Bill Bonner: The Opportunity of a Lifetime – In Real Estate

Bill-Bonner2

“At Bonner & Partners Family Office, the family wealth advisory service my son Will and I set up in 2009, we struggled with the same thing. But fortunately, we have recommended high allocations to real estate since the start.  Although the bust is over in America, bubbles are developing elsewhere… especially where they speak English. According to The Economist, house prices are 20% too high in Britain, 46% over fair value in Australia and 74% over fair value in Canada. In non-English speaking countries, too, real estate booms may be turning into bubbles, thanks largely to government policies. Yes, the authorities are fooling with interest rates… and giving buyers an opportunity.”

http://www.bonnerandpartners.com/the-opportunity-of-a-lifetime-in-real-estate/

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Carlyle Jumps Into Niche Space: Trailer Parks

Carlyle Group LP, a private-equity firm that has interests in everything from an oil refinery to a vitamin maker, is adding trailer parks to its portfolio.  Analysts said the deal is evidence that big investors are betting that the demand for low-cost manufactured housing, the latest generation of trailers or mobile homes, will rise as other housing alternatives become too expensive for a number of Americans, especially senior citizens. Landlords like the steady income stream—tenants tend to stay put, especially retirees—and the low maintenance costs. Also, the communities are easy to run and typically stay full and see rents increase during market downturns.”

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304330904579135654261763692

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Carlyle Cuts Apartment Holdings After Rent Growth Slows

Carlyle Group LP (CG), the private-equity firm with more than a third of its $2.3 billion U.S. real estate fund in apartments, is reducing holdings of multifamily housing as rent growth slows from a post-recession surge. The company is considering apartment sales as rising construction reduces multifamily shortages and price gains for rental properties make them less attractive for private-equity firms that seek returns of 20 percent or more, said Robert Stuckey, the Washington-based firm’s head of U.S. real estate investing. Carlyle has invested or committed about $800 million of equity in 61 multifamily properties since the start of 2011, he said.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-01/carlyle-cuts-apartment-holdings-after-rent-growth-slows.html

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The Ultimate Layer of Financial Protection

“If you have a standard IRA from a large US financial institution, it would only take a phone call from the US government and poof, your dividend-paying stocks and corporate bonds could instantly be transformed into government paper.  It’s happened in Argentina and numerous other countries, and it is certainly an option on the table in the US. Heck, there are already whispers about the US government assuming some risk for US retirement accounts. That’s code for forced conversion of assets into government bonds.  Obviously, this is much harder for the government to do if your retirement assets are sufficiently internationalized.”

https://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/1006-the-ultimate-layer-of-financial-protection

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U.S. builders hoard mineral rights under new homes

“Homebuilders and developers have been increasingly — and quietly — hanging on to the mineral rights underneath their projects, pushing aside homeowners’ interests to set themselves up for financial gain when energy companies come calling. This is happening in regions far beyond the traditional American oil patch, which has a long history of selling subsurface rights.  Among the smart ones are private firms like Oakwood Homes in Colorado, the Groce Companies in North Carolina, Wynne/Jackson in Texas, and Shea Homes, which builds coast to coast. Publicly traded companies that engage in the practice include the Ryland Group, Pulte Homes and Beazer Homes.”

http://business.financialpost.com/2013/10/09/u-s-builders-hoard-mineral-rights-under-new-homes-in-case-energy-companies-come-calling/

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28 Detroit houses selling for $500 at county auction

“Nearly 15,000 homes, businesses, churches and industrial buildings in Detroit are up for auction for a minimum $500 bid.  This is the second and final round of Wayne County’s annual tax-foreclosure auction.  Some of the properties are abandoned and gutted, while others would fetch more than $85,000 in any other community.  The auction kicked off this week and ends between Oct. 21 and 25.  This is part of our continuing coverage of an auction that could help or hurt the struggling city.  Check out Why Don’t We Own This? to view all of the properties up for bid and to use some nifty mapping technology.”

http://motorcitymuckraker.com/2013/10/11/28-detroit-houses-selling-for-500-at-wayne-county-auction/

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New York Just Subpoenaed Airbnb to Hand Over Its User Data

“The war between New York City and Airbnb is raging on, and the future of the hospitality business hangs in the balance.  The city is fighting the startup for breaking local laws against operating an illegal hotel out of your home, worried that hustlers are abusing the online service to turn a profit. To that end, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman just slapped the company with a subpoena to hand over the user data of all New Yorkers who’ve listed their apartment on the site, the New York Daily News reported today. That’s about 225,000 users.  Airbnb users offer up a lot of sensitive personal information on the site, including details that could determine which listings are breaking the law.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/new-york-just-subpoenaed-airbnb-to-hand-over-its-user-data

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“Terrorism” for Foreigners is “Exceptionalism” for Washington

“Some defenders of the CIA’s Iranian coup claim that it was justified because Mossadegh’s government was nationalizing US and British oil companies in Iran. If that action is defensible, why shouldn’t the Iranian government stage a coup to retaliate for the US government’s seizure of an Iranian-owned office building near Rockefeller Center? The seizure is being carried out under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which supposedly gives the government authority to confiscate terrorism-related assets. When foreign governments confiscate assets, Washington calls it terrorism. When Washington does the same, it’s called ‘American exceptionalism.'”

http://prolibertate.us/index.php/terrorism-for-foreigners-is-exceptionalism?blog=7

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Pittsburgh Residents Being Fined For Parking In Their Own Driveway

“It sounds absurd: tickets and warning letters for parking in your own driveway.  But Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor says it’s happened on two city streets – one in the West End and one in Squirrel Hill.  A pregnant mother of seven who lives across the street is trying to follow the rule, but can’t get out of the driver’s side of her van anymore. She has to crawl out of the passenger’s side when she parks the vehicle between her home and her neighbor’s. O’Connor says the tickets and warning letters are issued by the Bureau of Building Inspection. KDKA was unable to reach anyone from that office Wednesday night. He says one family ended up paying a $2,400 fine.”

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/09/11/some-city-residents-being-fined-for-parking-in-their-own-driveway/

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Just Say the Magic Word

“When your government starts arbitrarily seizing skyscrapers, the time to start thinking about and devising an internationalization strategy was yesterday.  If you have not already started, I’d suggest that it is high time to get going. This goes double for libertarians and anyone else who could one day become the government’s next enemy du jour.  All the government has to do is say the magic T-word, and poof: your rights, your assets, and even your life can be taken from you in an instant, without due process, and the vast majority of people will approve of it.”

http://www.internationalman.com/78-global-perspectives/1008-just-say-the-magic-word

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