25. How to Sell Them

For some owners, there can be no sweeter, hap­pier life in business than the ownership of the Aunt Tobys, with the comparatively minor attention required. For them owner­ship and operation of the properties is "nirvana." They are able to live a secure life with uninterrupted income and little bother. Seasoned with just enough responsibility to give meaning to life, as distinguished from complete idleness, they can work or loaf at will. They are not tied down, particularly if they own unheated property. They can go away in summer or winter with carefree heart, leaving only someone to receive and de­posit rents and process occasional complaints.

Most owners in this category have another full time occupa­tion and they run their buildings "with the left hand." Man­agement takes so little time or attention that it does not inter­fere with their work or leisure. Except for a few days in early July, at renting time, you will be able to manage an income of $2000 to $4000 per month by devoting to it less than three hours per month. And even at renting time, you need only give a few evenings to showing and interviewing.

The nearer your property is to a genuine Aunt Toby, the less time you will need to devote and the more freedom from atten­tion and management you will enjoy. At the peak of my owner­ship, when I had 146 units, I rarely spent more than five hours per month in all, in management, processing incoming rents, complaints and checking on repairs. There is no business in the world, short of a huge investment in income-producing stocks, that can match it.

If you acquire your portfolio of properties you may be one of those who choose to stop there and just enjoy your new life. Some of my graduates have reached this point, and after a time, consulted me as to what I had done as a step upward from this pleasant state. When you have reached this point you, too, may want to make that step.

Up to 1955 I busily accumulated the buildings, with no thought of selling anything. It was by sheer accident that the idea of selling came into the picture.

I had just bought No. 16 for $25,000. Soon after signing up, I took a friend, Ken, with me to tour the building. He had made some fine profits on real estate investments through my counsel, but had got cold feet on one that I felt he should have held on to. We called it Griggs Road. The rents were high and his Scotch instincts were much in evidence when there was a vacancy, however short. When he was offered a fat profit for Griggs Road, he came to see me. I said no. The $5,000 or so he would make did not compare with the steady income the property afforded him over the years. But, after some lame rationalization, he decided to sell for $40,000. The same property sold for $60,000 within a few years.

As Ken and I went through No. 16, he fell in love with it. Pressed for a price I quoted $30,000. He replied, "You'll never get $30,000 for that old building. I'll give you $27,000."

I retorted, "I won't get $30,000, eh? Watch me! I'll get $35,000!"

So I sat down to figure out a package. 1 remembered the experience I had had in unloading the badly located properties and felt that the same technique would work now. A low down payment and a comparatively huge MIF to the buyer were to be the attraction.

I advertised and in a few weeks I had waded through a dozen who wanted to steal it. But soon I got a customer who was mainly interested in just two things: "How much do I put in? How much do I take out each year—net—money in my fist!" He didn't care whom he paid what. He wasn't interested in what he paid the sums out for. He cared less how long the mortgage was. The rate of interest only mildly concerned him. The way I had framed the package made it, for such a buyer, irresistible. He would put in $2800 in cash and his MIF would figure thus:

Present total rental income                                         $7,000.00
Payouts:
Taxes                                                                        $807.00
Fuel                                                                          $715.00
Janitor                                                                       $180.00
Elec., other utilities                                                     $71.00
Insurance                                                                   $74.00
Water                                                                        $88.00
Mortgage to R. Kent, $32,200 at 4&% for 22 years, $192.37 per month. Per year                                      $2,308.44
Total payouts                                                             $4,243.44
Leaving the buyer Net Clear in Hand (MIF) per year  $2,756.56

I sent Mr. J. to look the property over. When he came back to my office we went over the figures. Here is substantially the way I presented the package. You will want to know how to prepare and present such a package if you plan to make the final step upward too. So it is given in the form you will use.
I gave him a pad and pencil and together we made the MIF sheet as it is above. Now I spelled out for him the figures as he would live with them:

"These four-room heated apartments are renting now for about $40 each. The rents are controlled as long as the present tenants remain. If one moves out or if controls go off altogether, you increase the rents substantially, without increasing your payouts one cent.

But let's be pessimistic and suppose they do not become de­controlled. Here is your package:

You invest                                                                   $2,800
You take in each year                                                  $7,000
You pay out, not including vacancies and repairs, say    $4,250
leaving you in hand                                                       $2,750 per year

This is practically 100% per year on your investment. True, you might have a repair, but, just as likely, you will have a vacancy and that will increase your net—permanently. And that's not all.

Besides making about 100 per cent on your investment, you make about 50 per cent per year more. That is, under the above plan, you will be paying off principal on the mortgage, buying the building, to the average amount of $1,450 per year.

Now let us consider what happens if rent controls go off. (We expected them to be discontinued within a year, and they were.) You will be able to raise the rents to a reasonable level commensurate with what this type of apartment pays else­where. An average of $20 per apartment is very fair. That will give you $2,640 per year additional income without one extra penny of cost to you. That makes another 95 per cent per year on your investment!"

It is not to be wondered at that Mr. J. bought the property that afternoon. He is still happy with it. His MIF is even better than we anticipated.

At this point, you may be asking what became of my mort­gage to the bank for the original $19,000? And why did I sell such a gold mine?

Mr. J's lawyer asked about the old mortgage. The plan I worked out for selling the property with the old mortgage still continuing will be your key to making the step upward.

"Your client, Mr. J.," I explained, "will pay mortgage pay­ments only to me. He will pay $192.37 per month for 22 years. Mr. J. is not concerned with the old mortgage. The new one to me will appear as a second mortgage on record since the bank's first mortgage precedes it. But I alone will take care of the old mortgage payments and Mr. J. will not have any con­nection with it. He just sends me the payments on the new $32,200 mortgage."

Mr. J's lawyer replied, "Suppose you die? Or go broke? What then? My client would have to pay the old mortgage to keep the bank from foreclosing and wiping him out."

To which I had the answer. "Your client will be fully pro­tected. I will give you a signed contract, agreeing that if I should not make the payments on the old $19,000 mortgage to the bank, Mr. J. may discontinue payments to me on the new mortgage and send his payment to cover the bank payments. The bank payments are smaller by far than the payments to me on the $32,200 will be. So Mr. J. is fully protected."

After carefully scrutinizing all the aspects of this deal, the like of which he had never before encountered (and neither had I until I evolved it), the lawyer assured Mr. J. that he was perfectly safe. He would never have to pay any obligation on the building greater than the $32,200 mortgage.

So I drew the contract and it was approved. The sale went through as planned and the payments have been coming in to me regularly from Mr. J. Having seen the plan as it appeared from Mr. J's angle, let us examine how I made out.

I originally invested                                                                           $6,000

I made during the 6 months I held it (for tax purposes described soon)   
                                                                                                                                    $1500
I received down payment from Mr. J                                                 $2800
At the time I sold it I had taken back                                                    $4,300
so my net investment after the sale was                                                 $1,700

The income and outgo figures that I would live with for some 19 years and six months, while I still paid the old mortgage were:

I received each year, payments from Mr. J                                   $2,308.44
I send the bank for 19/2 years, per year                                           $1,442.42
leaving me net in hand each year                                                    $ 866.02
totalling for the first 19M years                                                  $16,454.38

In addition to the above, I would have the last 2& years of payments to me from Mr. J. clear, totalling $5,771.10, or thus I would clear for my $1700, $22,225.48.

When I thus sold the property I had absolutely no bother with it. I was in the position that the bank usually holds, that of mortgagee. The payments had to reach me each month and I would note them in the book. Mr. J. was deliriously happy. He was making a fine profit and the future promised even better return on his money.

When the smoke had cleared, I settled back to contemplate what I had done. Owning the property was certainly sweet, but getting payments every month without even the small bother of ownership was even more attractive. Each month as the payments came in, my investment became safer and safer as the balance on the mortgage was reduced.

It was quite natural that I began to scribble some figures. What would Freeman do for me? I tried it at $40,000. It made a very attractive package—too attractive. So I tried $50,000. Still too much left in hand for the owner. Then I tested the figures as they would work out if I sold for $60,000 with 10 per cent down and a mortgage to me of $54,000 at 20 years. The net in hand to the buyer after payments on that mortgage was a little too small. So I tried it on a basis of a 22 year mortgage which required smaller payments. That was just right. It was a matter of simple figures that took but a few minutes. When I was ready to advertise and present the package here is the MIF as I offered it:

Price: $60,000.
You will pay cash                                                                     $6,000.00
Total yearly rents (in 1955)                                                       $7,750
Payouts:
Taxes                                                                       $933.00
Insurance                                                                   113.00
Water                                                                          60.00
Mortgage of 4M% for 22 years,
$54,000. $322.60 per month or per year                 3,871.20
            Total payouts                                                                 4,977.20
leaving you net in hand (MIF)                                                     $2,772.80

In a few weeks I had sold Freeman to Mr. N. Even after normal repairs he would clear over 50 per cent per year on his investment, MIF. Besides, as in the case of Mr. J., he would have the tenants paying off the mortgage for him, in effect buying the property for him, at an average rate of about $2,454 per year. And all this was on the pessimistic prediction that rent controls would not go off. But we all felt certain they soon would, as they did. When this happened Mr. N's MIF increased some 50 per cent without unfairness to the tenants, and he has never missed a payment to me. We would clear some $115,000 in payments on this deal and my family and I were free of care and responsibility.

I now bought the biggest car on the American market to ac­commodate my three tall sons and all our luggage. We put the car on the C7SS United Statesand set out to tour Europe again. In my wallet I carried a slip with some figures. They showed what Freeman and No. 16 had provided for us. It was my inten­tion to meditate and decide whether to sell more properties, on the same basis, or hold them. It was easy to figure what type of payments each of them would carry and still leave a buyer a very attractive MIF. I now also recognized that the average real estate investor was only dimly aware of, or interested in, the details of his mortgage. It seemed to me, figuratively speak­ing, that it was easier to get a buyer who would pay $100 per month for 20 years, to be paid in full, than it was to get one who would pay $125 per month for ten years.

When we returned from the trip, I had decided to sell. I planned to write some mortgages for 30 years and others for 22 or 25 years. Not only was I going to sell the properties I owned, but 1 hoped to buy some here and there as I could and package and sell them, too.

As soon as you have become known in the community as a buyer of Aunt Tobys you will find more and more of them being offered to you. You will have a distinct and decisive advantage in these deals. You can wait. The seller cannot wait or doesn't want to. Several times I have bought property at the first price I named, with the offer being snapped up so quickly that it led me to inquire later as to the reason.

When I offered Mr. BH a flat figure for his building, he grabbed it, only specifying that my offer must be firm. If the offer was to contain a reservation that only if I could obtain certain financing was I obligated to go through with the deal, he would not sign. At the time I had finances available if the bank failed me, so I signed him up. Then I asked him about it.

"It's this way," said BH, "I have put a deposit of $1,000 on a new house in Hamilton. I must come up with the balance on the first of October, or lose my deposit. Here it is September and I've been trying to sell for months. I had decided that the next tenable offer which guaranteed that I would have the cash before October 1, would be accepted. I have no other way of paying for the house I signed for."

In another deal, a widow had placed her Aunt Toby with me for sale as broker. After she moved out of the state, she received reports from me periodically as to my efforts to sell. I forwarded all offers. One day she phoned me long distance.

"What can you get for the house right away?"

I urged patience. Real estate can never be sold quickly, no matter how attractive, with the possible exception of a single house in a most-wanted area, at a very low price, and in the selling season.

She pressed for an answer. "What can we sell it for?"
I told her that I could conduct an auction or put it on the market for a slashed price but she would probably realize only $12,000 after my commission was deducted.

"OK, sell it!" she snapped.

"If you really want to get rid of it that strongly—" I began and she cut in with, "I want it off my hands. I'm sick of it. I want an end to the thing."

I asked, "Would you want to sell it to me, personally, at $12,000 net?"

"It makes no difference to me," she replied. So I bought it, for cash.

Six months * and a few days later I sold it for $22,500. I arranged a very attractive package and a local grocer is living there now, rent free, and very happily. He will pay us for 25 years.

Time on your side is a most powerful factor in almost every business. You do not have any great pressure to buy, but often your seller is under any one of many pressures to sell quickly.

And once you have bought, having first checked that you will be making a fine profit during the time you hold the prop­erty, you are in no hurry to sell. The selfsame facts and figures that made you buy the property will be on your side when you wish to sell. In general you will be selling to a workingman who is fed up with paying rent and wants to start accumulating something besides rent receipts. The majority of your buyers will be men who work at some mechanical trade. They do not fear the expense of small repairs like the man who cannot handle a screwdriver. Most of the mechanics have many spare hours which they plan to put to use improving their houses. This, of course, improves your security on the mortgage you hold, on the property, and everyone benefits.

The examples above demonstrate the motives that impel an investor to buy larger parcels. There is little difference in pre­paring a package that will be irresistible to the buyer of a three-family Aunt Toby. The only variation is that your package will spell out that he will have his apartment free, plus so much a month MIF. In some cases, you will have an MIF that shows that the buyer will have to pay some nominal amount out of pocket each month, on top of the rents, to cover all payments. This is more often the case where heat is supplied.

But you have the additional inducement of the principal pay­ments that he is "pocketing each month" to make the package still more attractive. If, for instance, there is going to be a mort­gage to you for $14,000, for 20 years, you can honestly show that he will be gaining an average of $700 per year in paying off the building. The long-range outlook for a secure retirement with no mortgage to pay after the 20 years is a tempting vision. That's when he wants it most.

So you can show that he will be doing fine during the years lie is (or rather the tenants are) paying off the mortgage, and doing even better, much better, after the mortgage is paid. To establish how many years you want your mortgage to run, you should take into consideration your age. It is well known that men live longer if secure. So tack about 10 years on to your general life expectancy as the insurance companies calculate it, and fix your mortgage periods accordingly. Some considera­tion should be given to Social Security payments you will re­ceive after you have reached the required age. Since owning real estate or mortgages is not classified as holding a job, you will suffer no deductions because of your income.

If your prospective buyer is income-tax minded, you will point out the fact that if he is in the 30% bracket, the govern­ment is, in effect, paying 30% of his Real Estate taxes, the mort­gage interest, the fuel bill and the repair bills. You can explain the depreciation item, too.

To demonstrate just how you fared on a typical Aunt Toby that you bought, held a while, and sold, we will follow it through.

When you bought it, you paid $11,500. You put $1500 down and assumed a mortgage of $10,000 at 6% for 20 years. In order to get the benefit of long term capital gain, you must keep the property at least six months. Let us say you keep it five years. You put it on the market, advertising as your head line

"Your  rent  $00.00  per month."
(or)
"YOUR APT. RENT-FREE PLUS $19 per month clear. Buy this handsome 3-family, with separate heaters with only $900 down..."

As a general rule, you made some profit while you held the building. Your present investment is now $00. Now you offer a buyer this package:

Price                                                                               $15,000.
Down payment                                                                   $900.
Your income—from 2nd and 3rd floor apartments                 $150. per month
You pay out:
Taxes                                                                                     $30 per month
Mortgage interest and principal on $14,100 at 6% for 25 years—
                                                                                          per month $90.86
Water, insurance, etc.                                                             $10
Total payouts                                                                  $130.86 per month
deducted from income of $150 per month, leaves you your apartment rent free and—                                                            $19.14 per month in hand

Of course, you can make the mortgage 20 years and have more in hand clear for yourself, and you do not get nearly as much out of the deal as if you managed the property and cared for it, but when you have enough of them paying you, the net in hand becomes very substantial and secure.

In making this presentation to a prospective buyer you will usually have paid the old mortgage down substantially by the time you sell the property. But even if you just buy them, keep, them six months * or more and sell them, each one establishes a life income that is very pleasant.

In making these presentations to prospective customers, you should be very specific. Arrange a "package" which leaves no room for guesswork.

The lesson in package arrangement was driven home to me by my experience in buying and selling a little duplex in Cam­bridge. I had bought the property early in the spring of one year and had been advertising it for some six months before I suddenly realized that immediate and drastic measures were indicated.

During those six months * I was deeply involved in the big Cullonades property and paid little attention to the duplex other than answering calls and occasionally running over to meet a prospect and show the house. When Collonades was all sewed up, it was fall and time to worry about freezing pipes in unoccupied buildings. I reviewed the entire duplex transaction to this point and tried to put my finger on the reason it did not sell I had paid some $2700 for it. When I started advertising it I priced it at $5900. When a few months passed without a buyer, I lowered the price to $4900. Then a few months later to $3900. Still no buyer. As I reviewed it, I was more than ever convinced that it was a good honest buy for the right party, if I could but find that party, and present the proposition correctly.

The ads that I had been running were terse and clear, but they did not take into consideration the attitudes and experi­ence of the customer I was appealing to. This property could only appeal to a working man of humble status. If you stop to think a moment it is apparent that this working man had read many ads before. The furniture that was advertised at $25 down and $28 per month turned out to cost him $100 down and $50 per month. The car he saw advertised to cost $99 down and $22.68 per month turned out, after the salesman salved and switched him, to be $270 down and $51 per month, et cetera. It is not surprising then that he was hardened to taking ads with a large grain of salt. It seemed to me that the way to over­come this distrust was to meet it head on, with the kind of directness and unmistakable truthfulness that would make him feel that this ad meant precisely what it said, and that he would not meet the standard "borax" or bait advertising tech­nique if he came to look at my property. So I framed an ad and ran it in the Boston Globe. Here it is:

CAN YOU PAY $900 DOWN? CAN YOU PAY $19.50 PER MONTH?

This well-built duplex will cost you exactly that much. You live in one side and collect the rent from the other side, add exactly $19.50 from your pocket, send it to the bank, and that's all. (There are NO extras!) You have paid interest, principal and taxes. Price Only $3900. Each side of the duplex has 5 rooms, separate heat, large kitchen and a nice yard. I will be there from 10 to 12 today. Come over and bring your deposit.

Robert W. Kent, 310 Harvard St., Brookline. 734-3211.

When I arrived at the building at ten o'clock, a man was waiting for me. He later told me that his wife had been watch ing the ads for years, waiting for someone to tell her in clear and unequivocal terms the exact and truthful amount that would be required as down payment and monthly payments. When she saw this ad, she handed him $200 and told him to go and see it, and if he was pleased with the house and if the ad "said the truth," buy it.

Within the hour I could have sold a dozen. People begged me to give them at least the "second chance" to buy it if the present buyer backed out. Finally I hung a card in the window saying, "Property sold. Thanks for coming," and left. This little deal was probably the outstanding error of my real estate career.

When I sat down to analyze what I had done, the error struck me. This customer had not even asked how long his mortgage would run! And to this day I do not think he cared. His ONLY concern was with two questions:

How much down? (and that meant really how much.)
How much a month? (again—the truth.)

It was apparent that he didn't really care how much the house costl Even the price was relatively unimportant.

Actually I was taking back a fifteen year mortgage, but it would not have mattered one whit if I had taken one for 25 years—at the same monthly payments. My entire approach to the problem of selling had been wrong in the earlier efforts. I had lowered the price repeatedly, thinking to thus make the deal attractive. That was not where the trouble lay. I had cut my profit in the deal some 75 per cent in this effort, and it had been entirely unnecessary. I had thrown away $3000.

From that day on I have practiced and taught the lesson that this deal taught me. Our presentation must be made with one dominating rule obtaining throughout. We must think and read with the eyes of the man who will read the ads. We must never forget that in practically every instance, he has never bought a house before. He fears that which he does not understand. He fears that there are a thousand gimmicks whereby he will be charged for things that he does not understand nor anticipate, and that he will be burdened with an obligation that he will not be able to carry. Further, we should remember that this buy is the biggest single purchase the buyer has made in his lifetime. This alone is enough to fill him with terror. Unlike the duplex buyer, the period of payments also may add to his terror. Our customer well remembers signing up for the car, or refrigerator. That was three years, and seemed a lifetime. The payments on a house will be on his shoulders for twenty years! If we are to be successful in presenting our package, we must realize that these fears and terrors exist in the minds of our prospective buyers.

Our package must say to him, in his language, "You need not fear. Nobody will even try to raise the figures of down payment and monthly payments. There are no extras that will be sprung on you. The fact that you have never bought a house before need cause you no concern. This deal holds no tack-on's, no extras. Nor will a salesman use this ad to lure you into his clutches and then sell you something far less attractive, or more expensive. You have nothing to fear. If you can make the ad­vertised down payment and the advertised monthly payments, you can buy this property with a free heart."

It may be inaccurate to say that the mistake I made in the duplex deal was entirely a loss. Some time later I collected a fat fee for a consultation on a problem. I needed only the ex­perience of the duplex to solve it. The analysis of the problem and its solution will help you in selling.

When I sat down with my client to consult, he had asked his assistants to sit in on the conference, and help. The problem, as presented to me, was this: The client owned some 19 houses in a not-to-desirable city north of Boston. The city had suffered when manufacturers deserted it for southern locations. Now the population depended on a large plant that was mostly engaged in government work. The client, Mr. P., had owned the buildings for over two years and had tried about everything to move them. He had lowered prices, of course, and that re­minded me of the duplex experience. That hadn't helped. He had stepped up his advertising without result, too. The buildings represented a loss each month they were held vacant, and had been held so long that he had given up making any profit.It was unnecessary to inquire into the honesty and truthful­ness of the packages that the client had been offering. The client was a square dealer. My next inquiry was a careful dis­section of the deals to see whether they were understandable and whether the buyer was being offered fair value. It is point­less to try to find a way to sell a dollar's worth for $2. The properties matched their prices fairly.

Next I examined a few sample ads that had been used to find buyers. They were written by Mr. P. himself. He knew all about real estate. He had forgotten that the buyers did not. The answer started to emerge.

Next I asked some of the staff who had talked with prospects, what the answers and reactions of the prospective customers had been.

The sales manager said, "Well, I remember talking to one fellow who made a great point of asking me repeatedly what OTHER expenses he would have to pay besides the advertised $28.60 per month. Each time I told him that was all he would have to pay he came back with, 'Yeah, but what else do I have to pay?'"

"Okay," I said, "We've got one customer reaction. Let's jot down the fears of these prospective buyers. Number one: fear of bigger payments. Let's have some more. Those of you who have talked with buyers, what else have they said?"

"I remember a few," said a salesman, "and one in particular asked me about plumbing and other repairs. Said he knew a fellow who had once bought and then got hung with huge re­pair bills."

"Fine," I replied, "we have number two: fear of repair bills."

Soon the others came up with reactions from their experi­ences. Number three on the list was: fear of being stuck with the house and having to stay though unhappy.

Number four was: fear that other tenants would pester the new owner with complaints and demands for services and re­pairs. By this time the solution was apparent.

When I made my report, it had the effect of shocking the client at first.
"Are you serious, Bob?" he demanded. "You're really suggesting that we sell houses on a free trial, money-back-on-request basis? This is real estate—not cans of shoe polish!"

"It's your best way of wiping out fear, Mr. P.," I insisted. "And I am convinced that it is only fear that stands in the way of your selling the houses."

"Precisely how do you propose we do this?" he asked.

"You advertise the properties using words and expressions that the working man will feel are clear and dependable. You offer to sell them on this basis:

"You can buy this house on a free trial basis. You have noth­ing to fear, nothing to lose. You deposit $1200 and we give you the deed. You move in and try it out for a year. You own it. You collect rents, make your payments. If you are completely satisfied and the house is just what you want, you go along. About the time you are ready to retire, you've paid off your building in full and you enjoy complete ownership—income-security.

"If you decide you do not want it, and you alone are the judge, you simply bring in the deed, lay it on the desk, and say you want your money back. That's all. You don't need any reason. Nobody will argue with you. We will take out $40 per month for rent for the months you occupied and refund the rest of your down payment, and thank you.

"This is your opportunity to own your home and income with no risk. You have everything to gain and not one cent to lose."

That will be the pattern and spirit of all ads. A few taped radio talks by the owner in person, to present the package, with emphasis on the fact that the buyer who wants a refund does not need any reason for his decision, will help, too.

When a salesman meets some of the customers' fears, he has a solution that will serve to completely reassure the buyer. For instance, if the buyer is afraid to buy because there may be big repair bills, the free trial is the answer. Surely the buyer will find out, within one year, whether the building does need any repairs. If he finds that there are more repairs needed than he anticipated, he is not stuck with them. He can return the deed and he is out of the deal, completely.

If the buyer is hesitating because he wonders whether this deal is like the unhappy experience he previously signed for, wherein he answered an ad that said $25 a month, only to learn later that he was hooked for much more—this must overcome that fear. Within a year he will surely determine what the true carrying cost is. Then if he is not happy, he is not forced to keep the house. He gets his money back without argument.

And so on with the other fears, whatever they may be. But I must emphasize this warning: Use words and expressions that leave no room for doubt and that are in his language—even if you must resort to the vernacular and slang. Be direct. Be clear. Be definite in a way that leaves no doubt in the reader's mind.

Every house in the group was sold within three months and the plan had some pleasant side-effects. Many came to the office, attracted by the unique plan, inspired by confidence in a firm which would lean over to be fair, and they bought other properties without money-back reservations.

The plan is now used whenever a property is too long on hand. Thus far not one buyer has asked for a refund. Not only were the packages true, but once the buyer tasted the heady wine of ownership, he rarely wanted to go back to the lowlier status of tenant. He liked collecting much better than paying. He nursed his property. It was a mark of achievement and status to him. It represented proof of his rise in the world. It lifted him out of the class of most of his fellow workers. And it promised to partially support him in his old age.

٭ To get ALL these Capital Gains tax benefits you must now hold the property at least 1 year AND take depreciation on the straight-line basis. If you've held it less than 1 year but more than 6 months, you get almost all that benefit. You can ascertain the precise percentage at your local IRS office. If you take any kind of accelerated depreciation, a whole new set of laws apply and you get very little capital gains benefits unless you hold the property 10 years.

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