Tag: Real Estate

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Here we are – the beginning of 2023 ! You have been waiting to make decisions and commitments until the holidays are over. Now what?

If you are thinking of moving – up, down, around, or away – here are a few tips to help you structure your activities:

  • Decided whether you want to sell or keep your current real estate. Either way, consult a competent real estate broker. The possibilities are endless and your investment and risk are huge. Be selfish and work with the best (that would be us – read our website and see for yourself).
  • If you plan to sell, list long before you want to go on the market. That way pre-marketing excitement can bring the best buyer.
  • Go through all the nooks and crannies of your home (that includes closest that you often use). Start with all off-season belongings first. Decide whether you will keep, toss, or donate.
  • If you have a home of 2000+ Square Feet, know that it will take you several weeks to complete the culling and packing.
  • Be smart and not impulsive. There are many garments and things, that due to the current circumstances ,have remained unworn or unused. Do not throw away anything on a whim. It doesn’t matter if it makes you happy if you will need it later. You will buy it back for more money and of lesser quality. Keep your stuff. Your happiness will compound with lower bills. Be a good steward.
  • Do not make capital investments in your current home unless it will be a coat of paint and some flooring. Keep it simple. Do not replace appliances with stainless steel.
  • Chose a smart real estate agent who knows what sells and what brings in the most return for your investment. – Again, that would be us – not bragging, just the facts.
  • In 2022, our listings sold for 105% of list price and our buyers paid 95.5% of list price. How is that? Ask us.
  • We’ll be happy to show you how you can benefit from our 35 years of experience in all sorts of markets.

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Should You Invest in Real Estate? Shakespeare Did!

New Place – Shakespeare’s Home; the second largest in Stratford – upon- Avon
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14804882903/


William Shakespeare penned the famous words for his play, Hamlet, sometime between 1599 and 1601. He was already a successful poet and playwright because in May 1597, he purchased the 107-year-old “New Place” to be the home for his wife, Anne, their daughter Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. He was 33 years old when he purchased the enormous 20+ room house with five gables, two orchards, and two gardens.

Shakespeare’s Birthplace – converted to an income producing pub
photo credit: By Diliff – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22120641

In 1601, Shakespeare inherited his parents’ house, his “birthplace.” He enhanced and added on to it and turned part of it into an income producing pub.

In 1602 he purchased 107 acres of land from which he received handsome rental returns. Stanley Wells, professor and editor of the Oxford Shakespeare, is quoted in an April 18, 2014 Financial Times article by Annie Maccoby Berglof, “He bought New Place; a lot of land in 1604; a cottage in Cottage Lane. For much of his life, he was investing in property,”

In Shakespeare’s society, using “other people’s money” was well accepted. He used a mortgage with which to buy the Blackfriars Gate House in 1613.

In addition to being a savvy real estate investor, Shakespeare invested in other profitable ventures as well as in his performance and theater companies.

To recap, for most of his professional life, Shakespeare invested and acquired real estate. He made his initial capital from acting and writing plays. Then he diversified.

“Money buys lands, and wives are sold by fate.” Merry Wives of Windsor, Act V Scene 5
Photo credit: Public domain

Why does this matter and how does this translate to our lives today?

Mark Twain and/or Will Rogers are credited for saying, “Buy land. They are not making any more of it.”

Did you know that more than 90% of today’s wealthiest people made their fortunes in real estate?

You can enjoy tremendous benefits by investing in real estate –

  1. Appreciation
  2. Favorable tax treatment
  3. Leverage
  4. Borrow more through refinance
  5. Others repay your principle
  6. Income
  7. Land always has value

There is nothing new under the sun in 425 years!  Should you consider diversifying and adding real estate to your portfolio?