Positive Carry and Some Explanations

Sorry, I did not make some things clear in my post yesterday.  Our refi took about three months. It was slow.  And I got denied by two other lenders, because my wife and I have 15 properties with sizable loans.  The third loan officer kindly was willing to do it.  The time that I personally spent on it was only a few hours.  But the entire process took about three months.

Thank you for reading my post.  I saw quite some feedback.  I share a method that I myself am using and it is lucrative, hoping that some other people may also benefit from it. 

If you have good methods, please share.  I am very willing to learn.  However, on this platform, name-calling and personal attacks are inappropriate.  We should have the decency to share and discuss with dignity and respect.

Regarding our investment returns:

[1]. In 2011, my wife and I had a total of about $800,000.  It was mostly in 401k and our primary residence, not investable.  Our investable fund in 2011 was about $150,000.

[2]. In my area, the housing value appreciation from 2011-2019 has been about 3-4% annually.  It is slow.  If our houses had appreciated rapidly like in CA or Seattle, we estimate that we would have had a few million dollars more in total wealth.  For investors in CA and other booming areas, congratulations to you.  But those high appreciation rates cannot be reproduced in many other places in the US.  However, our area of 3-4% is similar to the historic US housing appreciation in the long-term.  Therefore, it is more reproducible by ordinary people.  Furthermore, our 3-4% appreciation, similar to the historic US average, indicates that my neighborhood is unlikely to crash in the near future.

[3]. I am not handy and cannot do repairs, and do not have much time. My wife and I have full time jobs and three kids. I spend only a few hours per week on investing.  Other investors who are handy and have more talents and more time can buy broken houses and then renovate and repair them.  Their rate of return will be higher.  My investment is limited by my willinness to spend only a few hours per week.

[4]. We sent three kids to college with no student loans. We send money to parents and relatives.  We give to church.  So, we did not use all the bullets in investing. Otherwise, our wealth would be a little more.

[5]. The positive carry method that I posted yesterday basically means that you borrow money from the bank at a low interest rate, then you give it to SP 500, and it pays you a 10% return.  You pocket the difference as your positive carry.  Passive.  Very little time and effort.  It works.  The key is (1) dollar cost averaging, and (2) long term. 

[6]. There are safeguards such as “Tell me where I am going to die so that I will never go there.” And “Protect the down side, and the up side will take care of itself.”  The safeguards and minimizing the risks are described in my book.

By David Meng, author of book “$5 Million in 8 Years: Real Estate Investing on the Side.”