This is part 3 of a 3-part series on readying yourself to purchase real estate. 

This is an important year for California as we head to the polls in November to vote on a number of key propositions. While there are 12 propositions, only 11 of them are actually on the ballot for vote; Proposition 9, which would have split California into three states, was removed from the ballot in July 2018.

Recently, the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine announced that all current and future medical school students will receive full tuition scholarships, “regardless of their need or merit.” This is great news, not only for medical students, but for higher education and society as a whole, because according to the American Association of Medical Colleges, doctors are graduating with approximately $300,000 of student loan debt. Hopefully the move by NYU will motivate other universities, including non-medical, to pursue similar programs to lessen the burden on young adults just starting out their careers.

There is a new 20 percent tax cut for small businesses that is part of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) which was passed on December 27, 2017. It’s called the Section 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction. Since the passage of the TCJA, there have been hundreds of articles on the topic, some in favor of the act and others opposed. Some taxpayers are excited about the lower tax rates and others are nervous about how their taxes will change. Most importantly, small businesses are utterly confused as to whether they qualify for the generous Section 199A deduction, which is considered the biggest tax cut of all. This article breaks down each section of the 199A and helps readers determine if they qualify.

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on readying yourself to purchase real estate.  If you are still saving money for a down payment, you may also want to read part 1 of the series on ways to help you reach your down payment savings goals.

When my wife and I purchased our first property, we had no idea what to expect or how to prepare, but we learned a few things while going through the process. Some of the tips listed below will show up in any article you read about the first-time home buying experience and others will not. Nonetheless, these are the things we wish we knew before going down the escrow gauntlet.

In the past few weeks, we have received a lot of questions about the current state of the economy, fears of a "trade war," and questioning whether or not all of these changes will cause the US to fall into a recession.

This is part 1 of a 3-part series on readying yourself to purchase real estate.

Cash Balance plans are a way to save more for retirement, reduce your taxes, and accelerate your savings during your high income earning years. They have more flexibility than a traditional pension plan, but allow for similarly high contributions year over year and are usually paired with existing 401(k)/profit sharing plan. In this webinar, ACap’s Matt Crisafulli is joined by Kevin Palm of Kravitz, Inc., An Ascensus Company to discuss the basics behind Cash Balance Plans.

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) is sometimes also referred to as Environmental, Social and Corporate (ESG) investing. Regardless of the terminology, SRI/ESG investing is gaining momentum and growing each year. There are many mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that focus on SRI/ESG investments. The drawback is that most of these funds invest in the same securities which restricts diversification and these funds tend to be more expensive than other indexed based investments. In addition, nearly all SRI/ESG funds are thinly traded which adds to trading costs and severely limits an investors ability to easily transaction in a security.

Rising interest rates negatively affect fixed income investments. When rates are rising, investors should avoid real estate, mid and long-term bonds, and utilities. Instead, investors should purchase very short-term bonds, stocks, and floating rate securities. If you have large sums of cash in the bank, you can now shop around for a higher yielding savings account. Rising interest rates have not been a surprise. The Federal Reserve has said it would raise interest rates ever since it cut rates 7 times in 2008 during the Great Recession. As expected, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates once in 2018 and three (3) times in 2017.