Creating Wealth Real Estate Investing with Jason Hartman

Join Jason Hartman and Investor Watchdog, Jack Waymire, for a discussion concerning the ethics of the financial services industry. According to Jack, the frequent lack of integrity undermines the achievement of investors’ financial goals. Companies do not do what is best for you. They are very good at hiding information that they do not want their investors to know. Investor Watchdog investigates these companies and products, acting as a go-between for investors and advisers, answering frequently asked questions, such as, “How do I know I’m getting the right financial advice?” Jack shares examples of deceptive practices by various companies and how the executives that run the companies, i.e. Goldman Sachs, are insulated from accountability simply by paying fines rather than serving jail time for unethical and illegal practices. Jason and Jack touch on the subject of the Madoff Ponzi Scheme, where Jack talks about some of the evidence that was found, as a glaring example of unethical sales pitches and conman tactics. Jack also informs listeners of what deceptive sales practices to watch out for when dealing with financial advisers.

Despite popular belief, China is no longer a cheap place to do business with labor costs and real estate costs soaring. Join Jason Hartman as he interviews Shaun Rein, author of The End of Cheap China and Managing Director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai, about debunking common myths, such as China is stealing U.S. jobs. Many companies have begun doing business in China, due to what Shaun refers to as “capitalism on steroids.” Labor costs have increased in China to the tune of around 20 percent, and the government is trying to increase wages yearly over the next five years. Another factor affecting manufacturing costs over time is that fewer of the younger generation wants to be employed in manufacturing jobs, wanting to realize their white class dreams. China is also pushing middle class development to offset the manufacturing issue.Shaun Rein is the Managing Director of CMR, the world's leading strategic market intelligence firm. He is one of the world's recognized thought leaders on strategy consulting.

Join Jason Hartman and consulting economist, John Williams, for a discussion about how government statistics don’t paint the whole picture of economic conditions. Many years ago, John realized that GNP (now GDP) numbers were faulty, causing his clients’ sales forecasting models to no longer work. This eventually led John into lengthy research of the history and nature of the government’s economic reporting. John explains how the numbers reported by the government hide important information; for example, true unemployment rates, which fail to include the unemployed no longer receiving unemployment benefits and those who are underemployed. Inflation statistics are misrepresented, which affects GDP. Following changes in CPI methodology, the Consumer Price Index understates inflation significantly. John points out that cost of living increases were based on inflation data, but with the numbers so skewed, the increases are no longer representative of the actual costs. He provides a history of how these changes came about and how it has affected commerce, social security and payroll. John feels roughly seven percentage points should be added to real inflation rates in our current economy.

Join Jason Hartman and co-founder and director of Neuro Leadership Institute, Dr. David Rock, as they explore conceptual issues of the brain as it pertains to work, such as focus, managing distractions, why our brains feel taxed, and how to maximize mental resources. Dr. Rock explains how being able to get a mental picture makes it easier to process and hold information, but when you can’t come up with a mental picture, you’re more likely to lose your train of thought or have more difficulty retaining connections, causing the brain more stress. Dr. Rock also discusses optimal times for scheduling work, meetings, and undisturbed workspace. He stresses that creative work needs a lot of space in the brain, as well as a lot of quiet. “Creative work first, urgent/important second, and everything else after,” says Dr. Rock. Dr. Rock also shares the many types of quirks of the brain, such as a blue room with high ceilings increases creativity, or changing rooms actually makes it difficult to access memories formed in the previous room. His suggestion is that people need to create their own workspace. Additionally, he talks about the unconscious and conscious brain and how breakthrough moments tend to happen when trying to solve a difficult problem. The quiet brain is most important for solving problems. Dr. Rock delves into the five domains that the brain is always tracking. It is very important that we don’t get a “threat” response in any of these domains because they activate the brain’s pain network, leading to defensiveness.

Many demographic changes are taking place, with the Baby Boomers, a large generation, retiring, and Generation Y, a larger generation than the Baby Boomers, consuming at record levels. Join Jason Hartman and demographer, Ken Gronbach, as they discuss this upcoming “storm.” Ken describes Generation Y as an exciting generation, where the United States is the only country with this large of a group at the present time, and that it is very important that businesses recognize and anticipate their markets as Generation Y grows up. Generation X is more of a mystery generation because of its smaller size, which makes it less of a valuable market. Ken believes that the United States’ best days are ahead as people bail out of the European Union. He also believes that China’s economic future is bleak due to artificial tampering with the population, with demographic numbers showing China in trouble economically within ten years, struggling to feed themselves within 15 years.Ken shows how the housing market is being held hostage by big bank foreclosures and why this log jam will soon correct and precipitate a restoration of the United States economy. Ken also talks about how manufacturing will return to the United States with a vengeance because the United States is the only industrialized nation with a huge young highly skilled workforce.

Join Jason Hartman as he opens with some thoughts on buying far below construction or replacement costs sharing an email from Allstate Insurance, then a discussion of an Orange County Register article citing Marcus & Millichap's 2012 National Apartment Report. You'll hear Michael LeBeouf, author of the NY Times best-selling book, "The Greatest Management Principle in the World", where he discusses human behavior and how "What Gets Rewarded, Gets Repeated." In the news: Underwater borrowers eligible for settlement write-downs. A calculation by a Brookings Institution economist narrowed down a pool of underwater homeowners to 500,000 who could qualify for principal reduction from the $25 billion mortgage settlement. Using the parameters of the settlement, Ted Gayer found just 5% of the nation's 11.1 million underwater borrowers could get the principal reduced on their mortgage, first reported by The Washington Post. About $10 billion of the settlement, in the form of credits, will go toward principal write-downs made by the five banks. Only homeowners delinquent on their mortgages are eligible. Gayer eliminated others according to underlying requirements, including Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans and homes not owner-occupied. It's a rough calculation, Gayer warned, and he made some assumptions in the process. He eliminated any loans not held on the banks' balance sheets, as well as any with a second loan. Mortgage bondholders may not take kindly to principal write-downs, he said.

Whether you’re trying to get a raise at your job, solve a relationship problem, or deal with a stubborn child, negotiating is a daily part of our lives, and every human interaction is affected by emotion and logic or rationalization. Jason Hartman interviews Stuart Diamond, the author of "Getting More: How to Negotiate to Achieve Your Goals in the Real World" on improving negotiating skills and interactions with others in order to “get more.” Stuart stresses the importance of making the human connection and finding the pictures in people’s heads, knowing them better in order to better meet their needs, which gives a person a more competitive edge and adds tremendous wealth to any deal. Emotions play a huge part in all interactions. “Emotions destroy negotiations because they distract people from their goals,” says Stuart. When people get emotional, they stop listening, and it becomes a priority to find out a person’s emotional temperature before proceeding on any deal. Stuart talks about key points in how people should treat one another, stating how people today have a lack of trust in one another and have a tendency to demonize one another rather than using simple solutions to solve conflicts. “Fighting is the last choice; not the first choice,” explains Stuart. Stuart Diamond has taught and advised on negotiation and cultural diversity to corporate and government leaders in more than 40 countries, including in Eastern Europe, former Soviet Republics, China, Latin America, the Middle East, Canada, South Africa and the United States. He holds an M.B.A. with honors from Wharton Business School, ranked #1 globally by The Financial Times where he is currently a professor from practice. For more than 90% of the semesters over the past 15 years his negotiation course has been the most popular in the school based on the course auction, and he has won multiple teaching awards. He has taught negotiation at Harvard Law School, from which he holds a law degree and is a former Associate Director of the Harvard Negotiation Project. He has directed a negotiation consulting firm in Cambridge, MA.

Broadcasting from Washington DC, Jason Hartman interviews financial planner, Randy Luebke on an amazing client case study of how Jason and Randy helped a client turn one property into a sizable, diversified, high cash-flow income property portfolio that will create a lasting legacy for generations to come. You'll learn more about the 1031 tax-deferred exchange strategy and much more. Prior to the case study, Jason addresses various current events including; the gold house price ratio, why you should not be investing in foreign markets like Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, etc., median priced housing at the highest affordability since 1971, the year Richard Nixon took us off the gold standard completely creating fiat money devaluation and massive price inflation and several other issues.

Jason Hartman interviews author, Amity Shlaes, about her book, “The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression.” Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of the forgotten man as the man at the bottom of the economic pyramid, the poor man, the homeless man. Miss Shlaes explains that there is another forgotten man, the taxpayer, based on an algebraic description by William Graham Sumner. Jason and Miss Shlaes explore the concept that the Great Depression was man-made, that the Federal government suppressed the economy and the markets, which slowed recovery. A zombie-like economy has ensued in America, very similar to what happened with Japan’s economic downfall, which is still recovering two decades later. Miss Shlaes also shares how the collective or community aspect, particularly farms, encouraged and funded by the government, did not work because of bad stewardship – nobody cared about anything because nobody owned anything. In order for people to care and succeed, they must be allowed to own property, own businesses, and own their homes. Amity Shlaes and Jason move on to discuss “The Greedy Hand,” as it refers to taxation. As Miss Shlaes researched the history of The Greedy Hand, she found that Americans initially resisted tax withholding, that it was not just accepted. Over time, taxation has become extremely complex, and the best solution would be to simplify it again. Miss Shlaes also shares her predictions on inflation for 2012. She encourages people to read, to educate themselves and their children. Amity Shlaes is a syndicated columnist for Bloomberg and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. In addition to writing on political economy, she writes on taxes. She is a contributor to Marketplace, the public radio show. She has appeared on numerous radio and television shows over the years. Miss Shlaes was formerly a columnist for the Financial Times and, before that a member of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, specializing in economics. In the early 1990s she served as the Journal's features, or "op ed" editor. Prior to that, she followed the collapse of communism for the Wall Street Journal/Europe. Over the years she has published in the National Review, the New Republic, Foreign Affairs (on the German economy), the American Spectator, the Suddeutsche Zeitung and Die Zeit. In 2002, she contributed an article on the US tax code to the thirtieth anniversary anthology of Tax Notes, the scholarly journal.Miss Shlaes has twice been a finalist for the Loeb Prize in commentary, her field's best known prize. In 2002, she was co-winner of the Frederic Bastiat Prize, an international prize for writing on political economy. In 2003, she spent several months at the American Academy in Berlin as the JP Morgan Fellow for finance and economy.

Join Jason Hartman and client, Patrick, for a timely discussion about the benefits of real estate investing. Patrick shares his experiences working with Jason Hartman and Platinum Properties Investor Network’s investment counselors.Patrick tells younger people, “If you can have ten houses by the time you’re 30, you’ll be set when you’re 60.” Staying power – a buy-and-hold philosophy – is the key to successful real estate investing. Patrick and Jason talk about the importance of having all of the facts about local markets before purchasing a property so that the property makes sense the day you buy it. Due diligence includes such factors as property taxes, employment, location to schools and shopping centers, crime rate, and in- and out-migration from an area, just to name a few. Patrick talks about the downside of speculating on properties, using his own experience with a rental home in California as an example, and encourages due diligence and diversification. The current economy is producing a larger number of tenants as more and more homeowners are forced out of their homes through foreclosures. This is creating a larger market for rental property, but not all markets are viable.Jason and Patrick also discuss the importance of going where the customers are going to have the easiest time and a good experience, rather than being loyal to a market that is no longer providing a good return. Jason is a firm believer that the investment has to work in real life, not just on paper. In the latter portion of the show, Patrick discusses the pros and cons of a college education and how true learning takes place in the real world.