I certainly won't say it's impossible; but, it is extremely difficult. While some experienced people can make money with tax certificates, the problems the individual investor faces today are numerous:

1. You are up against institutions. They bid the % on the certificates to 0% so you can forget about 1st year income;
2. Once you have the certificate, generally more than 99% of them will repay their taxes/become current in the first 6 months. Of the remaining, 90% of them will get current by the end of the first year.
3. While you hold the certificate, you will have very strict requirements imposed on you as far as sending/posting notices, filings, etc. before you can get the property 3 years later. One missed step and you could lose your entire investment.

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When the markets crashed in the early 2000s, Wall Street was quick to run to the television and tell America that investors were too aggressive and should have been more diversified. And yet, not a person in the world can tell you how much diversification you should have...or how much is too much.

Continue Reading The Dangers Of Overdiversification ››

I appologize but I have some personal things to attend to. I will be gone this morning and may be gone for the entire day.

As of March 31, 2007, Warren Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, reportedly increased its holding in Johnson & Johnson (ticker: JNJ) to 48.7 million shares-an increase of 24 million shares in three months. And it's no surprise. Forget Wall Street's earnings, JNJ knows how to generate cash!

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Arguably the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffett says that you should value a stock as you would value a private business. In the private sector, P/E means nothing. In fact, earnings mean nothing. The only thing that matters in buying a private business is the amount of cash that it can generate—its free cash flow.

Continue Reading The Importance Of Valuing A Stock ››

As of today, June 25, 2007, the book is complete-though unedited and rough. It is currently under review by Literary Agents—the people who handle the day-to-day management of authors' affairs and shop books to publishers.

Right now, F Wall Street is a 210-page, conversational guide to investing in stocks from a business perspective. It will teach you how to value a business, how to identify a buy price, and how to check up on your companies once a year—completely ignoring the stock market.

Continue Reading What's Up With The Book? ››

It seems as though everyone is talking about Friday's Initial Public Offering of Blackstone Group (ticker: BX). With all the chatter, people are wondering: Should I buy it for the long-term? Is this thing going to grow like crazy?

Continue Reading The Blackstone IPO ››