I was more than a little surprised when I just read that the best investment in the world today is….

No, I’m not kidding.  This conclusion is according to Hans Rosling, “a Swedish public health professor and data visualisation pioneer.”

You can find the Financial Times article posted here at : http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c225ddde-d85b-11e4-ba53-00144feab7de.html

The logical conclusion is derived from number crunching the demographic changes taking place across the globe.  As some countries move from near poverty conditions toward middle class, massive shifts are taking place.  Beachfront locations like those in Somalia are well positioned to support the leisure industry for those in the Middle East and Asian countries.

So what does that have to do with our local activity?  Demographic changes can take place on a macro level, like described in the article, but that can also be drilled down on a local level as well.

If you find an area where people want to be first, then it makes the additional risks associated with the deal much easier to calculate.  Location takes into account the local schools, access to public transportation, access to entertainment and retail stores.

Greater New York City, with over 21 Million people is a great example.  But even within the large metro area there are areas where home prices boggle my mind.  $30 Million for an apartment is not unheard of.  A recent article bluntly stated that if you are searching for a home in NYC, you don’t get much until you pony up $10 million or more.

But let’s get back to Metro DC and our various markets.  Each county has actually been fractured into many different sub markets – with prices varying greatly from one end of a county to another.

Now think for a second – What would be the proper way to structure a deal for houses or condos priced under $100k?  Would an all cash deal be best?  Or maybe owner financing is an option?

What about for a $2 Million estate property in Loudoun County?  Could you get the owner to carry back a $500k second mortgage for a few years?

If any of those questions are a little confusing, or if you don’t even know what the differences in the offers may be, WREIA this month will help you.  Our speaker is going to talk about how to structure your offers – creatively – so you have a shot at them being accepted.

Just this week one of our WREIA members was at a property and the owner actually said “We are open to a little creativity if it means we can get a little more for the place.  We aren’t really in that big of a hurry.”

When was the last time you had a seller tell you that?  Take your time and be creative?!!  It’s the conversations like that that I dream about.

Now, we are not going to talking about how you can buy beachfront property in Somalia next Monday at WREIA.   But if you have been wondering how you can do more deals in the DC area this year, may I suggest that you add a little creativity to the process?

This month at WREIA we have a guest speaker – who is a local Bethesda attorney – coming to talk about creative offers  that work really well for renovators and rehabbers as well as landlords.  It’s a great topic for people who take on bigger projects that may involve a lot of liability, many different key players, and projected profits that need to be protected along the way.

I hope you can join us next Monday at WREIA.