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Creating Wealth Through Real Estate Investing

My name is Kevin Gleason. I have been a commercial real estate broker since 1986. Over that time I have sold numerous commercial properties, encompassing apartments, shopping centers, office buildings and single-tenant net-leased properties. The clients and customers I have served have two things in common:


They have all built wealth through investing in real estate
and not one of them did it over night.

Typically they started out with a small property, say a four family apartment. After a few years, as the property appreciated, they refinanced and pulled cash out and used it to buy another. Thus began a pattern of investing that over ten to twenty years built a portfolio of properties worth millions.

Some were hands-on and on a part-time basis or with a spouse or partner managed the properties themselves. This for the most part consisted of renting apartments to qualified tenants, providing those tenants with a quality residence and collecting rent checks every month. Simple bookkeeping, consisting of bill paying and record keeping took a couple hours a month. On occasion they might paint an apartment or cut the grass or plant flowers. They could enhance the attractiveness of their property in whatever way they chose, and the benefit was attracting better tenants, increasing the rent more often, and controlling to a large extent their wealth creation.

Other investors hire a management company to perform those tasks for a fee based on the total collected rent. The more rental income the manager generates, the greater their fee. This arrangement provides an incentive for them to keep the property full. Either approach takes the investor to the same place – financial security, and over time, a valuable portfolio of real estate.

This approach to becoming rich hasn’t changed since I started in this business. It goes on everyday, everywhere, and creates the same result:


Slow and steady wins this race, and careful and responsible investing in real property will never let you down.

Call me if you are thinking about embarking on the slow boat to wealth creation known as real estate investment. All you need is access to credit, a work ethic and the patience to see it through.


Kevin Gleason
Realty Dynamics
(414) 870-5363
kevin@realty-dynamics.com

Buyer’s Agency – Often Misunderstood

Some people think that signing on a broker to help them buy real estate is unnecessary. They can get the assistance needed from any realtor free and without obligation. Some people wonder: Why pay for something you can get for free; why obligate yourself? Some skeptics even think it’s just a tactic real estate agents use to try to secure an opportunity to earn a commission.

Here are a few facts -

#1 – A buyer very rarely pays for the service of a Buyer’s Agent. At Realty Dynamics we’ve never asked to be paid by a buyer client. Call us; we’d be glad to give you the details. #2 – A buyer cannot get the services available under a Buyer’s Agency from any realtor ever! The heart of a buyer’s agency relationship is that the agent represents the buyer. Without a Buyer’s Agent relationship, you can get assistance, but not representation. #3 – With a Buyer’s Agent there is no obligation to buy, only an agreement to having a knowledgeable broker working for you.

There is a BIG difference and when making a BIG purchase, we hope you’ll take the time to learn about this valuable option for buyers.

Click Here for a Printable Explaination About Buyer’s Agency

Copyright © 2008 Gohlke & Associates, LLC – All rights reserved

When Does $1,450 – $950 = $200? When you use “Real Estate Math” to buy your 1st home!

That’s right! If you buy a first home worth $200,000 and put 10% down, then get a mortgage at 6% interest, with mortgage insurance and typical monthly property tax escrow, your total monthly payment will be about $1,450. If you left a $950 per month rental unit to do that, it would cost your $200 a month more – right?

Sure, we we’re told in school that $1,450 – $950 = $500, but that was math, not “real estate math”! When you use “real estate math” then $1,450 – $950 really does equal about $200 (plus or minus a nickel). Here’s why – with “real estate math” three things change the formula:

First, some of the money you give to the bank each month actually goes right back into your “other pocket”, if you will – it goes toward reducing your debt. More money saved – less money owed; it’s pretty much the same thing.

Second, with a home you get to take your property taxes and mortgage interest as deductions when you do your income tax return. The exact amount of tax savings is a question for your tax preparer, but its a big reason why home ownership has always been the thing to do – put another way, Uncle Sam actually can be a nice guy when it comes to taxes, honest!

Third, although right now real estate prices in Wisconsin are pretty flat (ok, maybe even a little down in places), overall, historically property values go up on average something like about 3% a year.

Call us if you’d like to know more. We like to help 1st time home buyers. This is an unusually great time to buy your 1st home.

Copyright © 2008 Gohlke & Associates, LLC - All rights reserved

Southeastern Wisconsin Resort Business

Want a business that is “turn-key” that is already a strong performer and also offers plenty of room for expansion and added potential for income? Want to spend your days at the lake and your evenings gathered with friends, neighbors and regular customers that make your establishment a “must” for finishing off their day? Want to see satisfaction on the faces of your customers when they stop in for lunch and get a hearty meal for a reasonable price, or know that your place is where they come to get the best burger in the County? Want to be a part of the annual events that this “little-big” resort plans … like ice fishing derbies and motor cycle ice racing in the winter and fishing tournaments and other water sport events in the summer?

…or maybe you just want to sit out on the deck in the cool breeze off this popular lake northeast of Lake Geneva and just watch the sunset. That is also an option for you as the owner of this lovely and unique property.

If you find any of these things appealing, and you are in the market to buy a bar/restaurant look no further. When you add the great lake property, the 10 unit motel and the 2 additional rental units (or owner’s quarters) – well, this one is hard to beat! Take all that this place already is: a great property, well kept facilities, a well run establishment with a great reputation and a client base already planning to be at this year’s annual events – then add the regular business from weddings and local groups and your ideas too – and imagine what you could have here!

This exclusive offering by Realty Dynamics has become rare in this “neck of the woods” as most of the resorts that used to exist have fallen victim to high pressure developers that wanted to build lakefront condo’s or large single family residences on beautiful and increasingly scarce lake frontage of South Eastern Wisconsin.

Located just 10 minutes north of the Illinois border, 10 minutes northeast of Lake Geneva, approximately 80 minutes out of Chicago’s Loop and about 40 minutes from downtown Milwaukee, this lovely Resort boasts a business that is well-known for its good food, reasonable drinks, hospitality, cool events and “good times had by all”.

With 227 feet of frontage on a small, sandy-bottom (very clean) lake, the view is facing west so you will not find a better sunset anywhere in this part of Wisconsin. The property is about 1.2 acres. The building that houses the bar/restaurant and rental units was built at the turn of the century and originally operated as a hotel; it has been completely renovated and modernized. In the 1980’s the 10 unit motel was added. There is ample parking for all of the scheduled events and unplanned activities, plus there is also room for expansion toward the lake by another 75-100 feet.

Click here for a printable version – Lily Lake Resort in Kenosha County, WI

Seller will provide additional details of events
and revenues to pre-qualified buyers who have signed a
non-disclosure agreement. Seller may also assist with buyer’s financing.




Call Glenn Gohlke of Realty Dynamics at 262-224-5649
or email him at glenn@realty-dynamics.com for more information
on this unique property.

$1,150,000

Capital Gains – A Few Basics …

Capital Gains Rates

The maximum federal tax rate on capital gains is 15%, whereas wage income is taxed at 35%. Then Wisconsin income taxes are added on top of that – up to an additional 6.75%. A total of over 40%. In all the dreaded capital gains tax that haunts many a new investor is in fact a bargain compared to the bit Uncle Sam takes out of our earned income.

Remember, capital gains requires that you hold a property for 12 months or more before selling and that it was held for productive use (i.e., as a rental, not a long-term fix and flip).

Special Exemption for Principal Residence

If you sell your residence, the first $250,000 is exempt from gain or $500,000 if you are married. This requires that the residence was used as such for two of the last five years.

1031 Exchanges

Under IRC Sec 1031, you can roll your profits from a rental property into more real estate and defer paying taxes altogether. Your tax basis rolls into the next property.

Source: “Reduce Your Taxes by Investing in Real Estate” by William Bronchick, JD

We encourage you to consult with a tax professional to develop the best tax strategies for your personal circumstances.

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