Last Monday’s seminar was jam-packed with great information from local professionals.  All of the attendees were impressed with the depth of information and the ability to have their specific questions answered by experts.  A big thank you to Ron Carland – Certified Public Accountant, Sherri Brewer – Attorney, Lee Linhart – Property Manager, Judy Stroud – State Farm Insurance Agent and Karen Woodard – Mortgage Broker!

Highlights from the seminar included:

• Tax-free wealth building
• How to protect yourself as a landlord
• How to select a highly rentable home in Hendersonville and South Asheville
• How to own rental property without the hassle of dealing with renter issues
• The importance of rental dwelling insurance and personal liability insurance
• The availability and qualifications for low interest mortgages on residential rental property
• Why now is the best time to invest in residential real estate

Purchasing and owning residential rental property can be an excellent investment right now, but it’s very important that you understand many factors before jumping in and buying what you think is a “deal.”

Some favorite experiences:

Having lunch at the rustic Tan Hill Inn at the top of a moor in the middle-of-nowhere.

Our English friends, Carrol and Joe Stephenson, picked us up from the Manchester airport and drove us 1 1/2 hours northwest to their lovely bed and breakfast in the Yorkshire Dales.  The Old Craft Barn and Buzzard’s Cottage was built in 1780, and I’m sure has been renovated many times through the years, but never as nicely as Carrol and Joe have done it.

After we chose our lovely rooms and enjoyed lunch, Carrol drove us into Sedbergh for a little sightseeing.  The Sedbergh School, founded in 1525, is a popular and famous boarding school that is really spread throughout the little town.  Just as you would imagine, stately stone edifices are interspersed among village shops, homes and rugby playing fields.  Students walk through the village in their more formal classroom attire or athletic uniforms headed for field practice.

The parish church, St. Andrews, dates from the 12th century, but only the side door pictured here is from that era.   The rest of the current church is still quite old.  Probably older than any structure in the US!

We ended our tour of Sedbergh with a visit to the oldest Quaker meeting house in England, built in sixteen-something.  It has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years and currently has about ninety friends on the rolls.

I love to travel overseas, but I usually struggle with jet lag the first day. Not this time. Woohoo!

Here’s what I did. I packed my earplugs, dark blue satin eye mask and a homeopathic product I found called NoJetLag. (You can order it online or find it at Vitamin Shoppe stores.)

I followed the directions for NoJetLag, chewing my first tablet (it tastes like sugar) at takeoff on my overseas flight. I had a little wine, ate my dinner and chewed my second tablet around two hours after takeoff. Then I settled in for “bed.” Popped in my earplugs, donned my lovely eye mask, covered myself with a blanket and went to sleep. I woke up after about two hours, chewed another tablet and went back to sleep for two more hours.

I was awakened two hours later for a delicious and nutritious (yea, right) breakfast. I would have preferred sleeping until landing! Upon arrival, I chewed my final tablet, just like the directions said I should.

The results? I felt better my first day in England than I’ve ever felt before. Maybe NoJetLag is just a placebo. Who cares?!