The Context Machine

We’ve seen and heard about the latest investing method on TV informercials, in newspapers and everywhere. It’s even said to be so easy it’s like taking cendy from a baby. They’re talking about tax liens and you should be vary wary.

Tax liens are liens placed against ones property by local counties and similar municipalities for non-payment of assessed property taxes. According to a website I just looked at its states that every county of every state sells these late or derogatory property tax bills for immediate funds after placing a tax lien against the property in question. This did use to be true in the past, but most states don not allow the public sale of property tax liens under any circumstance. One os these states is North Carolina. You cannot legally buy or profit from these sales in North Carolina. Yet these websites state you can - they just want your money for their kit $49 or more. They will take your money and run.

Upon further review over 37 states do not allow the public sale of these tax liens. Furthermore, even if they did the homestead laws in many states would suprecede any supposed foreclosing rights and make it so you could not evict these people from their homes for non-payment. Yet their advertisements state the opposite- good in any state. 5-25% guaranteed returns on every lien and most pay within 1 year, etc… These are all lies. The rule is this - if it sounds too good to be true than it is. If tax liens were such a great business than why isn’t everybody else in it? By the numbers propsed by these shows, infomercials, websites and similar and the fact that this idea has been around for over 5 years there should be many, many millionaires. Where are they?

This scam is similar to ISC (Invention Submission Corporation). They promise new inventors a patent and big royalties. Finally after thousands of coomplaints the FTC looked into many submission companies and found that most just lied, took money and didn’t deliver anything. It was a pure ripoff. This is the same. Keep your money. There is no money to be made by the property tax lien scam.

David Maillie is an alumni of Cornell University and specializes in biochemical synthesis for public, private, and governmental interests. He holds numerous patents and awards for his research. For more useful information please visit:
http://www.bestbraindrain.com

Land for sale bought as an investment is the secret of the world’s richest investors including Donald Trump and Howard Hughes who have made billions.

In fact, most of the world’s wealthiest investors have made money in land.

Want a quick potential 400% return? Then read on.

If you have never considered land for sale as an investment, it’s time to start as investments in land are no longer just for the rich and can produce huge returns.

Land better growth and lower downside risk than ANY other investment.

Land for sale which is bought for investment purposes can show great returns and low risk.

Unlike equities and property land for sale in the right location does not suffer long periods of cyclical decline.

Investments such as hedge and futures funds can produce similar gains, but with far greater risk.

Land investment is no longer just for the rich!

Many specialist land companies offer plots of land for sale for just $10,000 by dividing large developments into smaller plots which are affordable to any investor.

The secret of successful land investment

The secret of successful land investing is location.

If you are looking for plots of land for sale they need to be somewhere planning permission is likely to be granted in the near future, not farmland in the middle of nowhere!

How to make potential 400% returns quickly

One of the best countries for land for sale for investment purposes is the UK.

The UK is a densely populated country, has a fast rising population due to large immigration flows and there is now an acute housing shortage that needs to be met.

This means that premium location land including farmland, green belt and brown belt can make huge quick returns if bought in prime areas before planning permission is granted for property developers.

The key is buying land in the right location.

Land for sale near an urban that is expanding is what developers are looking for.

Three steps to land for sale profits are:

1. Choose plots that have percentage chance of being developed in the near future
2. Wait for planning permission to be granted
3. Sell the land and bank profits - In many instance land speculators can make a few hundred percent profit in just a few years

Sounds good but what is the downside?

The downside is of course, if the land is not granted planning permission quickly and the land doesn’t rise in value.

On the other hand it is not likely to fall in value much either.

Buy back options from developers

Many specialist land companies know that investors do not want to tie up their money indefinitely and give investors buy back options, so they can sell out their plot and turn their investment into cash.

The perfect investment for capital gains

Land banking is where investors try and buy and sell land for profit and its not complicated its an easy to understand investment.

It may be a simple to understand, but average land prices in the last 20 years in the UK have risen faster than shares or property with less downside risk.

This is simply AVERAGE growth, but buying plots of land for sale in the RIGHT location has seen many investors return triple digit annual growth and you could to.

Suitable for foreign and domestic investors

The examples above relate to the UK, Which is now seen as THE country to speculate in land investment for above average gains.

Both foreign and domestic buyers are taking advantage of the shortage of supply in relation to demand to make big profits and you can join them.

More FREE information on land investment

If you want to learn more about turning land for sale into longer term profit potential. Get your free land infopack containing everything you need to know about this exciting investment. Visit our website:

http://www.lpgroupinternational.com

For some people, this subject conjures images of the devils in management at Enron, WorldCom and other bankrupt former high flyers. Mesmerized by the sweet profit projections coming from their corporate chieftains, all too many employees of these firms put all of their retirement nest egg in company stock. When the company was riding high, they were wealthy on paper. When the company and stock collapsed, they were devastated.

Of course, everyone now knows that it is a mistake to place all your chips in your company’s stock.

It can be an even bigger mistake to leave your money there for an extended period of time. That’s where the Enron and WorldCom employees took a pasting. They failed to sell some or all of their shares at the time the stock price was peaking and turning south. In most cases they had time to salvage at least a portion their nest egg; too many hesitated and lost all.

Despite the horror stories of the past, employee stock purchase plans, or ESPPs, can be a good deal.

You get shares at a discount, and in most cases you can sell your shares and pocket the cash. The returns will supplement your IRA, 401K or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. You just have to be careful about monitoring the stock and picking the right buy and sell points.

Make sure to check with the human relations department at your company for specifics on your plan.

The key question to ask: When can I sell? You want as much flexibility as possible to avoid an Enron-style fiasco. Some companies allow you to sell only once a year, and some allow it twice a year.

Companies also establish “offering periods” when employees can purchase stock, often at a discount of 15%. In about 80% of the plans, the purchase price is determined on the first or last day of the offering period, whichever is lower. This is a great deal because you have a built-in profit of 17.6% (based on the 15% purchase discount) no matter the how the stock performs.

Let’s say you start putting money into your ESPP at the beginning of the offering period when the price of your company’s stock is 20, but at the end of the offering period the price is down to 15.

In this case, you can buy the stock for 15 less the typical 15% discount.

That’s when the selling decision becomes critical. Many times you are able to sell as soon as the offering period ends, and you can immediately pocket that 17.6% profit.

If you hang onto those shares until the next selling period, you’re taking on the market risk that your shares might decline in value. Of course, the stock could take off and pad your gain. If one sales period is July 1, for example, keeping those shares would have been a good idea this year with the DOW and NASDAQ in the early stages of a long rally. If the selling period is, say, early in 2004, you might consider an immediate sale because the rally has gone a long way and your stock
could be vulnerable to a sell-off.

Most important, don’t ignore the shares building up in your account and count on the continuing goodwill of your company’s management. That’s what got Enron’s employee-shareholders into trouble.

Sit down with your financial adviser and decide whether to sell or hold. Take control of your future!

In your deliberations, you’ll have to consider the tax consequences. If you sell immediately, the proceeds will be taxed as ordinary income. If you hold a year or longer, the proceeds will be taxed at the lower capital gains rate. There are other tax considerations; see your financial adviser before making your move.

This is a good time to find out what is available at your company. ESPPs are usually available to all employees, unlike stock options that tend to be handed out to upper management. Handling options is another story entirely.

For a FREE report on HOW TO TRADE FAST, enter your email address at:

http://lb.bcentral.com/ex/manage/subscriberprefs?customerid=12826

Corporations that issue debt (bonds and notes) that are not backed by a specific asset are known as debentures. These bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the company. Most bond issues are debentures.

Non secured corporate bonds offer higher rates of return than secured bonds. When a bond is secured, it is backed by collateral. That collateral could be” cash, securities, real estate or equipment.

Debentures are rated for credit quality so that investors can make an informed decision. The lower the rating, the higher the yield or rate of return. “Higher risk equals higher yield”. That is true for all investments and certainly includes bond investments. The 2 primary rating companies are Standard and Poors (S & P) and Moodys. Based on their ratings, debentures will be priced to sell at the minimum yield it will take for investors to buy them.

Their rating system breaks down as such:

S&P
AAA - The highest rating a debenture can receive.
AA
A
BBB

BBB and higher is considered investment grade. Investment grade bonds are normally a good risk and default is remote. Investors looking to protect their capital with debenture bonds should only invest in investment grade issues.

Speculative or “junk bonds” are rated below beginning with BB.

BB
B
CCC
and so on…

Moodys has a similar rating system for debentures. They use some lower case ratings to set themselves apart from S&P.

Moodys

(Investment Grade)
Aaa
Aa
A
Baa

(Speculative)

Ba
B
Caa

If a corporation fails to make interest payments or does not return the par value principal at maturity on debentures, the company would be in default. If the company goes out of business, they still owe the money to the investors. Debentures are paid after other obligations and secured debt is paid. In the event of a liquidation, they are paid ahead of stockholders but not above other secured bondholders.

Debentures always have a rate above U.S. Treasuries on the same maturity. U.S Treasury bonds are the safest bonds issues, so for corporate issues to be sold, they must offer an attractive spread over treasuries.

Debentures are fully taxable. Any interest earned is taxed federal, state and local. Since they are fully taxable, their coupon rates are higher.

Subordinated debentures are the same as debentures in most ways. They are backed by the full faith and credit of the company. However, subordinated debentures pay a high rate, but have a lower priority if the company goes out of business. Subordinated issues are the last bonds to be paid. They are the last creditors, before stockholders to be paid. Not all companies offer subordinated debentures. The risk is obvious, but if the company does not liquidate, the investors will benefit because of the higher rate of return. Their rating is normally lower when compared to similar debenture issues.

Corporate bonds can be callable by the issuer. Call dates can be placed on the bond and this allows the company to redeem the bonds early beginning on set dates and at set redemption prices. This is normally not a good feature for investors, because an issue is normally called when interest rates are low - lower than your coupon rate. The main reason debentures or bonds in general are called, is because the issuer wants to refinance their debt at a lower rate. When this happens, the investor is faced with having his money (par) returned early, but the higher paying bond is no more. To make matters worse, interest rates are lower in the market, so finding a suitable replacement will be difficult, if not impossible. Callable bonds to pay a higher yield though, so for some the risk is worth it.

Corporate debentures have a place in every bond portfolio.

More on Debentures.

Nick Hunter is the President of American Investment Training, AIT and the owner of http://www.brokerjobs.com - A financial education and career website.