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Passport. Make sure your passport is valid through the length of your trip, even better if you have at least six months to spare. Check, because some countries will not issue you a visa if you have less than six months’ remaining on your passport.Banking. Buy travelers’ cheques if you plan to use them. Call your bank(s) to be sure your ATM/debit cards can be used overseas. Ask what the fees are for using your card abroad, such as transaction and foreign currency conversion fees. Tell them what countries you will be visiting and when. Get phone numbers to call from overseas if you need to. Most banks have international collect numbers that you can call from a pay phone if need be.NOTE: Look at your bank cards and credit cards to be sure they won’t expire during your trip. It’s a very easy thing to overlook, but the biggest pain in the butt to fix!Documents. Photocopy important documents such as your passport, credit cards, visas, travelers’ cheques, travel insurance policy and itinerary. Leave a copy with a reliable loved one so that if need be you can call and have the documents faxed/emailed to you. Email a copy to yourself, and make sure your email password is as tight as Uncle Scrooge.Travelers insurance. You will probably never have to use it, but it’s a must. Compare policies. Nomad and travel1 are excellent companies I’ve used.Keeping in Touch. If you are planning to take your mobile phone with you, call your carrier to find out exactly what the rates are to make and receive calls and texts in each country you plan to travel to. Even better, get your phone unlocked and buy a local SIM card when you arrive. Usually for just a few dollars, you can have your own number on which you can receive calls for free (someday, hopefully the United States will get on board with the rest of the world and not charge you to receive calls…).Skype. If you don’t already have a Skype account, set one up now. This is your best bet for calling home or anywhere else. Not only can you talk for free with your friends who have Skype, you can also call anywhere you want to for pennies through the computer. You can get a local Skype number that for just a few dollars a month that you have forwarded to you wherever you are (watch out, though; with this option, YOU pay to receive calls). Most internet cafes now have Skype-ready machines. If it’s the middle of the night or you can’t find an internet cafe (they do seem much less plentiful, what with every cafe, hotel and even hostel offering wi-fi these days), an international calling card is a good idea. Even the worst ones will give you far better rates than your mobile carrier from home will give you for international calls.Bills. If you are going away for a month or more, make sure to pay any monthly bills that will come due while you are gone. Even better, set up online banking so that you pay all of your bills with a few clicks of a mouse. It’s free, provided by your bank (if not, you need to find a bank that has entered the 21st century! Hello!), your payments arrive faster because they are sent electronically, and you don’t have to find envelopes or lick stamps. Done.First night accommodations. It’s a good idea to make a room or bed reservation for your first night. Write down their address, phone number and directions.Know how to get out of the airport. If you plan to navigate yourself with public transportation, write down specific directions, and don’t be shy about double checking with the bus driver to make sure you’re going the right way. If you plan to take a taxi, find out what the distance is and/or what the taxi fare should be, and don’t be shy about disputing the fare if the driver tries to charge you three times what you expected. Unscrupulous taxi drivers routinely rip off tourists in every city in the world, but when you call them out on it, you usually end up paying a more fair price.

A commercial loan restructure can reduce the amount of interest paid by a borrower or even lower the remaining principal amount still owed on a loan. A loan restructure is available to both businesses and individuals that own commercial properties such as office buildings, shopping centers, strip-malls, hotels, apartment buildings, industrial complexes, and even some properties still in the construction phase.Obtaining a loan restructure can be difficult, especially if the loan is what’s known as a commercial mortgage-backed securities loan or CMBS loan.CMBS are bonds that are sold on Wall Street to investors all around the world. The bonds are used to fund investments on portfolios of commercial loans. The income stream from the property is passed from the property owner to the bond holders.Many of the problems we are seeing today with CMBS loans are due to the fact that years ago underwriting standards became relaxed as intense lending competition resulted from a race for a diminishing population of qualified borrowers. Ratings agencies gave CMBS bonds A-A-A ratings. But the subsequent losses in the CMBS market led to the seizure of that (CMBS) market at the end of 2007.Once a commercial property goes into default, that CMBS loan is then usually managed by a type of specialist known as a special servicer who represents those bond holders. CMBS loans are often more difficult to modify, as the original issuer of the loan is no longer involved and the beneficiaries are individual and institutional investors that sometimes are located over many states and countries around the world.Going It AloneIt is difficult for a struggling commercial-property owner to obtain a loan restructure on his own, as most commercial-mortgage borrowers don’t know the proper procedure to present and ask for a restructure. A commercial property modification for a distressed property involves difficult negotiations, in-depth market research, financial analysis and hours of tedious data collection, discovery, verification and reporting. Most of this work is alien to the commercial property owners.Commercial property loans are often times structured as portfolio loans since they are generally not securitized like single family residential loans. This structure makes the actual note holder more readily identifiable and approachable permitting an experienced commercial property loss mitigation professional to be much more effective in negotiating a solution that is beneficial to both parties.For a commercial loan restructure to be negotiated successfully, the bank or special servicer agrees with the borrower to permanently (or sometimes temporarily) alter the terms of an original note allowing the monthly payment to be reduced. This agreement can be reached through a series of several strategies including (but not limited to) a straight interest rate reduction, modifying the loan from principle and interest to interest only, a principle reduction, a longer amortization schedule or some combination of these strategies.Call In the CalvaryThere are two crucial factors to make sure that the negotiations for a commercial loan restructure will yield positive results. The first of these is getting the advice of professionals and experts who are very familiar dealing with troubled assets; and the second important factor is being proactive. By being proactive is meant that the commercial property owner has to have the foresight regarding foreseeable problems in the future-the longer he waits to address a looming bad situation or the longer he waits to get help, the more difficult the situation becomes to handle.The most important thing an owner of a distress commercial property can do is to be proactive by seeking the help of professionals and experts in the commercial property restructuring industry.Commercial property loan restructure professionals are familiar with the complexities of a commercial loan modification and knowledgeable in the kinds of information and documents that special servicers and banks require when a property owner applies for a loan restructuring.The services offered by a commercial restructure consultant would include a go-forward plan to salvage the owners’ investment in the property. Every case is different, and the services offered would depend on the needs of the client.Possible outcomes for commercial restructure include:· Term extension: This is when the bank agrees to extend the maturity on a loan that cannot be refinanced because of high loan-to-value (LTV), but has cash flow sufficient to service the debt.· Permanent modification: Often, a complex transaction that the bank is reluctant to do as it often reduces the value of the asset on the banks books.· Principal reduction: These are usually only done in relation to a short sale or short refinance where the bank accepts less than the full value to settle the debt. The bank won’t reduce the principal so the property owner can make a profit.· New equity partner: The bank is more likely to work with a borrower that is willing to release equity in the property to a new investor that comes in with cash.· Bankruptcy: Unlike residential property, when an individual is in bankruptcy, the judge can “cram down” or reduce the principal or otherwise modify the terms of the mortgage.A professional who knows the ropes will minimize the stress for the property owner, but more importantly, certainly improve the chances of success, and speed up the negotiation process. Commercial loss mitigation experts with a solid track record in executing successful loan workouts are worth their fees, as they more often accomplish their primary objective, which is to avoid the repossession of the commercial property.Jeramie Concklin

What is Value Investing?Different sources define value investing differently. Some say value investing is the investment philosophy that favors the purchase of stocks that are currently selling at low price-to-book ratios and have high dividend yields. Others say value investing is all about buying stocks with low P/E ratios. You will even sometimes hear that value investing has more to do with the balance sheet than the income statement.In his 1992 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Warren Buffet wrote:We think the very term “value investing” is redundant. What is “investing” if it is not the act of seeking value at least sufficient to justify the amount paid? Consciously paying more for a stock than its calculated value – in the hope that it can soon be sold for a still-higher price – should be labeled speculation (which is neither illegal, immoral nor – in our view – financially fattening).Whether appropriate or not, the term “value investing” is widely used. Typically, it connotes the purchase of stocks having attributes such as a low ratio of price to book value, a low price-earnings ratio, or a high dividend yield. Unfortunately, such characteristics, even if they appear in combination, are far from determinative as to whether an investor is indeed buying something for what it is worth and is therefore truly operating on the principle of obtaining value in his investments. Correspondingly, opposite characteristics – a high ratio of price to book value, a high price-earnings ratio, and a low dividend yield – are in no way inconsistent with a “value” purchase.Buffett’s definition of “investing” is the best definition of value investing there is. Value investing is purchasing a stock for less than its calculated value.Tenets of Value Investing1) Each share of stock is an ownership interest in the underlying business. A stock is not simply a piece of paper that can be sold at a higher price on some future date. Stocks represent more than just the right to receive future cash distributions from the business. Economically, each share is an undivided interest in all corporate assets (both tangible and intangible) – and ought to be valued as such.2) A stock has an intrinsic value. A stock’s intrinsic value is derived from the economic value of the underlying business.3) The stock market is inefficient. Value investors do not subscribe to the Efficient Market Hypothesis. They believe shares frequently trade hands at prices above or below their intrinsic values. Occasionally, the difference between the market price of a share and the intrinsic value of that share is wide enough to permit profitable investments. Benjamin Graham, the father of value investing, explained the stock market’s inefficiency by employing a metaphor. His Mr. Market metaphor is still referenced by value investors today:Imagine that in some private business you own a small share that cost you $1,000. One of your partners, named Mr. Market, is very obliging indeed. Every day he tells you what he thinks your interest is worth and furthermore offers either to buy you out or sell you an additional interest on that basis. Sometimes his idea of value appears plausible and justified by business developments and prospects as you know them. Often, on the other hand, Mr. Market lets his enthusiasm or his fears run away with him, and the value he proposes seems to you a little short of silly.4) Investing is most intelligent when it is most businesslike. This is a quote from Benjamin Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor”. Warren Buffett believes it is the single most important investing lesson he was ever taught. Investors ought to treat investing with the seriousness and studiousness they treat their chosen profession. An investor should treat the shares he buys and sells as a shopkeeper would treat the merchandise he deals in. He must not make commitments where his knowledge of the “merchandise” is inadequate. Furthermore, he must not engage in any investment operation unless “a reliable calculation shows that it has a fair chance to yield a reasonable profit”.5) A true investment requires a margin of safety. A margin of safety may be provided by a firm’s working capital position, past earnings performance, land assets, economic goodwill, or (most commonly) a combination of some or all of the above. The margin of safety is manifested in the difference between the quoted price and the intrinsic value of the business. It absorbs all the damage caused by the investor’s inevitable miscalculations. For this reason, the margin of safety must be as wide as we humans are stupid (which is to say it ought to be a veritable chasm). Buying dollar bills for ninety-five cents only works if you know what you’re doing; buying dollar bills for forty-five cents is likely to prove profitable even for mere mortals like us.What Value Investing Is NotValue investing is purchasing a stock for less than its calculated value. Surprisingly, this fact alone separates value investing from most other investment philosophies.True (long-term) growth investors such as Phil Fisher focus solely on the value of the business. They do not concern themselves with the price paid, because they only wish to buy shares in businesses that are truly extraordinary. They believe that the phenomenal growth such businesses will experience over a great many years will allow them to benefit from the wonders of compounding. If the business’ value compounds fast enough, and the stock is held long enough, even a seemingly lofty price will eventually be justified.Some so-called value investors do consider relative prices. They make decisions based on how the market is valuing other public companies in the same industry and how the market is valuing each dollar of earnings present in all businesses. In other words, they may choose to purchase a stock simply because it appears cheap relative to its peers, or because it is trading at a lower P/E ratio than the general market, even though the P/E ratio may not appear particularly low in absolute or historical terms.Should such an approach be called value investing? I don’t think so. It may be a perfectly valid investment philosophy, but it is a different investment philosophy.Value investing requires the calculation of an intrinsic value that is independent of the market price. Techniques that are supported solely (or primarily) on an empirical basis are not part of value investing. The tenets set out by Graham and expanded by others (such as Warren Buffett) form the foundation of a logical edifice.Although there may be empirical support for techniques within value investing, Graham founded a school of thought that is highly logical. Correct reasoning is stressed over verifiable hypotheses; and causal relationships are stressed over correlative relationships. Value investing may be quantitative; but, it is arithmetically quantitative.There is a clear (and pervasive) distinction between quantitative fields of study that employ calculus and quantitative fields of study that remain purely arithmetical. Value investing treats security analysis as a purely arithmetical field of study. Graham and Buffett were both known for having stronger natural mathematical abilities than most security analysts, and yet both men stated that the use of higher math in security analysis was a mistake. True value investing requires no more than basic math skills.Contrarian investing is sometimes thought of as a value investing sect. In practice, those who call themselves value investors and those who call themselves contrarian investors tend to buy very similar stocks.Let’s consider the case of David Dreman, author of “The Contrarian Investor”. David Dreman is known as a contrarian investor. In his case, it is an appropriate label, because of his keen interest in behavioral finance. However, in most cases, the line separating the value investor from the contrarian investor is fuzzy at best. Dreman’s contrarian investing strategies are derived from three measures: price to earnings, price to cash flow, and price to book value. These same measures are closely associated with value investing and especially so-called Graham and Dodd investing (a form of value investing named for Benjamin Graham and David Dodd, the co-authors of “Security Analysis”).ConclusionsUltimately, value investing can only be defined as paying less for a stock than its calculated value, where the method used to calculate the value of the stock is truly independent of the stock market. Where the intrinsic value is calculated using an analysis of discounted future cash flows or of asset values, the resulting intrinsic value estimate is independent of the stock market. But, a strategy that is based on simply buying stocks that trade at low price-to-earnings, price-to-book, and price-to-cash flow multiples relative to other stocks is not value investing. Of course, these very strategies have proven quite effective in the past, and will likely continue to work well in the future.The magic formula devised by Joel Greenblatt is an example of one such effective technique that will often result in portfolios that resemble those constructed by true value investors. However, Joel Greenblatt’s magic formula does not attempt to calculate the value of the stocks purchased. So, while the magic formula may be effective, it isn’t true value investing. Joel Greenblatt is himself a value investor, because he does calculate the intrinsic value of the stocks he buys. Greenblatt wrote The Little Book That Beats The Market for an audience of investors that lacked either the ability or the inclination to value businesses.You can not be a value investor unless you are willing to calculate business values. To be a value investor, you don’t have to value the business precisely – but, you do have to value the business.