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Driscoll Enterprises Inc.

Investing in You and Your Future!

 

Issue 9 - March 2012
In this issue
Educational Corner - Eye Opening Investing Reality Check
Industry Related News - Single Family Homes, Is Now the Right Time?
Laughs and Interesting Stuff
Projects and Opportunities
 

Dear Friends,

 

Last month several of you congratulated Mary Jane and I for achieving 35 years of marriage, thank you so much!

 

This month we lost another one of our pets. He was taken unexpectedly when he was hit by a car and there was little the vet could do to help. So we relieved Leo of any further suffering and brought him home for burial. As we were preparing a final resting place for Leo several neighbors came over. I thought they were coming to see me have a heart attack as I was trying to dig in this hard Virginia clay but they were coming to say goodbye to this cat who loved people. As we continued to prepare his final resting place they shared stories about our friend Leo and spoke fondly of how we will all miss him. It is a good thing to have neighbors who are friends.

 

Spring is here in Virginia and we have had some spectacular weather, it actually hit 86 one day last week, with several days in the upper 70's. That is higher than normal but no complaints here as we get to open the windows and allow the fresh air to flow through the house.

 

The warm weather has brought a spectacular array of color to the area. So far we have been blessed to enjoy the tulips and daffodils, as well as, a wide variety of plantings in the local flowerbeds that are so popular in this area. Bradford Pear trees are plentiful in this area and offer a dazzling display of white blossoms this time of year. They are followed closely by the whites and pink blossoms of the cherry trees. The bright yellows of the Forsythia bushes and the numerous plantings of flower beds throughout this area provide the eye with so much to enjoy. Virginia is a wonderful place.

 

We hope spring where you are is just as enjoyable.

 

To my accountability buddies - I have now shed 17 of the 100 lbs. goal.   I had a bit of a hiccup in the plan because I got injured and have had some difficulty walking but I am on the mend and will be back on track in April.

 

Quote of the month: "Without financial education your money will always flow directly to those who profit from your financial ignorance."   Robert Kiyosaki author of "Rich Dad Poor Dad"

 

    Kevin and Mary Jane

 

P.S.  If you'd like us to cover a specific item of interest in our newsletter please feel free to ask.  Also, if you have a lesson learned you would like to share we'd be happy to consider adding it to a future newsletter.

 

 

Eye Opening Investment Reality Check 

 

Last month I attended a � day training event where I learned something new and thought I would share it with you.  Take a look at the table below and guess which investment would provide you the better overall return on an investment of $100,000.  ROI stands for Return on Investment and can be thought of as your yearly interest or the percentage growth your investment earned.

Reality Check 1

When I first saw this chart my MBA education told me it must the first option because the gains were always larger except for one year. However, my intuition told me that this could be a trick question. The chart below shows the actual overall Returns on the $100,000 investment.

 

As you can see by the numbers below the investments yields are almost identical over the 5 year period. This was an eye opener for me. People generally think of the stock market as the best place to invest because it offers greater returns. However a safer return at a steady rate might be a better option because it only took one down year (year 4) to equalize the total returns.

 

The table below shows a 12 year period for the actual Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) or Annualized Return of the S&P 500 from 1999 through 2011. This data was taken from the Money Chimp website.

 

S&P 500 Actuals vs 6% 

 

Using the actual S&P CAGR for the last 12 years the difference between these investing options is more dramatic even though I lowered the steady interest rate to just 6%.  This is true even though the S&P posted several years with significant double digit returns. Unfortunately most people tend to remember those years the S&P 500 achieved great returns more than the overall returns.  

 

So, if you could earn a steady 6% return on a relatively secured investment why wouldn't you do that instead of riding the roller coaster called the stock market? 
Industry Related News

 

If you know what you are doing, single family homes may offer an attractive investment opportunity. Take two minutes and see what Warren Buffet, one of the premier investors of our day, has to say about this by clicking here.    

 

If you aren't confident with your knowledge of real estate or you're not sure where you are going to live the next 5 - 10 years or you don't want to manage property, there is another way to earn money from these types of investments. Because the government limits the number of mortgages people can hold, and even investors have limited personal funds, people like us work with private lenders providing them higher returns than they can receive on most other investments.  

 

Private lenders usually have their investments secured three ways: by the real estate itself, the insurance on the real estate, and because we never pay retail for a property, the equity that is built in when we purchase a property. Therefore this is one option you can use to diversify your investments.

 

Just to let you know, we believe in this method of investment, we use our own money to invest in our projects as well as other real estate investor's projects when the project looks solid.

 

Laughs and Interesting Stuff 

 

 

Please build me a bridge

 
A man on his Harley was riding along a California beach when suddenly he saw a brass oil lamp sticking out of the sand. He wondered if it could be a magic lamp so he stopped, picked it up and rubbed the side of the lamp. Sure enough a genie appeared and offered to grant him one wish.  

 

The man thought for a moment and said, "I'd like you to build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want."

"Well", the Genie replied, "think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take! Plus there are the environmental concerns. I can do it, but are you sure that would be the best use of your one wish?"

 

The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, "I wish that I, and all men, could understand women; I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, why she snaps and complains when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy."

The Genie thought about that for a minute and asked, "Do you want two lanes or four on that bridge...?"


Life on the farm

 

A Missouri farmer drove his pickup to the neighbor's and knocked at the door. A boy, about 9, opened the door.

 

"Is your Dad home?" 

 

"No sir, he isn't; he went to town."

 

"Well, is your Mother here?"

 

"No sir, she went to town with Dad."

 

"How about your brother, Howard, is he here?" 

 

"No sir, He went with Mom and Dad."

 

The farmer stood there for a few minutes, shifting from one foot to the other, and mumbling to himself. 

 

"Is there anything I can do for you? I know where all the tools are, if you want to borrow one, or I can give dad a message."

 

"Well," said the rancher uncomfortably, "I really wanted to talk to your Dad. It's about your brother Howard getting my daughter, Susie, pregnant."

 

The boy thought for a moment. "You would have to talk to Dad about that.  I know he charges $50 for the bull and $5 for the hog, but I don't know how much he charges for Howard."

 



Projects and Opportunities 

 

Our short sale project is still waiting for a response from the bank.  Short sales can take up to 6 months to negotiate with the bank and are very time consuming.  In other words they are not for the weak of heart or inexperienced investor.  We use a company that specializes in negotiating short sales so we can have time to seek out new opportunities. 

 

In late April or early May we will be taking possession of the manufactured home that was abandoned in one of our manufactured housing communities.  The home is in good shape on the outside and structurally solid but will require a total rehab of the inside.   If you would like to learn more about how you might participate with us on this opportunity please give us a call.

 

Our team continues to fill our 138 manufactured housing community in South Carolina.  This will increase the value of the community and provide homes to families who might not otherwise ever be able to have their own home.  Opportunities exist for investors to participate in this growth and earn above average returns. 

 

Did you know that you can invest in real estate from your IRA or other retirement account?  This investment secret isn't well known but it is perfectly legal. Contact us and/or click on this Investment Secret link to learn more.

We are always willing to share information with you so please feel free to contact us

 

Driscoll Enterprises Inc. 332 West Lee Hwy., Suite 200, Warrenton, VA 20186

703-398-1188 or 800-887-0001

[email protected]

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