The Gleaner - Gareth Davis Sr.
PORT MARIA, ST MARY
Eventually, protection from COVID-19 will have to be a personal responsibility, as the Government cannot continue the containment protocols forever, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared.
With COVID-19 restrictions lifting, more people are booking trips and hotels online, which is very good for Google’s advertising business. Google’s employees, however, are working from home and not traveling as much on the company dime — and that’s also good for its business.
During the first quarter, Google parent Alphabet Inc. saved $268 million in expenses from company promotions, travel and entertainment, compared with the same period a year earlier, “primarily as a result of COVID-19,” according to a company filing.
As properties get increasingly scarce in prime areas, they are increasingly in demand by developers. The most common transaction between the landowner and developer is for the developer to purchase the land from the landowner.
This is never the best financial return for the landowner. The best return for the landowner is to enter into a joint venture with the developer, by placing his land in the deal as debt/equity investment.
The developer enters into an agreement with the landowner where the landowner invests the value of the land as debt with 0% interest and 20% equity of the profit. (Note each deal will have its own uniqueness based on land value, cost to build, and retail value of the real estate once completed).
Landowners have to explore ways to extract the highest value from their land and have a long-term vision for sustainable revenue. If you are looking to attain the highest value from your land then a joint venture with a developer could be an opportunity worth exploring.
It is no secret that Real Estate has been the greatest wealth builder with the least fluctuations in history. Real Estate is not just a hedge investment during the fall of the stock market but a solid investment in all stock market cycles.
Carefully selected Real Estate properties with proper due diligence and sound financing structure will deliver real long-term value through income and capital appreciation.
Unlike the paper investment of the bond and stock markets, the long-term value of Real Estate in your investment portfolio is backed by physical assets and is not subject to wide fluctuations that are part of investing in the stock markets.
A properly structured and managed real estate portfolio can provide a return on your Real Estate investment in excess of 10% per year even when markets are down or flat.
Your investment portfolio will experience volatility over time and will have periods of loss, even the most well-allocated portfolio.
Real Estate is highly non-correlated to the stock markets either when held directly or via a REIT. By including Real Estate in your portfolio you lower the risk and increase the possibility of more stable returns.
Other assets not correlated to the stock markets are gold, precious metals, collectibles, government bonds, art, and wine there are countless other options out there depending on your investment strategy.
Investors understand not to put their eggs in one basket i.e. not investing in a single stock, industry, or asset type.
