Ten Secrets To Wealth And Life

1. Reinvest Your Profits: "Even a small sum can turn into great wealth," Schroeder writes, "If you're disciplined to not touch your profits." Let the power of compounded interest work for you.
2. Be Willing To Be Different: Don't follow the herd. Do what is best for you and your situation.
3. Never Suck Your Thumb: Ah, how I could learn from this one. Buffett makes decisions quickly based on the available information. I tend to sit and stew about things. Acting decisively can give you an advantage and prevent procrastination.
4. Spell Out The Deal Before You Start: I stress this all the time: Don't sign a contract unless you've read it (especially not a mortgage). Read the fine print. Understand what you're getting yourself into.
5. Watch Small Expenses: While it is true that the big things matter, the little things do too. Frugality is an important part of personal finance. But this principle also applies when investing, which is one reason I'm not a fan of low-cost index funds.
6. Limit What You Borrow: "Living on credit cards and loans won't make you you rich" writes Schroeder. Sure, leverage can get you into a home or a new car, but too much debt is one of the biggest drags on on your financial well-being.
7. Be Persistent: If you know what you're doing is important and right, stick to it. Doggedly pursue your goals. Learn to "fail forward."
8. Know When to Quit: The other day, I wrote about the danger of sunk cost fallacy. Just because you've already paid $10 to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal skull, doesn't mean you should sit through to the end. Be willing to cut your losses and walk away.
9. Assess the Risks: "Asking yourself 'and then what?' can help you see all of the possible consequences when your struggling to make a decision - and can guide you to the smartest choice."
10. Know What Success Really Means: Success is different for each of us. Find what it is that brings meaning in your life, what makes each day important. Make this your focus. Buffett says "When you get my age, you'll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to have love you actually do love you. That's the ultimate test of how you've lived your life."

- Warren Buffett September 8, 2008

10 Commandments For Owning Rental Property

1. Choose your own charities; don't let renter's make themselves your charities. There are no acceptable excuses for late rent. Require your renter's to pay rent on your schedule, not theirs.
2. Always get cash, or equivalents, such as money orders or credit cards.
3. Always check credit references. Don't act desperate. Having no tenants is better than having a bad tenant.
4. Be aware of who actually lives in and who comes and goes from your property. Don't allow individuals you do not approve as renters to live in your property, conduct shady activity, or alienate your other renters or neighbors.
5. Deny applicants for legitimate risk factors. Including credit, income, pets, criminal, rental history, employment, maximum occupancy. Don't insist that your tenants follow your lifestyle or family rules.
6. Begin evictions IMMEDIATELY if necessary. the only thing worse than a tenant who doesn't pay and moves is a tenant who doesn't pay and stays.
7. A clean and attractive rental helps attract better tenants. Most important are the entry, curb appeal, the smell, kitchens and bathrooms.
8. The best way to to avoid evicting a bad tenant id not to rent to that person in the first place. Remember that 90% of a landlords' problem is self inflicted.
9. Never buy rental property more than an hour away from your your home or in an area where you would be afraid to go and collect rents.
10. Get everything in writing. Don't trust your memory. No one else will.

From the Utah Apartment Association - Good Landlord program

Quick Facts

Facts from the latest 2010 survey of buyers and sellers from the National Association of Realtors.

What Sells?

• The typical home purchased was 1,780 sq. ft., was built in 1990, and had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.

Appealing To Buyers

• 44% of sellers offered incentives, like home warranties and help with closing costs, to attract buyers.

The Price Is Right

• Recent sellers typically sold their homes for 96% of the listing price; 57% reduced the asking price at least once.

Gender Gap

• There are more single female buyers than single males. But single male buyers grew by 2% between 2009-2010, and single female buyers dropped by 1%.

Cost of Living

• The median price buyers paid for homes was $179,000.

Why Does Home Ownership Matter?

• Historically, home owners' net worth has ranged from 31-46 times that of renters.
• A fixed-rate mortgage might not change for 15-30 years; rent typically increases 3% per year.
• Every home purchased pumps $60,000 into the economy.

9 Ways Utah Will Have a Better Year in 2011

A Better year in 2011

• Utah's unemployment rate will drop from 7.6% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2011.
• New residential construction will register again for the first time since 2005.
• Home builders' unsold inventory is at a very low level, improving prospects for upturn in residential construction.
• Total wages paid will increase by 4%, adding nearly a billion dollars in wages to the Utah economy.
• Net in-migration continues. In 2011 the state is expected to have net in-migration of 10,000.
• Retail sales improve. In 2011 sales are expected to be up 3.9% and increase nearly $1 billion in sales.
• Auto and truck sales will help boost retail sales in 2011. the number of new vehicle sales is expected to grow from 70,000 to 80,000 units in 2011, an increase of 14%.
• Tax revenues for state and local governments improve in FY 2011. State tax revenues are up 9.6% through the first four months of FY 2011.
• Utah exports will grow to $13.5 billion in 2011, up 7.3%.

Jim Woods forecast/Salt Lake Board of Realtors

Tax Tips - Home Ownership

Buying a home is a great way to reduce your income tax. The qualified mortgage interest you pay and your real estate taxes are both tax deductible.

Claim the Mortgage Interest Tax Deduction
Mortgage interest you pay on loans up to $1 million ($500,000 Married Filling Separately) is tax deductible, provided you use the money to buy, build or improve your home and the loan is secured by your home.

Plus, interest you pay on loans secured by your home and used for a purpose other than to buy, build or improve your home is tax deductible for loans up to $100,000 ($50,000 Married Filling Separately). The limit may be reduced depending on the market value of the home at the time you take out the loan. Use equity lines of credit wisely. If you fail to make the payment, you put your home at risk.

If your income meets the requirements and your state and local government issues you a mortgage certificate credit, you may be eligible to claim a tax credit (the mortgage interest tax credit) based on the amount of interest you paid. If you claim the tax credit, you must reduce your interest deduction by the amount of the credit.

Deduct Loan Origination Fees
Finally, don't forget about points, also called loan originating fees. One point equals 1% of your loan. Points you pay (and even points the seller pays) when you purchase your home are generally tax deductible in full the year you pay them.

Alternatively, you may choose to amortize the points over the term of your mortgage. This choice is usually made only when you itemized deductions are less than the standard deduction for the year you bought the home.

Points paid to refinance your loan must be deducted over the term of the loan. If you deduct points over the term of the loan and sell the home or refinance it gain before the loan expires, you can deduct in the year of the sale or refinancing any points that you didn't previously deduct.

Mortgage Insurance Premiums
If you took out a first mortgage in 2007, 2008 or 2009, you may be able to deduct qualified mortgage insurance premiums you pay in connection with the loan. Qualified mortgage insurance is a mortgage insurance provided by the Veterans Administration, and Federal Housing Administration, or the Rural Housing Administration, and private mortgage insurance (as defined in section 2 of the Home Protection Act of 1998 as in effect Dec. 20, 2006). Prepaid mortgage insurance premiums generally must be deducted over the period to which they apply.

Gain On The Sale Of Your Home
When you sell your home, the IRS allows you to exclude gain on the sale from taxable income, up to $250,000 ($500,000 Married Filling Jointly and you both meet the use requirement.)

You can claim the exclusion if you own and use the home as your main home for the last 2 years during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale. You may claim this exclusion only once in any 2-year period.

If you don't meet the 2-year requirement, you may be eligible to claim a reduced exclusion if you sell your home because of "unforeseen circumstances", such as a change in employment or a divorce. A loss on the sale of your home, however, isn't tax deductible.

If you used the home other than as your residence after 2008 (for example, as rental property), gain allocable to that use (nonqualified use) generally can't be excluded. The rule does not apply to:
Any nonqualified use before 2009
Any Period during the 5 year period that is after the last period of use as a principal residence.
A period of temporary absence of up to 2 years for reasons of health, employment and unforeseen circumstances.
Any period (not to exceed 10 years) during which the tax payer or spouse was serving on qualified official extended duty.