Jim Nichols – Video Podcast
March 31st, 2009
We have the privilege of being joined by Grace University Professor Jim Nichols in this video podcast as he shares his insight on the underlying antecedents of the housing crash.
Archive
Archive for March, 2009
Taxes and the Real Estate Investor
March 30th, 2009
Just like everything else in the world of business, taxes can be a major factor to those involved in Real Estate. This week’s podcast cover’s many different aspects and implications of the taxes that affect Real Estate.
*DISCLAIMER: This podcast is in no way tax advice. Everyone should consult a licensed CPA before engaging in any tax planning.*
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REIT Stocks and the Omaha Real Estate Market
March 29th, 2009
If invest in real estate you should track REIT stocks. Warren Buffet says that the stock market is a voting machine in the short term and a weighing machine in the long term. As you know I like Costar Group for general real estate information. Here is an article of what the REIT market is doing. I know it may seem that it is beyond what a lot of use are doing. But all a REIT does is own real estate. So I think we can each get something out of what the REIT Market is doing.
Here is just one index, I encourage you to track one, there are many others
U.S. commercial property sale prices dropped by the largest percentage on record in the final months of 2008, according to a new report by the MIT Center for Real Estate.
March 28th, 2009
As you know I am always on the look out for articles that reference the MIT Center for real estate. The Center did a study that says that commercial real estate had the largest drop in real estate prices ever. Here is the article
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/bus/stories/020509dnbusmit.1a8af162.html
Midtown Crossings
March 28th, 2009
I have to admit it is very exciting to see the construction of midtown crossings each day. I am even more excited to see how it effects development of the area around that project. Does anyone know what it going to happen with the former Multivest Real Estate building and land at Park Ave and Douglas. I know that Mary Schon has sold it, but it is not clear who she sold it to or what they are going to do with it.
Here is an link to an interesting site for what is going on in downtown Omaha
11 great quotes from John Wooden
March 26th, 2009
I have read a lot of books and I cannot believe that I had not read Wooden on leadership. John Wooden was head basketball coach of the UCLA bruins and wrote this book. It is a must read. Here are some of the quotes from the book that I like
1. Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.
2. Ability is a poor man’s wealth
3. A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.
4. Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.
5. If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.
6. It isn’t what you do, but how you do it.
7. It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
8. Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
9. Success is never final, failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.
10. Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.
11. You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.
The impact of schools to a local enonomy
March 25th, 2009
I heard once that Omaha is one of only 5 cities with two medical schools. I have also heard that it will be difficult for Omaha to enter into a deep recession because of this. I found an interesting article on the wsj that supports this
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123783142333116161.html
Top 10 reasons that you should volunteer or go on a missions trip in a different country
March 24th, 2009
As many of you know I am follower of Christ and I go on missions trips because of my faith. But regardless of where you are on your spiritual journey, I think everyone needs to take some of their vacation time and go on a trip that is purely to help someone else. I was talking to Abby, Dino’s Storage Operations Manager, today and we were talking about how great our quota club trip is but we never really get to see what it is like to live in another country and how blessed we are that we were born in the wealthiest country in the world(see my post on Outliers).
If you are interested in a mission trip and you do not have a connection with a church that has a good pipeline of this kind of opportunities send me an email and I will put you in touch with a few different churches and other NGO’s.
If you do not want to go on a mission trip with a faith based organization.
Here is a link to an organization that does it for humanitarian reasons.
http://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/programs/volunteer-abroad.aspx?siteID=Google_volunteering&_kk=c6cf6afe-91df-42ff-8232-614a811c528e&_kt=2807869656&gclid=COvz0eSju5kCFQHHGgodFlSM7A
So here hare my top 10 reasons to go on a mission’s trip or volunteer abroad
1. Everyone has to experience the torture of a 10 plus hour flight 
2. We would realize that many people in the world speak two languages
3. You would be thankful for ordinary things. Like electricity and hot water -everyday
4. You would be more appreciative of your job and you role in life
5. You would realize how many opportunities you have to succeed in anything you want to do
6. You would realize how we have such great access to health care
7. You would realize how great it is to be part of the most powerful country in the world
8. .You would realize that Americans need to put more emphasis on families
9. That the way we do things in our life is not the way.
10.How you look at everything would change. It would be what I call a “strategic inflection point.”
What Americans can learn from Malians
March 23rd, 2009
Fresh off the trip to Mali, this week’s podcast coves the rich differences in culture and what we can learn from our fellow brothers and sisters in Africa.
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When bad things happen to good people and is it better to be smart or lucky?
March 19th, 2009
I have been thinking a lot about this subject lately. My brother Luke recently gave me the book Outliers by Malcome Gladwell. Do not read the whole book, only read the first 5 chapters. The rest of the book just repeats there five chapters. One of the points in the book he makes is that although we are all in control of how much we work. We are not in control of the timing. Look at the stock market and its peak of 12,000 plus. Just think if you were one of those people and had decided that it was time to retire and take your money out of the stock market and buy treasuries. Not because you were trying to time the market. But because you decided you did not want to work anymore and your financial guy said that you needed as low of risk as possible.
The same goes true for the guy down the street from me that sold the house for $408,000 at the perfect time. He was not trying to time the market he just wanted to move to a different neighborhood because of his stage of life changed. The house is listed for almost 50% less now
The point of the book is that how well you do has a little to do with how smart you are. But it has more to do with when you are born. In the book he talks about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and the importance of their birthdates as it relates to their success. I would love to hear some thoughts on this.
