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What Does Mailbox Money Have

To Do With Retirement?

Remember when you played Monopoly as a kid and itched for your turn to be the banker, dealing out all that cash to your friends who were investing in properties such as Park Place and Tennessee Avenue?

These days, some people are figuring out how to be the bank in real life to provide themselves with more stable and predictable retirement income.

Here’s how they do it: As an alternative to a 401(k) account or investing in the stock market, they become private lenders for people who are investing in real estate. And just as borrowers send monthly payments to a bank or mortgage company to repay the loan, these private lenders receive a monthly check in the mail as repayment with interest – mailbox money.

“Have you ever watched those TV shows where people are flipping houses?” asks Jadon Newman, CEO of Noble Capital (www.Noblecapital.com), a financial advisory firm.

“Private lending is how a lot of flippers are able to flip houses. They end up making a profit, but so do the people who loan them the money.”

The concept of private lenders fronting the capital for a real estate investment is called hard-money lending, and the loans are short-term – typically 12 to 18 months.

For some people, it’s a viable alternative to other means of investing.

“Real estate investment provides more certainty and predictability than many other forms of investment, especially the stock market,” says Newman, whose company matches private lenders with real estate investors.

“Nothing against the stock market, but there’s a lot of risk there.”

Newman says a few advantages to “being the bank” and becoming a private lender for real estate investors include:

• Low risk. Certainly, real estate has its risks, but those can be greatly mitigated if the projects are structured the right way. Newman says that when his company works with investors, the loans are written at 70 percent loan-to-value or lower, giving the investors 30 percent protective equity to insulate them against market volatility. “Since the investment is backed by a tangible asset, there is less speculation and, therefore, greater security,” Newman says.
• Steady cash flow. With fewer companies offering pensions, one problem many retirees encounter is they don’t have that monthly mailbox money coming in. Investors who act as private lenders do receive a check each month.
• Potential for good returns. Borrowers seeking hard money loans often do so because they can’t get conventional loans, or because the ability to obtain money is much quicker. As a result, hard money lenders can charge higher interest rates than what the rates would be for a conventional loan. For example, Newman says the investors he works with usually get a 6 to 8 percent return. “It’s a predictable, reliable return,” he says.

“The biggest worry people have in retirement is that they are going to run out of money,” Newman says. “That’s why it’s important to explore different ways to get a good return on your money, and a lot of people are finding that ‘being the bank’ puts them on the right side of the equation.”

About Jadon Newman

Jadon Newman is the founder and CEO of Noble Capital (www.Noblecapital.com). With more than 16 years of experience in the financial services industry, he specializes in retirement planning, real estate investment and asset management.

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3 Openings For Entrepreneurs To Help Make The U.S. Energy Independent 

Shortly after we celebrate our nation’s freedom on July 4, U.S. Energy Independence Day on July 10 will mark awareness of the country’s progress toward fully powering its future.

We’re getting closer to becoming energy independent, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. The EIA reports that by 2022, the U.S. will become a net exporter of energy, in effect making it energy independent for the first time since the 1950s.

That promising forecast notwithstanding, experts note U.S. energy demands will increase significantly over the next 50 years, requiring improved delivery systems, currently developing alternative sources like solar and wind, and more out-of-the-box innovations. This opens the door further for entrepreneurs. 

Ted Annis is one of the aspiring new energy pioneers. The Ann Arbor, Mich.,-based entrepreneur is in the development stages of creating a fuel less electricity-generating device called the Permanent Magnet Induction Generator (PMIG). With environmental movements afoot to lessen dependence on fossil fuels – a primary source of air pollution – Annis says his device would make them and some other energy sources obsolete.

“A successful PMIG could decentralize the production of electricity and eliminate the electric grid, which is antiquated in many areas,” says Annis (www.tedmagnetics.com), manager and co-founder of Transducing Energy Devices, LLC. “Each house and automobile could have a PMIG.” 

Apart from the innovation he’s been working on, Annis says this is an exciting time for American ingenuity as related to the energy industry.

“With ever-evolving technologies and how they can push us toward more efficient, cleaner, and cost-friendlier products, we will be far closer to true energy independence,” Annis says.

Annis lists three reasons entrepreneurs have opportunities that could help make the U.S. energy independent:

• Higher demands because of technology. “Our world is becoming increasingly technology dependent, forcing us to rely on new sources of energy to fuel that demand,” Annis says. “And building off that dependency, we’ll see a huge increase in energy demands related to all the stuff that connects to the internet. Then there’s the build-out that will be needed for an infrastructure to support a much bigger U.S. population – over 400 million by 2050.”
• Clean and green. The EIA projects coal will be supplanted by natural gas as the primary source of energy in the U.S. by 2040. Stricter environmental emissions standards, however, help propel interest in renewables such as solar and wind power. “Solar is still a small market and has a lot of growth opportunity over the next 50 years,” Annis says. “Solar power prices have dropped, and wind has proved efficient in some places, but there are issues with intermittency and storage, and many people have difficulty breaking with tradition.”
• R&D. Bill Gates is among those promoting more funding in order to substantially escalate energy research and development. “Gates says governments can stimulate innovation by dramatically increasing spending on R&D,” Annis says. “Affordable, dependable energy is a public good. But the private sector has big incentives to assist with the creation of new energy technology.”

“Ultimately, the way American society generates and consumes energy will have to change dramatically,” Annis says. “It’s wide-open to innovation and opportunity now. New energy technologies will need to get cheaper, more efficient and more powerful.”

About Ted Annis

Ted Annis (www.tedmagnetics.com) is the manager and co-founder of Transducing Energy Devices, LLC, which is engaged in the research and development of a fuelless electricity energy device. He received a BS in physics and an MBA at Xavier University. He formerly was with Ford Motor Company and was CEO and co-founder of SupplyTech, Inc.

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 REVISED ADVISORY: Secretary Perdue to Visit Washington and Idaho MONDAY

(Washington, D.C., June 28, 2018) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue will be in Washington and Idaho on MONDAY, July 2nd to meet with forestry leaders and producers; tour the Washington State University (WSU) College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resources Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine; and visit the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment at the University of Idaho. During various stops throughout the day, Secretary Perdue will be joined by Governor Butch Otter, Lieutenant Governor Brad Little, and Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

WASHINGTON

Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers Attend Breakfast and Hold Fireside Chat with Agriculture and Forestry Leaders
WHAT: Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers meet with ag and forestry leaders and hold a fireside chat. Following the event, the Secretary will hold a media availability.
WHEN: MONDAY, July 2nd at 7:45 a.m. PDT
WHERE: The Spokane Club, 1002 West Riverside Avenue Spokane, Washington 99201

Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers Participate in a Luncheon Conversation with Southern Washington Producers at the McGregor Company
WHAT: Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers participate in a luncheon conversation with Southern Washington producers. Following the event, the Secretary will hold a media availability.
WHEN: MONDAY, July 2nd at 11:00 a.m. PDT
WHERE: The McGregor Company, 401 Airport Road, Colfax, WA 99111

Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers Tour WSU
WHAT: Secretary Perdue and Rep. McMorris Rodgers will tour the WSU College of Agriculture, Human, and Natural Resources Sciences. They will tour the Plant Growth Facility before meeting with College of Veterinary Medicine faculty at the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. Following the event, the Secretary will hold a media availability
WHEN: MONDAY, July 2nd at 12:30 p.m. PDT
WHERE: Plant Growth Facility, 122 Wilson Boulevard, Pullman, WA 99163

IDAHO

Secretary Perdue, Gov. Otter, and Lt. Gov. Little Visit the University of Idaho
WHAT: Secretary Perdue, Governor Otter, and Lieutenant Governor Little will meet university leadership at the Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) before joining a presentation on the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. Following the event, the Secretary will hold a media availability
WHEN: MONDAY, July 2nd at 2:15 p.m. PDT
WHERE: University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Drive, Moscow, ID 83844

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USDA NASS Agricultural Prices

 co-releases@nass.usda.gov

Visit the website for more information: http://www.nass.usda.gov/