February 9, 2004 Interesting Blurb from Richard Russell on simple formula for real estate investing.
Now I want to say something
about real estate. My father was in real estate all his life. Dad was a civil
engineer, and prior to the Depression he was a builder. He knew building from
the foundations to the elevators to the roofs to the electrical systems.. Then
the Depression hit, and construction stopped dead. Nobody built a damn thing --
wait, the government built post offices and roads, mainly to give people jobs.
During the Depression and afterwards, my father went into management. He managed
building for Tishman Co. and these were all New York City Apartment houses --
many on Park Avenue. In those days, times were was so tough that you had to
negotiate a lease on an apartment. In other words, you had to sit down with a
prospective tenant, and try to get him to sign on the dotted line. Believe me,
it wasn't easy, and my dad would often come home exhausted after getting someone
to signs a one-year lease.
My father had a "formula" that he used when buying a house, any house. He
insisted, "No matter what you buy, figure it's going to cost you 10 percent to
carry. That includes loss of interest on your the money you put down, property
taxes, wear-and-tear, repairs, extras -- your cost will ALWAYS come to 10
percent." I've checked these figures over and over again, and my father war
correct. When you buy real estate, think 10 percent!
Today in the WSJ there's a group (with pictures) of five houses that are listed
as rental and income properties. The first house is typical. It's in Sanibel,
Florida, a two bedroom condo -- price $1,150,000. The house rents for $39,000
for the year. OK, so the house cost you $115,000 to carry (10%), and you pull in
$39,000. Loss $76,000.
Russell conclusion -- This is an income property? It's selling at near three
times what it's worth as an investment, in my opinion. And this is typical of
almost all real estate today.
You want your own home and a roof over your head that you can call your own?
Fine, buy a house, own a house. But if you think you're getting a bargain today,
forget it. Houses, like stocks, are overpriced. Period. The only economic reason
to buy a house today is the thesis that inflation will bail you out. The only
thing I don't like about that reasoning is that the public has swallowed it
hook, line and sinker. Too many people own homes today and far too many own them
along with fat mortgages.