High-rise Residential Condos in Atlanta

Lately, Real Estate has taken a happy turn in Greater Atlanta area. With all the hypes of ‘buyers’ market’, ‘foreclosures galore’, and numerous excellent properties in desirable areas sitting for months, make one to believe that there is a ‘glut of homes’ unable to sell fast. Billboards showing over 105,000 homes for sale, in Atlanta, and pundits mentioning numerous foreclosures allover the town, makes life difficult for sellers and their realtors.

But there has been a boom of construction, of numerous new residential subdivisions, Especially towhomes, as well as of office condominiums all around Greater Atlanta, and these properties are selling fast at (higher) prices unheard of before. Between 2000 and 2006, over 900,000 people moved to Atlanta, more than any other city in the United States. In addition, Atlanta is the third city, after New York and Los Angeles, to host the headquarters of maximum number of Fortune 500 companies. Lack of natural barriers like mountain and ocean, has made Atlanta to grow far and wide, and the expansion has no end in sight.

Recently, downtown, midtown, Buckhead and Vinings have seen the construction of multi-story, high-rise residential condo towers, which are selling fast at Manhattan (NY) and Beverly Hills (CA) prices. The demand for luxury homes in Atlanta has been more than in NY and CA in the last few years. In addition to several country clubs with million dollar homes and golf courses, in the suburbia, it is time that people own a second home in downtown, to participate in various entertainment and sports activities in the city of Atlanta. Braves stadium, Phillip Arena, Aquarium, Coca Cola museum, Olympic Park, CNN, World Congress Center, Georgia Dome, Apparel Mart, proposed Air Museum, Piedmont Park, Botanical Garden, High Museum, Symphony Orchestra and Civic Center are some of the attractions that people in suburbs visit in the weekends.

The traffic situation in Atlanta is getting worse day by day. More roads are needed. MARTA and the buses are not capable enough to carry people around. Thus there has been a trend that people who work and play in downtown, also live in downtown. Plenty of High-rise condo towers are thus being developed in several parts of the town, that attract buyers and investors from suburbs, as well as from larger metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Houston and Miami.

I will try to enumerate a few of these buildings, that we know in and out and recommend our prospects and buyers, to consider purchasing one or more units in there, since the prices escalate upwards very fast, and the sellers/developers are not willing to negotiate on the price due to high demand for their properties. Most of these buildings/towers have not broken the grounds yet, and are not slated to be completed before the end of 2009 and 2010 or even later, hence their units are still being sold at lower pre-construction prices, and include attractive pricing and incentives. All these facilities have swimming pool, concierge service, guard controlled entrances, valet parking, gym, conference center, guest suites, few upscale shops for the residents and numerous places to go, in addition to work/offices, in walking distances. Plenty of restaurant, shops and entertainment will be available near by.

AQUARIUS, by Tuscany Corporation, across the street from GA Aquarium, at the corner of Luckie and Ivan Allen streets, a green building with wind turbines and solar panels to generate energy for residents, and deep underground state of the art parking, being sold for $300K (for one bed unit) through $2.5 million for a penthouse. It will be 35 stories high and will have a total of 120 residential units.

TERMINUS 10, in Buckhead, by Cousins properties, at the corner of Piedmont and Peachtree Streets, close to Grand Hyatt , Tower Place and Lenox Mall, in the financial district. Prices begin at $296K for a studio through $ 3.5 million for a Penthouse, with 32 stories having over 200 units.

THE ATLANTIC, by Novare Group, on 17th street in midtown, close to the Atlantic Station., and IKEA. It will have 37 stories and over 200 residences, with hotels, shops, restaurants, and lake around to keep a family busy for hours and days. Prices begin from $350K for a one bed room unit through $2 million for a Penthouse.

SKYLINE at LINDBERG, by MLC, at the corner of Piedmont and Sydney Marcus, across from Lindberg Marta Station/Headquarters, and GA 400 as well as I-85.Prices begin at $190K for one bed room units through $1.2 million for a Penthouse, and is being built by MLC of Chicago.

MEZZO, by Tivoli Properties, is in between midtown and Buckhead, close to Peachtree Battle Street, on Peachtree Street, with 94 units over 25 floors, ranging from $350K for one bed units through $2 million for a Penthouse.

TRUMP TOWERS ATLANTA, by Donald Trump Organization, NY, on 15th street in midtown, close to High Museum of Arts and Colony Square, is selling for $520K for a one bed unit through $1.5 million for a 2 bed unit, where Penthouses may be sold for $3 million through $5 million. Its two separate towers will have 47 and 38 stories with a total of 535 residences.

Most of these towers have the same set of attorneys, builders, architects and marketing organizations working for them, but all of them work in isolation, and are generally not aware of what kind of residences the others are selling. We, thus, took the time to contact each of them, and generated arrangements to sell any of the units in any of the buildings as Listing-, Selling- or Co-Op Agents, at the best negotiated prices, and guide prospects and buyers with relevant information and contracting paperwork through our offices.

God vs Science

The title, “God vs Science”, is a misnomer, may be naive and far fetched.
The correct title should be, ‘Christianity vs. Science” or “Bible vs Science”,
since genesis and Old Testament are involved. The statements like, “religion and science
will always clash”, and “religion without science is lame, and science without religion is
blind” are kind of childish. I have watched the debate of creationism vs evolution in
early 1970s in California (and wrote about it in those days) and the incorporation of
creation theory in biology texts then. The resurgence of new ‘intelligent design’ all over
the country now is really, “the old wine in new bottle”. It is more for gathering popular
votes for election, and less for intellectual pursuit of either religion or of science.
Over a billion Hindus, in India and elsewhere, who prefer to call their religion (way
of life) “sanatan dharma” (eternal religion) believe that God created the universe,
earth, and everything on it including human beings, and comes to help the mankind
again and again as incarnation of the Supreme Lord. He has been here at least nine times
in the form of fish, boar, lion, pigmy, Ram, Krishna Budha and others, --- like the
progression of Darwinian Evolution. In addition, believing in dharma, artha, kama and
moska ---- the attributes of duty, wealth, sex and salvation, Hindus do not consider sex
as sin, or God as single male, but always with a wife and consort. Hence no need for
feminism. Woman was, in Hinduism, not created from the rib of a man, but by the
same process, and from the same material, men were created with. In Hinduism, where
not only ‘humanism’ but everything, animate or inanimate is sacred. Science and
and religion are not antagonistic, but two faces of the same coin, and have no conflict.
Sanatan Dharma also considers all religions to be different paths to reach the same God.
The conclusion that God is lot more incomprehensible than any religion has ever
proposed, is brilliant, and is the basic tenet of Hinduism.

Grooming of PMs for India

Since 1947, India has had Jawaharlal Nehru, Lalbahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Chandrashekhar, Rajiv Gandhi, Indra Kumar Gujaral, Atal Behari Bajpayi, and Manmohan Singh as its Prime Ministers.
How long will Mr. Singh continue, and who will be the next Prime Minister ?
What kind of the Head of State for the Indian Union will be acceptable to the western world, especially USA, and who will be good for the country, India ?
Nehru was groomed and educated in England, fell for joining the British Commonwealth
and really never broke ties with the English masters. He even got his daughter, Indira Gandhi, and grand child(ren), Rajiv Gandhi, educated and groomed in British ways, who eventually took his position as heads of the state after his demise. Rajiv went further ahead and acquired a European spouse in Italian Sonia Gandhi.
Both Indira and Rajiv were killed in unfortunate circumstances by the Sikhs and the
Tamilians respectively. Lalbahadur Shashrti was kind of courageous, who aggressively fought Pakistan in 1965, acquired a vast tract of Pakistani territory, faster than Israel snatched Golan Heights and Gaza from the Palestinians. Shashtri died in mysterious circumstances in Tashkent, then USSR, after agreeing to return all the acquired land to Pakistan without anything in return. How can this be, without any consultation with the Indian Parliament, and Indian Government ? It is said, Indira Gandhi promoted this exchange, and hastened the process to acquire the position of Prime Minsitership. Shashtri’s widow, Lalita Shashtri and their sons, tried but could not succeed in getting any substantial enquiry done into the death of the Indian Premier.
It should not feel strange, if we compare the situations with late John F. Kennedy and
late Martin Luther King, Jr. in our own land, USA, and that of Yasser Arafat in Palestine
few years ago.
Indira Gandhi later fought Pakistan and helped create the new nation of Bangladesh. She freed Goa (from Portugese domination), and Sikkim (from Queen Ms. Hope)
and created animosity with Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger, which eventually lead to the US-China dialogue, and setting up of China to counteract India in Asia and the world. Mrs. Gandhi, a widow, referred frequently as Iron Lady, in her later years expelled
IBM and Coca Cola out of India, antagonized Sikhs, agitating to form their separate country, Khalistan, as Bengali Muslims did in Bangladesh, and was killed soon
thereafter, when Ronald Regan was US-President.
Much later, came Atal Behari Bajpeyi, who sincerely started a peace dialog with Pakistan, especially Nawaz Sharif, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan. Both started
bus journeys into each others’ territories. If this peace process would have progressed,
a large arms race in Indian Subcontinent would have stopped, but also a huge weapons market would have been lost to the mercenaries. In the meantime Parvez Musharraf as Army Chief of Pakistan attacked India in Kargil, Kashmir, and banished Nawaz Sharif to Saudi Arabia. Bajpeyi and his Hindutva in India were also subsequently replaced with those of Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, and Abdul Kalam as Ruling Party Chief, Prime Minister and President, respectively. Since then, India (and Mr. Musharraf in Pakistan) has become the darling of the western world, with gifts of nuclear material, outsourcing of all kinds of jobs and the like. The fast economic development of India in recent years, will end up making it an economic colony like Vietnam, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong in Asia. But this may alleviate poverty and backwardness in India. Not only the so called high caste Hindus are being replaced from powerful positions, and places of high esteem by people of other religious denominations as well as Dalits in India, but the ideals of Indian Culture is fast changing to become western and alien, by the prominence of of Dalits, in Mulayam Yadav, Lalu Prasad, Mayavati and others. Mr. Prasad recently dropped his Yadav, and may seem being connected to late Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the first President of India, also from Bihar, in coming years, which advance Mr.Prasad’s political career further. Indira Gandhi took advantage of her last name, Gandhi, especially outside India, in being considered related to Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation. With his Muslim appeasement, friendly trips to Pakistan, denouncing Mahatma Gandhi for his faith in ancient sanatan dharma, and his humiliation of the upper caste Hindus, Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, should be the perfect candidate for becoming the next Prime Minister of India, which is getting fast westernised. Hence all the hoopla of enormous profits in the Railways, students from Kellog in Chicago running to him in Delhi for lessons, and his being invited by Harvard to preach the intricacies of management, all parts of grooming, to bring India further into the western fold.

Financial Planning

Financial Planning (FP) is both an Art as well as a Science. Several things are discussed and executed, in this area, based on emotions, feelings and beliefs. While others are decided based on hard facts of taxation, law, and financial expediency. Financial Planners
(FPs) practice very specific and individual styles of financial planning, which is as unique as the planners themselves. A Stock-Broker approaches the matter as ‘money management’ and invests the funds (with obvious risks) for higher gains. An Insurance-Agent is generally interested in setting up insurance plans to avoid future economic losses, and to avoid financial risks. But comprehensive financial planning (FP) goes much further beyond these narrow scopes of ‘money management’ and ‘insurance’. In
my opinion, the financial planning should be done with the following two aspects in mind
Risk Management, and 2. Investments.
Risk Management, obviously financial, consists of placing mostly insurance policies in force, where an individual or a corporation (business) transfers the risk of financial loss
to an insurer (Insurance Company), through payment of relatively smaller premiums, in comparison to the potential bigger, catastrophic economic disadvantages.
The following types of insurances should be planned to avoid losses : Disability-, Accident/Sickness-, Long term care-, Life-, Medical, dental, vision-, and property/casualty insurance.
Disability Insurance is also called income protection or dignity insurance. Due to sudden accident and illness, one can loose a job or reduce his/her ability to conduct a business,
resulting into financial loss, hence an insurance policy should be in place to compensate
at the time of such need. It normally covers the active, working life (from age 18 through age 65 or beyond). But a Long Term Care policy covers normally in older times (age 66 through death) against incapacitation or inability to conduct one’s living affairs like eating, transferring from/to bed, toileting and bathing, eventually paying for the expenses of nursing home or home healthcare services.
Medical insurance, including those for accidents, dental and vision-care, covers against sickness and for maintenance of good health for a productive life.
Life Insurance generally covers against premature death, in the form of temporary
plans (called term policies). This can be coupled with an element of investment, in the form of universal-, whole-, or endowment-policies to manage retirement expenses, and or long term care needs, including in stock market indices.
Property and casualty insurances are used to protect automobiles (boats, planes etc), homes, buildings and other structures. They also include coverage for liability, professional malpractice and numerous other things. For example, the ‘wrist’ of tennis star, Ivan Lendl, and ‘throat’ of famous Indian singer, Lata Mangeshkar, were insured for a specific sum, by Lloyd’s of London, against failing to perform.
Investments, require the generation of funds for immediate and/or future use by prudent
money management, through small periodic and/or lump sum contributions. This could be done for a comfortable retirement, education planning for children/grandchildren, for charity through foundations for specific causes, general savings for future use, and for immediate and future expenses of any kind, including transferring wealth to the heirs and future generations.
This brings into picture the borrowing for home purchase (residential mortgage) or commercial building(s), equipments, for hiring employees and facilities to live properly and conduct a business. It also results into repaying the loans in timely manner and at
profitable rates. This will require the services of a stcok-broker to invest funds in markets
through the purchase of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, REITs, ETFs, and the likes of these, domestically and internationally. A mortgage broker (may be a lender or a bank), should be consulted to make smart decisions about loans and their repayments. An accountant (CPA) should be consulted for tax matters, resulting into favorable tax planning, both for individual and corporate situations. An attorney is needed to set up wills, trusts and other power of attorney documents, for proper conduct of one’s affairs, financial or otherwise, in less painful ways, when one is alive and active and when one is gone and has to relinquish the control of things.
A competent Financial Planner, should be aware of the scope and workings of a stock-broker, insurance-agent, realtor, mortgage-broker, attorney and accountant, and should have access to all these separate ‘hats’, and be able to generate a team of professionals to conduct the practice of ‘financial planning’ effectively.

Estate Planning

What is an Estate, and what is Estate Planning ? Estate Planning is a part of Financial Planning, which takes care of things and finances after you are gone, and leave your estate for your heirs. Everything one owns : cash, investments, real estate, properties,
businesses, royalties all together make up one’s estate. People set up wills and trusts
to manage their estate after they leave for ‘heaven’. If you die without a will, you die ‘intestate’ and the State/Government will determine how to dispose of your estate.
A well documented Will (and trust) makes life easier for everyone, as specific instructions are provided in the Will to distribute assets to heirs and/or charity.
However, the State may still conduct a probate, to establish the validity of the will, and allow disposal of properties, afterwards. It is always a good idea to avoid probate.
Estate Planning is not only for super-rich. A person of modest means, with a house valued at $300K, and a life insurance policy of $1 million, and couple of hundred thousand in a pension plan, and a small business valued at $500K, will total to a estate of $2 million or so, and will trigger an estate tax of $800K, at 40% rate. Estate Planning, thus, helps in designing plans to minimize or eliminate this estate-tax after death, also called, ‘death tax’, or ‘success tax’, or ‘generation-transfer tax’ and is different from income tax.
This planning is done with the following objectives in mind :
1. provide fair and biggest possible share of the estate to heirs, 2. generate enough cash to pay for final expenses, taxes, and charity, 3. to save business or property for future generations, 4. to avoid, eliminate and/or hasten the probate process, and , 5. to avoid any discord amongst surviving family members and business partners.
The Planning is done by a team of experts, generally an estate planning attorney, an accountant or CPA, and a financial/estate planner for the benefit of the Client/Prospect and their immediate family members.
The basic things one needs for a sound estate planning are :
1.up-dated will, 2. correct beneficiary designations, 3. proper asset allocation, 4. adequate insurance program, like policies inside a trust, 4. powers of attorney for financial and health care issues, 5. a regular gifting program for heirs and charity, and, 6. following the changes in tax rules.
A bigger and more complicated estate normally needs several things in addition to the
facts mentioned above, which could be : 1. generation-skipping planning, 2. planning for
expected inheritance, 3. transferring assets tax-free to children and grandchildren, 4. survivorship or second-to-die life insurance plans, 5. qualified personal and charitable trusts, 6. family limited partnerships, and, 7. private foundations.
However, the most common form of estate planning technique is the creation of an ILIT,
irrevocable life insurance trust, and placing life insurance policies in the trust, so that the death proceeds, which are generally received income-tax free, can also stay out of one’s estate. This is designed based on the wishes of the owner of the estate, and their
decision to leave funds for : Family, Charity and Government, after their demise.
The grantor creates an irrevocable life insurance trust, trustee(s) purchase life insurance policies insuring grantor’s (and/or spouse’s) life, and become(s) the owner and beneficiary of the policy. At grantor’s death, trustee(s) receive insurance death benefit, and the Executor of the trust takes care of any probate, follows the spirit of the Will, and distributes funds amongst heirs, charity and the government (in the form of taxes), in the most efficient way (s) possible.

Deployment from Iraq

Why praise the Iraq Report, even discuss it ?
Hamilton, Baker and Gates are the architects of saving Regan from Iran-Contra scandal and possible impeachment. Baker goes further to help Bush win presidency through supreme court, against the wish of the people. When families sue the government of Saudi Arabia, whose members were killed in 9/11 attack by Saudi nationals, Baker is the attorney for the Saudis against the people of USA. Baker helped senior Bush attack Iraq
and help sell more weapons of mass destruction in the middle east. His numerous diplomatic trips to the region, in those days, might be to collect funds and line up clients for the stock markets and hedge funds, who knows. It is thus daddy’s friend now called to help the son. Hamilton did not find any fault with Bush administration in his 9/11 report, hence has been chosen again to prepare the Iraq report, which should be as worthless as the former. The Iraq report is as bipartisan as the Iraq war itself, supported by funds and mandates from democrats. After winning election, Sherrod Brown speaks like George Bush. In opposition he voted against the war, in power he wants the troops
to stay there for 18 months, while Bush wants for 24 months. Hence the natural bipartisan decision should be for 21 months, half way between 24 and 18. Harry Reid will even provide more funding and further troops, quite against the mandate the people gave democrats in November. Brown does not want to rock the boat, but enjoy the fruits of
his newly gained power.
Bush sounds more honest and upright, compared to democrats, in whatever he plans to do, hence is so successful over his opponents, though his plans may be disastrous for the country and the world. Colin Powell spoke the biggest lie at United nations showing the aerial photographs of trucks transporting mobile biological labs, is known since its inception, and now argues the opposite point of view, in the hope of getting traction on his political ambitions beyond 2008. His national tour to sell his book, in the disguise of
presidential candidacy is also well known. His political skills are far short of his ambitions, it seems. The great enthusiasm of white journalists, talk show hosts, and the people who have no say at politics, for Barack Obama, and the caution and disbelief of black and minority journalists and people, who have even lesser control on the political process, indicates that Obama may end up as Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson or Harold Ford, at the best. With a middle name, Hussain, born of African father, in American Indian state of Hawaii, close to Japan and Asia, far away from the West, and raised in Islamic Indonesia, indicates that he should hide in senate and elsewhere for years to come. Being proved incorrect would be a pleasure, on this point.
Well, the spectacle is like the US tennis open finals between Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe where both will perform a brilliant game and entertain us. One of them will win, the loser will congratulate the winner and collect the second prize money with glee.
Both will leave happy without thinking about the spectators who provided all the funds
for the show. Let us enjoy the game of democracy, pay for it, and keep quiet since noise
will distract the players and lower their performance, eventually lesser fun for us.

Defined Benefit Plan, 412(i)

The defined benefit pension plan is the classic solution prescribed for older business owners and professionals with tax problems, who generate consistently high income.
It allows larger initial deposits (and tax deductions), and accumulates interest on those funds tax-deferred until retirement. There is a large population of aging baby boomers
who need to save big bucks in a short time. The 412(i) plan, because of its simple administration and high initial tax deduction is one of the most efficient retirement plans
A small older business owner can not ask for anything better for a pension plan.
In real language, it is a ‘fully insured’ plan, which is funded exclusively by insurance and annuity contracts. Insurance has been considered by some a less-than-effective funding vehicle, so what makes this version of defined benefit plan more attractive?
First, 412(i) plans play it safe, they involve no investment risk and they guarantee all benefits.
Second, because all values are guaranteed by contract, section 412(i) of the irc
(internal revenue code, hence the plan’s name), exempts such plans from the funding and filing requirements that complicate un-insured and split-funded
defined benefit plans.
Finally, and here is the real plus, the fully insured plan’s conservative funding
and investment assumptions tend to generate larger initial contributions and
deductions than regular defined benefit plans.
For example, the first-year contribution (to fund the maximum allowable benefit) for
a 60-year-old in a 412(i) plan can be 17% larger than that provided under a standard defined benefit plan. And the advantage is greater for participants with more years to accumulate deposits. As the attached illustration suggests, the 50 year old gets a 26% advantage.
A 412(i) plan is not for everyone. But the same people who would gain the most from a standard defined benefit plan would also find a 41(i) plan attractive. A small business owner who regularly generates plenty of taxable cash in his enterprises, should be the
most suitable person to adopt 412(i). The criteria should be :
A. Is a small business owner with one to five employees

B. Is over age 50.
C. Has a profitable business with a stable earnings history.
D. Wants to maximize contributions and deductions, avoiding IRS entanglements.
As with all qualified plans, there is need for competent plan design, careful installation
(to avoid those irs audits) and annual reviews (to keep the plan provision and coverage
in compliance). Enclosed is a chart showing how an employer earning $14,000 a year
can contribute almost $164,000 annually into the plan.
So, despite what we hear to the contrary, defined benefit plans are alive and well, and should be of immense value (as group employee benefit) in the senior market, where long term care, estate planning, post retirement medical and other benefits are so much preached.