The purpose of this blog is to help Investors evaluate the current benefits of owning their Investment Properties, and to help you decide if its time to roll your current equity into a bigger (and better) property.
When you first bought your Investment Property you probably made a great investment. But have you owned it too long?
Depending on how long youve held your property, it might not be a good investment anymore. I didnt say not a good property; I said not a good investment. Read on to find a simple way to determine if your property is still measuring up. You may be in for a surprise!
First, lets quickly review the four financial benefits of owning investment real estate:
1. CASH FLOW: After you pay all expenses and loan payments, cash flow is the money left over.
2. PRINCIPAL REDUCTION: The loan is paid down with money collected from tenants.
3. INCOME TAX SAVINGS: IRS rules allow property owners to take depreciation deductions, which shelter the cash flow and principal reduction. Any leftover depreciation creates a paper loss, which, in many cases, can be used to shelter other income such as salary from your job.
4. APPRECIATION: Typically over time, the property increases in value.
These four benefits are powerful! You earn tax-sheltered cash flow, your tenants buy you the building, you get to tell the IRS youre losing money, and all-the-while, the property goes up in value. What a country!
So why am I challenging you to reconsider whether your property is still a good investment? Simple! Your return on equity is probably low and getting lower by the year!
Let me show you an example. Dont get all tangled up in the numbers. Just concentrate on the big picture and how it applies to you.
Return on Equity Drops from 18% to 7%!
Assume you bought a rental house 16 years ago for $70,000. You invested $10,000 and borrowed the rest. Your goal is to retire in another 15 years and use the rental house to provide retirement income. (A great plan!)
So, how good was your investment 16 years ago? Lets total your benefits. Assume the cash flow, principal reduction and tax savings added up to $1,800 that first year. You were earning 18 percent ($1,800 divided by $10,000) on your investment. Not bad. Plus the rental house was appreciating. Youre an investment genius!
Fast-forward 16 years to the present. Lets assume the following: Your yearly cash flow has increased to $5,000 and the principal reduction is $2,000; a total of $7,000 just from the first two benefits! In addition, lets assume the net value of your rental house has appreciated over the years so its now worth $120,000 and your loan has been paid down to $40,000.
However, because youve owned the property so long, the depreciation deductions (assume theyre $3,000) are no longer enough to shelter the $7,000 of cash flow and principal reduction. That leaves $4,000 of unsheltered (taxable) income. Instead of saving tax, you have to pay tax. If you're in a 35-percent bracket, (combined federal and state), you pay $1,400 tax.
So, your benefits from the rental house now look like this: $5,000 cash flow, plus $2,000 principal reduction, minus $1,400 tax paid. A total of $5,600.
This is all summarized on the Return on Equity Worksheet below. (The blanks in the right column are for you to use on your own property.)
Its no wonder you consider yourself an investment genius if you measure the $5,600 against your original $10,000 investment: thats a 56 percent return. But thats where most people go wrong!
Your Original Investment Has Nothing to Do with Todays Rate of Return!
Your investment is not the amount you originally invested years ago. Youve got way more than $10,000 tied up today! Your investment is the amount you could get out of the property if you sold it today. Thats called your net equity.
Over the past 16 years, your property has increased in value and your mortgage has been paid down. The current difference between the propertys net value (after selling expenses) and your mortgage balance is $80,000. In other words, if you sold the property today, you could walk away with $80,000.
However, if you keep the property, in effect youre re-investing the $80,000 into the property. Now, how does your investment look?
Not so good. Youre earning $5,600 in benefits on an $80,000 investment thats only 7 percent! What if I called you up and said, Ive got a great real estate investment for you. Youll earn a measly 7 percent. Youd hang up on them! Well, you already own it!
If you wouldnt buy a property like that, why would you continue to own it?
What if you did this instead? Use your $80,000 equity as the down payment on a different property one that produces 18 percent again? With that down payment you could probably afford a $400,000 rental property. Once youve owned that property for a few years, your equity will have grown again (and your rate of return fallen), so you repeat the process. The goal is to maintain the highest possible rate of return, which will make a huge difference in your future wealth.
Youll maximize your wealth by wisely moving your equity from your current property to another as soon as your rate of return would be greater in the next property.
Just for fun, take out your calculator and figure how much money youd have in 15 years if you leave the $80,000 invested at 7 percent. Then calculate what $80,000 invested at 18 percent grows to in 15 years. I could give you the answer but you might not believe me check for yourselfits gigantic!
Three Ways to Move Your Equity
Heres a key point. If you decide its time to move your equity, be sure to explore all your options. There are three common ways to move equity:
1. SELL: You could sell your current property and buy another. The problem with selling is you have to pay capital gains tax.
2. REFINANCE: You could refinance your property and use the loan proceeds to buy another property. The problem with refinancing is youre probably not able to borrow the entire $80,000 equity.
3. EXCHANGE: The third, and best, way to move your equity is to exchange. Exchanging allows you to move your entire $80,000 net equity to another property without paying tax. Its wealth buildings most powerful tool. We discussed many of the benefits and nuances of 1031 Like Kind Exchanges at our last Investment Seminar. (Please let me know if you would like a print out from the seminar.)
So, what does this all mean? Well, if you own rental property, congratulations. Your investment brilliance shines brightly. However, the longer you own that property your glow begins to fade.
The wise thing to do is re-evaluate your property every year. In essence, make the decision to re-buy the property. As soon as the rate of return on your equity could be higher in another property, its time to take action.
I am happy to meet with you to help evaluate your current Return on Equity, and discuss opportunities in the current market. Just give me a call at 802-846-9575, or send me an email: steve@lipvt.com and dont forget to check out our website: www.lipvt.com
The proceeding article was written by one of my mentors, Tom Lundstedt, CCIM. He's a former Major League Baseball player who has gone on to write numerous articles and has conducted some of the most entertaining seminars on
Its no wonder you consider yourself an investment genius if you measure the $5,600 against your original $10,000 investment: thats a 56 percent return. But thats where most people go wrong!
Your Original Investment Has Nothing to Do with Todays Rate of Return!
Your investment is not the amount you originally invested years ago. Youve got way more than $10,000 tied up today! Your investment is the amount you could get out of the property if you sold it today. Thats called your net equity.
Over the past 16 years, your property has increased in value and your mortgage has been paid down. The current difference between the propertys net value (after selling expenses) and your mortgage balance is $80,000. In other words, if you sold the property today, you could walk away with $80,000.
However, if you keep the property, in effect youre re-investing the $80,000 into the property. Now, how does your investment look?
Not so good. Youre earning $5,600 in benefits on an $80,000 investment thats only 7 percent! What if I called you up and said, Ive got a great real estate investment for you. Youll earn a measly 7 percent. Youd hang up on them! Well, you already own it!
If you wouldnt buy a property like that, why would you continue to own it?
What if you did this instead? Use your $80,000 equity as the down payment on a different property one that produces 18 percent again? With that down payment you could probably afford a $400,000 rental property. Once youve owned that property for a few years, your equity will have grown again (and your rate of return fallen), so you repeat the process. The goal is to maintain the highest possible rate of return, which will make a huge difference in your future wealth.
Youll maximize your wealth by wisely moving your equity from your current property to another as soon as your rate of return would be greater in the next property.
Just for fun, take out your calculator and figure how much money youd have in 15 years if you leave the $80,000 invested at 7 percent. Then calculate what $80,000 invested at 18 percent grows to in 15 years. I could give you the answer but you might not believe me check for yourselfits gigantic!
Three Ways to Move Your Equity
Heres a key point. If you decide its time to move your equity, be sure to explore all your options. There are three common ways to move equity:
1. SELL: You could sell your current property and buy another. The problem with selling is you have to pay capital gains tax.
2. REFINANCE: You could refinance your property and use the loan proceeds to buy another property. The problem with refinancing is youre probably not able to borrow the entire $80,000 equity.
3. EXCHANGE: The third, and best, way to move your equity is to exchange. Exchanging allows you to move your entire $80,000 net equity to another property without paying tax. Its wealth buildings most powerful tool. We discussed many of the benefits and nuances of 1031 Like Kind Exchanges at our last Investment Seminar. (Please let me know if you would like a print out from the seminar.)
So, what does this all mean? Well, if you own rental property, congratulations. Your investment brilliance shines brightly. However, the longer you own that property your glow begins to fade.
The wise thing to do is re-evaluate your property every year. In essence, make the decision to re-buy the property. As soon as the rate of return on your equity could be higher in another property, its time to take action.
I am happy to meet with you to help evaluate your current Return on Equity, and discuss opportunities in the current market. Just give me a call at 802-846-9575, or send me an email: steve@lipvt.com and dont forget to check out our website: www.lipvt.com
The proceeding article was written by one of my mentors, Tom Lundstedt, CCIM. He's a former Major League Baseball player who has gone on to write numerous articles and has conducted some of the most entertaining seminars on