root causes of issues rather than just providing relief to problems. They are also looking or opportunities to learn and grow through their involvement with the charities that they support.

As part of their more focussed approach to giving, today's donors are creating long-term relationships with the organizations that they support, becoming knowledgeable on the issues involved and advocates for these causes. While they are supportive, they nonetheless hold the charities accountable: they want to be able to see the difference that their donations are making. Not only is this typical of individual donors, but also families who create private foundations or endowment funds at their local community foundations.

Many non-wealthy persons have dedicated – thus, donated – substantial portions of their time, effort and wealth to charitable causes. These people are not typically described as philanthropists because individual effort alone is seldom recognized as instigating significant change

So -- How much should you spend on lunch?

Lunch with Buffett Costs Record $2.1 Million
Warren Buffett is becoming an expensive lunch date.
An auction for a chance to have lunch with Mr. Buffett fetched $2.1 million on Friday night. The bid, by a Hong Kong-based investor, was the most-expensive charity auction ever held on eBay and set a new record for the annual lunch.

For complete story: http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2008/06/30/lunch-with-buffett-costs-record-21-million/trackback/

My neighbors' home is purple! -- The benefits of a Homeowners' Association (7 to 1)

An HOA provides people with shared neighborhood values an opportunity to enforce regulations, consistent with overriding statutory constraints, to achieve a community representative of such values. In doing so, an HOA inherently restricts the freedoms that would otherwise exist for its members based on municipal codes. For instance, a degree of conformity is often required in exterior appearance of single family homes and there are often time limits and/or restrictions to activities generating noise. There are pre-existing rules in the form of CC&Rs and bylaws that a buyer has a right and an obligation to view before entering such a community, that also prescribe methods for modification of these regulations. These bylaws are largely limited in various degrees by state laws, with some overriding federal judicial or statutory limits. For instance, based on a Supreme Court decision, no HOA can prohibit signs advocating political positions, however, such signs may be limited to private property display and may not be displayed in common areas. On the other hand, HOAs do have authority to prohibit the display of commercial signs, both on community property, private property and often on private vehicles. In every association, board members and officers are chosen by election from its property owner-members, with the ability in some states for the membership to remove board members even during term.

Many homeowners' associations include management of a community's recreational amenities, maintained for exclusive use of its members. This can allow an individual homeowner access to a maintained pool, clubhouse, gym, tennis court or walking trail that they may not be able to otherwise afford or desire to maintain on their own. Each member of a homeowners' association pays assessments that are used to cover the expenses of the community at large. Some examples are landscaping for the common areas, maintenance and upkeep of community amenities, insurance for commonly-owned structures and areas, mailing costs for newsletters and other correspondence, employment of a management company or on-site manager, security personnel and gate maintenance, and any other item delineated in the governing documents or agreed to by the Board of Directors.

While many criticisms of HOAs are made, everyone living under the jurisdiction of such a governing body has made a decision to do so, and many are happy to have the governing body in place to enforce shared values and community standards. A survey by Zogby International showed that for every one owner-member who rated the overall experience of living in a community association as negative, seven rated the experience as positive.

Coutesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeowners%27_association

Finally making the cash --- How do I become wealthy?

Nine Truths That Can Set You on the Path to Financial Freedom

#1: Change the Way You Think About Money
The general population has a love / hate relationship with wealth. They resent those who have it, but spend their entire lives attempting to get it for themselves. The reason a vast majority of people never accumulate a substantial nest egg is because they don't understand the nature of money or how it works.
Cash, like a person, is a living thing. When you wake up in the morning and go to work, you are selling a product - yourself (or more specifically, your labor). When you realize that every morning your assets wake up and have the same potential to work as you do, you unlock a powerful key in your life. Each dollar you save is like an employee. Over the course of time, the goal is to make your employees work hard, and eventually, they will make enough money to hire more workers (cash).
When you have become truly successful, you no longer have to sell your own labor, but can live off of the labor of your assets.
#2: Develop an Understanding of the Power of Small Amounts
The biggest mistake most people make is that they think they have to start with an entire Napoleon-like army. They suffer from the "not enough" mentality; namely that if they aren't making $1,000 or $5,000 investments at a time, they will never become rich. What these people don't realize is that entire armies are built one soldier at a time; so too is their financial arsenal.
A friend of mine once knew a woman who worked as a dishwasher and made her purses out of used liquid detergent bottles. This woman invested and saved everything she had despite it never being more than a few dollars at a time. Now, her portfolio is worth millions upon millions of dollars, all of which was built upon small investments. I am not suggesting you become this frugal, but the lesson is still a valuable one. Do not despise the day of small beginnings!
#3: With Each Dollar You Save, You Are Buying Yourself Freedom
When you put it in these terms, you see how spending $20 here and $40 there can make a huge difference in the long run. Since money has the ability to work in your place, the more of it you employ, the faster and larger it will grow. Along with more money comes more freedom - the freedom to stay home with your kids, the freedom to retire and travel around the world, or the freedom to quit your job. If you have any source of income, it is possible for you to start building wealth today. It may only be $5 or $10 at a time, but each of those investments is a stone in the foundation of your financial freedom.
#4: You Are Responsible for Where You Are in Your Life
Years ago, a friend told me she didn't want to invest in stocks because she "didn't want to wait ten years to be rich..." she would rather enjoy her money now. The folly with this school of thinking is that the odds are, you are going to be alive in ten years. The question is whether or not you will be better off when you arrive there. Where you are right now is the sum total of the decisions you have made in the past. Why not set the stage for your life in the future right now?
#5: Instead of Buying the Product... Buy the Stock!
Someone once asked me why they weren't wealthy. They always felt like they were putting money aside, yet never seemed to get any further ahead. The answer is simple. I told them to stop buying the products companies sell and start buying the company itself! A survey of America's affluent (those who make over $225,000 a year or own $3,000,000 in assets) revealed that 27-30% of all the income the wealthy earned went into investments and savings. That isn't a result of being rich, that is why they are rich. When the pain of getting out of the bondage of financial slavery is greater than the pain of changing your spending habits, you will become rich. Either change, or be content to live as you are.
#6: Study and Admire Success and Those Who Have Achieved It... Then Emulate It
A very wise investor once said to pick the traits you admire and dislike the most about your heroes, then do everything in your power to develop the traits you like and reject the ones you don't. Mold yourself into who you want to become. You'll find that by investing in yourself first, money will begin to flow into your life. Success and wealth beget success and wealth. You have to purchase your way into that cycle, and you do so by building your army one soldier at a time and putting your money to work for you.
#7: Realize that More Money is Not the Answer
More money is not going to solve your problem. Money is a magnifying glass; it will accelerate and bring to light your true habits.
If you are not capable of handling a job paying $18,000 a year, the worst possible thing that could happen to you is for you to earn six figures. It would destroy you. I have met too many people earning $100,000 a year who are living from paycheck to paycheck and don't understand why it is happening. The problem isn't the size of their checkbook, it is the way in which they were taught to use money.
#8: Unless Your Parents Were Wealthy, Don't Do What They Did
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. If your parents were not living the life you want to live then don't do what they did! You must break away from the mentality of past generations if you want to have a different lifestyle than they had.
To achieve the financial freedom and success that your family may or may not have had, you have to do two things. First, make a firm commitment to get out of debt. To find out which debts should be paid off before you invest and those that are acceptable, read Pay Off Your Debt or Invest?. Second, make saving and investing the highest financial priority in your life; one technique is to pay yourself first.
Purchasing equity is vital to your financial success as an individual whether you are in need of cash income or desire long-term appreciation in stock value. Nowhere else can your money do as much for you as when you use it to invest in a business that has wonderful long-term prospects.
#9: Don't Worry
The miracle of life is that it doesn't matter so much where you are, it matters where you are going. Once you have made the choice to take control back of your life by building up your net worth, don't give a second thought to the "what ifs". Every moment that goes by, you are growing closer and closer to your ultimate goal - control and freedom.
Every dollar that passes through your hands is a seed to your financial future. Rest assured, if you are diligent and responsible, financial prosperity is an inevitability. The day will come when you make your last payment on your car, your house, or whatever else it is you owe. Until then, enjoy the process.

Article Courtesy of
How to Become Wealthy
From Joshua Kennon,Your Guide to Investing for Beginners.FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

So you have burned your credit -- Bad Credit Refinance

What makes a bad credit refinance different from a regular refinance loan?
A bad credit refinance will typically have a much higher interest rate (2-6% depending on the borrower's credit) than a loan for someone with excellent credit.
People typically do a bad credit refinance for one of the following reasons:
1. Bad credit refinance to consolidate bills. Someone who has high balances on several high interest rate credit cards, car loans or other forms of installment debt. A bad credit refinance loan with an interest rate of 12% is still better than paying 21% on multiple credit cards. Since the loan for a bad credit refinance is spread out over 30 years, the monthly payment for the loan (even at the higher interest rate) would still be lower than the total of all of the individual monthly debt payments.
2. Bad credit refinance to get a lower mortgage rate. A person may have decided 2 years ago to get a mortgage after filing a recent bankruptcy. The interest rate on this loan is likely to have been extremely high. After making some improvements to his/her credit, the borrower may try to get a new bad credit refinance in an effort to get a lower interest rate than they are paying on the current loan. If a person was paying 13% interest, a 10% interest rate could help lower the monthly payment and cut interest costs dramatically.

Lender fees for a bad credit refinance will also be higher. Keep in mind however, if you consistently make your payments on time for two (2) consecutive years for a bad credit refinance and take continued steps to improve your credit, you should be able to refinance into a much lower interest rate.

Bad credit refinance information brought to you by LocalLender.Info

How do you get someone else to pay your downpayment? ----to buy a home!

1. Are you tired of paying your landlord every month so that he continues to build his assets and you have nothing to show for it other than a rent bill?
2. Do you want to have a safe environment for your children to grow up in?
3. Are you looking to become part of a community where you and your family can begin to build fond memories?
4. Did you think you’d have to wait until you saved enough money to buy a home?
5. Have you always wanted to own a home?
6. Are you looking to buy a bigger home?
7. Have you maintained decent credit especially with your mortgage or rent payments?

If you answered YES to any of these questions, then you probably have what it takes to own your own home.

If you are looking to buy in the city of Atlanta, this is the place to start.

(click here)
"HOME ATLANTA MORTGAGE PROGRAM"

Homeownership (...but I have little cash and not so good credit) exploring a Lease-Purchase Agreement

The lease-purchase offers homeownership opportunities to consumers with little cash and/or poor credit, who are prepared to bet on themselves. The bet is that before the option period expires, they will qualify for the mortgage they need to exercise the purchase option. During the option period, they have the opportunity to rebuild their credit and accumulate equity while living in the house.
A lease-to-own house purchase (also "rent-to-own purchase" or "lease purchase") is a lease combined with an option to purchase the property within a specified period, usually 3 years or less, at an agreed-upon price. The borrower pays an option fee, 1% to 5% of the price, which is credited to the purchase price.
To read the complete article on Lease Purchases (Click Here)