The Investor's Progress Report (9/11)

The Investor's Progress Report (9/11)
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM


As an Author/Economist, there are few things better than looking back on projections made 9 to 10 months ago and seeing that most were correct and more importantly, none were wrong. I wrote an article that published in the IREM Los Angeles "Inside IREM" Magazine as well as "Apartment News Magazine" for the Apartment Association of Orange County that you can revisit by clicking below. In it, I described interest rates dropping, a better climate for investors, rental increases in select areas as well as the need for property owners to streamline their operations through e-operations and more. Not only have we seen rates continue to drop, rental rates have increased (not just in our portfolio, but county and region-wide) and the climate for buyers could not be better...That is, if there was just more to buy in Orange County! Not to mention, software and app companies continue to develop programs intended to help multifamily owners and managers.

Check out the article here:

Property Lines: The Seven for 2011: The following text is taken from an article I wrote for both Apartment News Magazine February 2011 & the forthcoming Institute of Real Estat...

Giving Back

Giving Back
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM

Last week I had the opportunity to participate through the Institute of Real Estate Management's Orange County Chapter as a panelist on "Careers in Commercial Real Estate" held at CSUF's Mihaylo School of Business. Aside from hearing some great stories from my fellow panelists, the best thing about this panel was the fact that we had almost 60 students packed into the conference room. Sure, the free pizza helped, but having the opportunity to share my insight and help others onto the right path is a great experience and I think that many often overlook their ability to assist and advise others. Real estate is a great business and it is fantastic to see so many students considering a career in the industry.

Here are some shots from the panel:

Why Our Water Rates Are Rising...

Why Our Water Rates Are Rising
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM


It's good to know that we can count on public organizations such as the Water District to raise our rates in order to line their pockets with fat benefits and pension increases. After all, most of us in the private sector share these same benefits, right? WRONG. In looking at some of the out of whack budgets prepared by the various water districts across Orange County, one can't help but gripe over the extraordinary benefits afforded to these civil servants.

It used to be that the benefits of public and private sectors shared similarities. Now, the public sector has unions, a monopoly on the industry or service it provides and benefits that far exceed those of most private sector workers.

Check out the OC Register report here: http://taxdollars.ocregister.com/2011/09/13/water-workers-get-pensions-and-401k/97178/

The D Word

The D Word
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM


As we watch the economic crisis in Greece play out before our eyes, one can't help but see parallels between the issues plaguing the Greeks and those facing Americans today. An over-sized Government with over-sized spending, pensions and benefits to it's employees faces a serious issue: how do we continue to pay all of these people and award all of these benefits without collecting enough money to function and operate in such a manner? Quite simply, the answer is to make adjustments at once.

Whether you are in Greece, the US, California or the EU one must ask: where is the accountability? These officials have been elected to serve us and are serving themselves and their special interests.

These same issues are seen today in the US Nationwide as well as in California. Unemployment is at record highs and job growth is virtually non-existent in most areas. What's more, we have seen government agencies hiring new employees and making no attempt to reign in spending. Some agencies, such as the EPA have increased their spending exponentially.

The parallels are quite clear. In Greece, the US and California, career politicians or public employees without private sector experience are at the helm and are in charge of guiding our respective countries through turmoil, the likes of which neither have seen before (well, the US did in the 1930s). And the D word, which the head bankers in the EU have avoided for so long: default, could in fact become a reality. Greeks have tried slowly to make cuts and address the deficit, but as a result, unemployment and other such expenses now pose an issue.

And so, while we watch Greece and we can hope for the best and certainly hope that a tragedy of such drastic proportions does not reach home to us here in the United States and that the global effects of this crisis do not cause damage to the EU or the US economies. That remains to be seen.

14 Months & Counting

14 Months & Counting
By: Nicholas A. Dunlap, CPM


I have always considered myself an independent thinker and have voted for a variety of candidates and political parties in local and national elections. Often times though, I'd sway conservative on fiscal policies, cherish our 2nd Amendment rights, and favor a smaller government with less bureaucracy and less pension that controls spending and balances a budget. Socially, I would tend to be slightly more liberal, favoring our individual rights to do whatever we want within the letter of the law, to the extent the laws make sense and are not simply to satisfy or appease one's religious beliefs.

Having said all that, allow me to now say what I think the rest of the nation now knows for certain: WE NEED A NEW PRESIDENT IN 2012! One who can lead, one who understands and one who will right the ship. In retrospect, Hilary Clinton would have done a much better job than Barack had she won the candidacy. But it will likely take the fiscal conservatism, the understanding of what makes our economy tick and the experience that markets can thrive on in order to get us back on track. Yes, that means a Republican candidate. Re-electing someone who has no private sector experience will not boost private sector confidence. No. It will continue to grow our government, spend and borrow our country into a further downgraded mess.

So if it's not Ron or Rick, let's hope for Mitt. And hopefully, if things continue to trend downward, we will be just 14 months away from a strong uptick in our economy. Here is a photo of me at the Rick Perry Rally yesterday at Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach.



And yes, if you look closely, he did sign my poster "Ricky".