George Real Estate Group Radio Broadcast

Mailbox Money Without The Headaches

• George Real Estate Group

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Headlines say the sky is falling, but our phones—and the data—tell a different story. We walk through simple, proven ways to turn real estate into steady income without the midnight maintenance calls, and we show how tax-smart moves can help you keep more of what you’ve built. If your rental is fully depreciated and the repairs keep stacking up, it may be time to trade landlord stress for passive cash flow using 1031 exchanges, Delaware Statutory Trusts, and UPREITs that can defer capital gains and increase income.

We get practical about the big questions families face: how to create liquidity without selling at a discount, how to keep things fair among kids with very different goals, and how to use tools like DSTs for income alongside UPREITs for staged cash-outs. Vacant land owners learn why depreciation never shows up and how a 1031 into diversified, income-producing assets can turn “asset rich, cash flow poor” into monthly checks. For generous givers, we outline how donating appreciated property to a donor-advised fund or charitable remainder trust can avoid a large gain, capture deductions, and even produce income while supporting causes you love.

Money choices are never just math. Inspired by The Psychology of Money, we talk about luck, risk, defining “enough,” and why quiet wealth looks like freedom, not flash. Then we zoom into local market trends: steady pricing, strong demand, and what interest rate moves really mean for affordability and timing. Our north star remains the same—align your properties with your life: income today, options tomorrow, and a legacy that fits your values.

Ready to explore your options without pressure? Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review to help more neighbors find smart, stress-free real estate strategies.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, friends. Thank you so much for being here. This is the George Real Estate Group podcast, which is a production of our live weekly radio shows hosted on multiple radio stations here in Hendersonville, North Carolina. The George Real Estate Group serves Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina, and it is a privilege to share positive news about our local real estate market and community. Thanks so much for subscribing. And of course, if you have any real estate questions or if we can help you in any way, be sure to reach out. Visit us at George Real Estate Group Radio.com for more information. Good morning and welcome to the George Real Estate Group live radio broadcast here on WHKP every Thursday morning sharing with you positive news about your local real estate market and community. So grateful to be here with you. Halloween's tomorrow. Then we got Thanksgiving and Christmas. And also people might be hearing the news saying the sky's falling with real estate. And that's not true. We're on track to have our best year ever and grateful for incredible clients, our incredible agents, our staff. We grateful to serve the community through real estate. We have an incredible team. And again, ultimately, our clients we're so grateful for. If you've signed up for our annual pie day giveaway, uh you know, you can reserve an apple or pumpkin pie for our clients, our current clients, our past clients, our future clients. You can certainly reach out to our office uh there and reserve your apple or pumpkin pie. Uh we're just one of those things that we love doing, giving just a small token of our appreciation to our to our clients as a thank you. And we love serving our clients. We love helping our clients navigate through life. Uh life happens, therefore, real estate happens. And again, just just it's it is fun. We're so enthusiastic about helping our clients navigate through, you know, the the real estate. Uh, and whether it's your your your personal home, you know, whether it's your your investments. I mean, we love helping our clients. And whether it's and maybe it's your real estate investments, and maybe it's some maybe it's some strategies with your taxes and uh you know you know tax deductions or depreciation or you know, there's so many pieces pieces of the puzzle that we help our clients navigate through, not just with our their personal homes. So again, if you're curious about your home, if you're curious about your investment properties, if you're curious about the the uh tax strategies that we work with, with our our uh we have incredible uh CPAs and tax strategists we work with, we have incredible attorneys from our state attorneys to our real estate attorneys, I mean, and and then our lenders and our appraisers and our home inspectors, our team that we work together in and love. I mean, we have and we also have great recommendations for contractors and handyman and people that help you clean out your home and people that help with estate sales and and I mean you A to Z, we can help you navigate through all of it, all all the all the things that have that go on, and and it and it's you know maybe you're having some paralysis uh analysis and and you're trying to figure out you just can't you don't know what to do next, and that's where we can come in and help navigate through through that and and provide some clarity and provide some information so you can you can decide what's what's right for you and and give you some options and and ultimately you know come alongside uh to support you and so you can you can know you can you can have some options of you know of what to do. If you're to tuning in uh for the first time ever, uh the George Real Estate Group, but this is my 20th year with my broker's license. We have an incredible team and staff, and uh we have over a hundred years combined experience. And if you're thinking of buying or selling or investing in real estate or thinking through strategies, we'd love to have the conversation. You can call us directly at 828-3930134, 828-393-0134. Uh, you can uh find us online at realestatebygreg.com. You can call us. You can stop by our office. We're at 2720 Greenville Highway there on Rainbow Row, there in Flat Rock. We serve all of West North Carolina and the upstate. You know, we can have uh we can help you in the upstate. We also work with people all over the country. I mean, we've helped our clients navigate through things, you know, in other in other uh, you know, other areas of the country that are you know, clients that are selling in other states, clients that are buying in other states. We can we have a network of of top professionals across the country that we work with and that we've built over the years. And so we we'd love to have the conversation. Uh follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We have uh regular open houses every weekend. We we have our new listings and share our stories on social media. We also podcast our radio program. We we podcast uh we've been podcasting for a couple years now, and and you can follow us on your favorite podcast platform, George Realistic Group Radio. Uh, and every Friday morning we sponsor the Hometown Hero Series. We love highlighting amazing men and women, women serving this community, and and it's a privilege to sponsor the Hometown Hero series tomorrow morning. I don't know if you've heard of this, the Bat Cave Door Dashers. Uh Suzette Dupree and Sherry Murphy will join us and talk about their delivery of hot meals to the workers rebuilding Batcave. Uh, they and others prepared meals at the Batcave Relief Hub. Suzette and Sherry delivered them and they delivered some sunshine too. And we're going to get to know Suzette and Sherry tomorrow morning at 8 45. And that that's absolutely something to celebrate and again shed a light on and and again share share the stories. So here's something to consider. And again, we talk a lot about primary homes, but today I thought I'd dive into something that might just open the door for your next chapter. You know, whether you're a landlord tired of leaky faucets, or a retiree looking for income without the headaches, or a family thinking about how to pass wealth on to your kids, we're talking about identifying investor opportunities and some outside of the box real estate strategies that can save taxes, generate income, and even create legacy. You may or may not know this, but if you've owned a property for 27 and a half years or a commercial building for 39, here's the truth. The IRS says your depreciation clock has run out. That means no more tax deductions, higher maintenance costs, and a lower return. And you might be paying 100% tax on that rental income. So what do you do? You sell it, but then you owe capital gains taxes, right? And this is where tools like a 1031 exchange, DSTs, and upreats come in. They let you defer the taxes, gain passive income, and keep your money working for you. And think of it like trading your landlord headaches for mailbox money. And it's a tax strategy that keeps Uncle Sam from being your biggest benefactor. And mate, here's another another option. I mean, here's another conversation we're having. Maybe you're earning less than 4% on your current property. That's below what some of the DSTs are paying right now. And that means you're in you could increase your income while decreasing your stress. And and and also anyone with vacant land, there's zero depreciation. That's all taxable income. And with a DST, you can defer 100% of those taxes and start earning income right away. And so there's a powerful option for investors who are asset rich but cash flow poor. And then, of course, a lot of our clients are asking how do I keep things fair for my kids? A lot of kids, you know, and of course, liquidity is important. Others want to hold on to real estate, and that's where the combination of up REATs and DSTs can work together. Up REITs create liquidity. Think shares you can cash out over time, while DSTs continue the 1031 exchange for long-term tax-deferred growth. It's one of the smartest ways to blend estate planning, tax efficiency, and family fairness. And of course, a lot of baby boomers, boomers, the next question isn't should I sell? It's how do I pay for what's next? And maybe it's moving into an assisted living community, downsizing or freeing up funds for travel and family. And so there are ways to take money out of your real estate tax-free while doing a 1031 exchange on the balance, can create ongoing income to help cover living expenses. And so it's about using what you've built to support the life you want now. Again, all these are just different topics that we're uh I'm touching on. These are conversations that we're having with our clients. And of course, for our clients with a with the heart for giving, this is where real estate can become one of your most powerful tools for generosity. Through charitable planned giving or outside-the-box real estate gifts, investors can donate appreciated properties, avoid large capital gains, and receive income tax deductions all while supporting causes they care about. If you have a favorite nonprofit, let's talk. We can help you with this. Again, this is you can actually combine this with your retirement planning, like doing IRA to Roth conversions while reducing your taxable income. All of this matters. Let's zoom out. According to recent statistics, baby boomers own over 51% of all U.S. wealth. Kiplinger says they're transferring$84 trillion in assets, and 70% of those assets are in real estate and retirement accounts. This is the largest transfer wealth in our nation. So if you're not paying attention to this and how to do this strategically, this is how we're helping helping countless. There's so many ways that we're helping our families steward their wealth wisely. And it's in concert with our tax professionals, our tax strategists, our estate attorneys, our real estate attorneys. You know, at the George Real Estate Group, our mission has always been about more than just buying and selling homes. It's about improving lives through real estate. If you're an investor, a retiree, or family thinking about what's next, we'd love to have the conversation about your goals, your properties, how to align both for income, the impact, and legacy. You know, it's never about selling property, it's about unlocking what's possible. We we look at the bigger picture. I love reading books. Another book that I might have shared this in the past, uh, not certainly not recently, but a book by Morgan Household that talks about personal finance and it shifts the story of personal finance from spreadsheets and turns returns it to the way we behave, how we feel, and decide. It's the book called The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housell. Morgan argues how you deal with money has far more to do with psychology than it does with formulas. And a lot of people think money, you know, that's budgets, that's interest rates, and it's it's math. But Morgan Household says doing well with money isn't necessarily about what you know, it's how you behave. And the big idea that he presents is money is emotional. Every decision we make about money, spending, saving, giving, investing is filtered through our experiences, fears, and dreams. And Morgan reminds us that two people can live through the same economy and have two totally different behaviors, two totally different money behaviors. Why? Because they didn't live the same story. Someone who grew up during the Great Recession might see the stock market as risky and unpredictable, while someone who's only known a bull market thinks it's the safest bet on earth. The same data, different psychology. So when we talk about wealth, it's not just about returns on investments, it's about returns on behavior. And so your mindset compounds just like your money does. One of my favorite chapters is called Luck and Risk. And Houseell says nothing is as good or as bad as it seems. Think about it. Two people might make the exact same decision. One ends up rich, one ends up broke, simply because of timing, luck, or chance. Did you know that Bill Gates went to one of the only high schools in America that had a computer? That small bit of luck shaped the future of Microsoft. On the flip side, there were thousands of just as smart people who never got that same chance. So it's actually humbling and freeing to remember that not all success is skill and not all failure is folly. And so our job isn't to control everything, it's to make wise, consistent choices even when we can't control the outcome. He also says this, and this one hits close to home. The chapter's called Never Enough. Morgan writes the hardest financial skill is getting the goalpost to stop moving. Have you heard about that concept? You've probably seen this play out. Someone doubles their income, gets a bigger house, a nicer car, and they're still not satisfied. It's called the moving goalpost. The goalpost, meaning to score. And you know, the football, you're scoring when you you when you go past the goal line, you you you score, you you score a field goal. The goal posts, they stay the same place in football, but in life, people move their goalposts. Their goalpost keeps moving further down the field. And the truth is, if you can't feel gratitude right now, you probably won't later either. And so the million dollar question everyone has to ask themselves, what is your enough? Is it the number in your bank account? Or is it freedom? Is it time with family? You know, is it peace of mind? You know, maybe enough is the ability to leave work early on a Friday, catch your kids' ball game. Maybe it's the freedom to say no to something that doesn't align with your values. And when you define enough, step out of the endless chase and back into your life. It's not keeping up with the Joneses, it's deciding what your life looks like and and what what is enough for you. And again, you're you get to decide your quality of life. And maybe it's having the freedom to go get that cup of coffee with a friend or neighbor when you want to. Another fascinating topic that he talks about well while we're we're all while we're on the topic of freedom, another gem from the book is being rich is having a high income. Being wealthy is having the freedom to choose how you spend your time. We've all met people who are rich, or you could say even look rich. They might be in complete debt, they have the nice cars, the big houses, but are constantly stressed. Wealth, on the other hand, might look quieter. No flash, no show, just freedom. You can't always see wealth because real wealth is what you don't spend. So the question becomes, are you building wealth or just performing richness? Again, all of this at the end of the day, the psychology of money book really isn't about money, it's about meaning. And money, Morgan says, money is a mirror, it reflects our fears, our desires, our values. I've also heard money is money magnifies. They said, everybody says, oh, when you win, when you win the lottery, I'm gonna give it away. Well, the truth is if you aren't giving away your money now with what you have, you're not gonna be giving it away when you get more. So when we understand behavior, why we spend the way we do, why we save the way we do, we gain something more valuable than any paycheck. We have we get peace of mind. Again, real wealth is the ability to wake up in the morning and say, I can do what I want, when I want, with who I want, for as long as I want, and that's freedom. So a few just the the book, uh again, The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel, it it really dives into some it's just it's a beautiful book, and again, I'd encourage you to read it. I I am a huge advocate of of reading and or listening to books. I mean, if you're in the car a lot, you can put things on on Audible. So the thing is, again, uh some of the biggest takeaways, you know, number one, defining enough. Again, stop moving the goalposts. Number two, respect luck and risk. Don't judge success or failure too harshly. Life is unpredictable. You know, stay stay humble. No one is no one's as smart or as doomed as they seem. And then be patient. The best returns, personal or for financial, come from consistency over time. And then, of course, freedom. Money is a tool for options, not for identity. And if you remember nothing else from today, it's not about knowing more, it's about doing less dumb stuff repeatedly. So, again, maybe you haven't read the book, The Psychology of Money. Encourage you to grab it. But maybe you can take one of Household's Morgan Household's challenges and ask myself, am I playing the long game or am I chasing the next thing? Because in life, just like investing, time and temperament often beat talent and timing. You know, and we know at the George Real Estate Group, where you know, we're helping our clients. Real estate is one of the biggest financial decisions and transactions you'll do in your lifetime. And whether it's your personal home or whether it's your investment properties, I mean, we we we we take it so we believe me, we have a lot of fun, but we take it so seriously and and and and with um just gratitude, but um the significance of when you hire us, we're we're so incredibly grateful. And the gravity of what we're walking through with you, we're there as your fiduciary, we're there to advocate for you, we're there. Maybe it's the best decision not to sell, not to buy, and we're not afraid to tell you that. And we know you know that real wealth is more than just money, it is about the freedom, about family, and about fulfillment. And maybe the home you're in right now is a burden. Maybe the hundred acres of land you own is a burden, and there are other options, there's ways to set yourself up in your life and create the legacy and the life that you want. And so all of this is you know, it's staying curious, staying generous, and it's you know, sometimes the smartest financial move isn't about earning more, it's about appreciating what you already have. And again, we can help you look at all of these pieces of the puzzle as you're looking and evaluating what you want your life to look like. What you and again, you get to decide what your life looks like. You get to decide, you know, do I do I want to downsize? Do I want to upsize? You know, what what's in what is important? What's important to me? These things matter, and again, life is short. You know, what what's the saying? Eat the dessert first. But again, it's having an honest conversation with yourself about what you want your life to look like. And whose life are you living? That's that's uh you know, really whose life are you living? And again, deciding what your life looks like. And you're not gonna get it right. You're gonna they're you're gonna fail forward, you're gonna learn, you're gonna every opportunity is a learning lesson, and and you get in and guess what? There's every day is a new day for new possibilities, new hope, new chances, and you can start over today. Uh I I I don't want to misquote who said this, but you know, the best time to plant a tree was an apple tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today. So the psychology of money, Morgan Housel. Love, love reading books like that, love talking about it, love sharing about it. And of course, we're so grateful to serve our community through real estate. And and it's the stories, it's the the relationships, it's getting to hear our clients' stories and their and their dreams and and what they've done and where they're going. And again, it's a privilege and honor to serve the community through real estate. Here's a quick little snapshot of the market. Uh we have a few more minutes. Here's a quick snapshot. In the last 12 months, there's actually been an 8% increase in single-family homes sold in Henderson County. An 8% increase over the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months. And that's in that's in the timeline of us experiencing Haleen. So we're averaging 132 single-family homes a month selling right now compared to 125 previously. And this is this is just single-family homes. The the amount of land sales, condo sales, townhome sales, commercial sales. I'm just using the single family home as a as a litmus. Prices are holding. We've had a slight, slight price softening. A point uh 2.9. Let's just call it 3% price softening. Average single family home price over the last 12 months is at 535, 536. So we we are still continuing to see a strong number of cash purchases. Just uh almost one in three homes sold in Henderson County or purchased with cash. We've seen a slight increase in the number of financed homes. We've seen an increase of government loans, which are usually the first-time home buyers. We've had a an 84% increase in the number of FHA, VA, USDA loans in the last 12 months versus the previous 12 months. That's significant. The majority and the core growth in most activity in Henderson County is in the$400,000 to$600,000 price range. That's the majority of the sales. We've seen strong growing sales in the three to four hundred range. We have actually seen a 17% increase in the number of homes sold over a million dollars. Our luxury market remains strong. So we continue to see growth there in the luxury market. Again, across the board. Oh, by the way, you know, the Feds lowered interest rates, but guess what? I mean, I've talked to I it's so fun to hear stories of people that have you know purchased real estate over the decades and and and it's fun to reminisce. I mean, it's not fun when you're in the middle of it, but I mean I I've heard just recently in a number of clients that uh you know purchased and sold properties when interest rates are in the you know 17, 18, even 20% range. So the good news is, I mean, we are it's amazing right now where interest rates are right now. Even if you look at the last 50 years, I mean, we're doing great uh interest rates right now. There's a slight decrease with the Fed rate. The Fed rate is not the mortgage rate, but there's certainly some impact there. But the mortgage rates, here's the thing, if you it is if you can afford to buy today, it's a great time to buy. Because here's the interesting thing. While interest rates, I mean interest rates right now, uh I heard nationally, I think they were at 5.99%. So it's great that across the country we've we've hit in the five range, a granite uh 5.99, but it sounds like a big win. But if you're waiting for that number to go lower, you might not actually save as much as you think. I mean, if you're waiting for that number to go lower, uh the thing is if interest rates go lower, we're probably gonna see prices go higher. So if here's the thing, waiting doesn't always pay off, but these interest rates, you know, especially when interest rates go lower, you're gonna see more competition. I mean, it's a great time to buy, it's a great time to sell. I mean, the market's the market, interest rates are the interest rates. But, you know, we know, and I've said this many times before, life happens, therefore real estate happens. So if you're if you're curious and want to just have the conversation, there's no pressure, there's no cost, there's no obligation. We'd love to have the call, love to have the conversation. Stop by anytime at our office in Flat Rock 2720 Greenville Highway. Call directly 828-393-0134. 828-3930134. Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. Follow us on social media, follow our podcast. We podcast all of our radio shows. And then again, tomorrow morning at 845, it is such a privilege and honor to sponsor the Hometown Hero series. And tomorrow morning at 845, we'll have our Hometown Hero Series hearing more amazing stories about the recovery and the work that's being done here. In Batcave. I think tonight is the last uh football game of the season. Tonight, is that right? Or tonight. Oh, sorry, tomorrow night. Today's Thursday. So uh again, best wishes to the local high school football uh teams. I mean that's uh Hendersonville's at poll, uh East at high school, uh North it's uh Smoky Mountain. Again, I uh you can please double check this uh this information. But again, this Friday night, uh this is exciting. Um again, oh U and C. This is the end of the week, and game of the week is Franklin at West. So again, this is always exciting news. But again, uh good luck to the to the to the student athletes and the coaches and the schools, and again, safety, of course, and again, grateful for our community that we live in. Thank you so much for tuning in this Thursday morning. We're here every Thursday, right after the 10 o'clock news. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast and of course give us a call, 828-393-0134. Have a great day, and we'll see you tomorrow morning. You've built a lifetime of strength, wisdom, and independence. And here's the best part: you still have it. Every decision, every step, every next chapter is yours to choose. Selling your home isn't about letting go, it's about opening the door to more freedom, more time for what you love, more energy for the people and passions that matter most. At the George Real Estate Group, we believe independence isn't behind you. It's right here, right now. Our team goes beyond buying and selling. We're here to help you protect your wealth, preserve your legacy, and make sure Uncle Sam doesn't become your biggest benefactor. We'll guide you every step of the way towards your next chapter, your next opportunity, and your freedom on your terms. Call us at 828-393-0134.

SPEAKER_00:

Find us online at realestatebygreg.com. Thank you for listening to the George Real Estate Group Podcast. Tune in next time for more industry news, updates, and real estate tips. You can reach Greg, the George Real Estate Group, at 828 393 0134 or at realestatebygreg.com.