The Mystery of Low Income REITS

My sister and I inherited an apartment in western Queens, and after almost 10 years of co-owning it, we are going to sell it to her daughter. As a result, I will have a chunk of investment capital, and I will put most of it into real estate investment trusts, military stocks, and hard metals.  Western Queens--Astoria, Long Island City, and Sunnyside--is apparently on a tear. While I was walking to the apartment to meet the appraiser, I noticed multiple construction projects involving new apartment and retail structures.  Broadway in Astoria, which is near where I grew up, is a different place from what it was 20 years ago.  Even the famous Greek restaurant, Uncle George's, is gone.

The kicker is that New York State has passed a law  mandating green energy, and New York City has passed a law mandating retrofitting.  The green energy law will double real electric costs over the coming twenty years, and the retrofitting will increase costs as well. Perhaps it is a good time to escape from New York.

Gold has been on a tear, and I suspect a pullback; hence, I am going to limit the purchase and overweight silver, which hasn't gone up as much as gold yet.

I like 3M and Unilever, and I would like to put a little into defense stocks.  After a couple of setbacks in recent years, 3M is in value territory, but Unilever is somewhat overpriced.  Something tells me that drones are the weapon of the future, and firms like AeroVironment (AVAV), Boeing (BA), and Northrop Grumman are likely suspects. None of these is priced at a value level, and Boeing has had problems with tariffs and a crash investigation. Northrop Grumman (NOC) has been on a tear, and is up 48% this year. I already hold some General Dynamics and Raytheon, and I think I will add a little GD as well as AVAV and NOC.

VNQ is the Vanguard REIT index, and it is up this year, and I'm expecting to put most of the money there.  However, I would like to overweight low-income real estate, and that is a tough nut to crack because few REITs specialize in low-income real estate. This is another case of the Federal Reserve Bank economy artificially creating credit to  subsidize wealthy rather than middle class or poor Americans.

I could find three REITs and funds that focus on lower-income housing: Sun Communities (SUI), NexPoint Residential Communities (NXRT), and the Community Development Fund (CDCDX).  I already own SUI, which makes prefab housing, and it's been priced at nosebleed levels.  It's been going up 28% a year.  CDCDX is a public-private partnership that invests in low-income projects. It is a bond fund and is correlated with the bond market. Since bonds are still at historically high levels, I'll pass. I have moral concerns about public-private partnerships as well.  NXRT is is somewhat overvalued. According to NXRT's website:

The company pursues investments in class A and B multifamily real estate property, typically with a value-add component, where we can invest significant amounts of capital to provide “life style” amenities to “work force” housing. Our value-add strategy seeks to provide a nicer home to our residents, while maximizing returns for our shareholders.

The moderate-income housing market seems to be a victim of the banking cartel, the Federal Reserve Bank, which favors high-end real estate and labor-substitution investments like robotics, plant relocations, and technology.  While there is no shortage of high-income-oriented apartment REITs, there is only a handful of moderate-income-oriented ones. This may explain the overvaluation of SUI and NXRT.  As with gold, I'll buy a small amount of NXRT.  

President Trump: Investigate Google and Facebook

PO Box 130

West Shokan, NY 12494
September 18, 2019

The President

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

Recent allegations* concerning interference in American elections by Facebook and Google suggest that they may have violated and may plan to violate various sections of election law. For example, political advertisers are required to disclose the person or organization responsible for political advertising, yet Facebook does not disclose itself as a source of political advertising.  As well, Google's slanted search results are undisclosed political advertising.  Recently, editor-in-chief of Psychology Today  Dr. Robert Epstein  testified that Google and Facebook have manipulated elections.  This is more extreme than election advertising, but it can be subsumed under its rubric.  

I urge the Justice Department to investigate and if violations are found to criminally prosecute Facebook and Google management, including Messrs. Zuckerberg, Brin, and Page, if there is evidence of failure to comply with federal election law.

As well, because the two tech firms pose a threat to American democracy, shuttering and sequestering their sites prior to upcoming elections may be appropriate.  Facebook in general may have deleterious effects on American society. While Google's technology is better than its competitors', the harm from its ham-handed and possibly criminal actions exceeds the limited social benefits from its technology.

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

*This letter also was sent via the Internet

Cc:  The Honorable William P. Barr, Attorney General

Ms. Ellen West,  Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, Google
Ms. Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook

The Social Justice Warriors Came for My Head...Not Only Did I Survive, I'm Thriving

The College Fix asked me to write an op-ed on the repercussions of my having been outed last year by  Antifa and the fake media.  Mostly good stuff has ensued.  I have been working on research projects, have been doing podcasts for Jamie Glazov of Frontpagemag, did a small consulting project, and have had some favorable mentions in the media.  The good stuff has outweighed the bad stuff by a mile. As I say in the piece, you haven't lived until you've been burned in effigy--by dumbed down, urban, left-wing clowns.

President Trump: Bury the Fake Media

Dear Mr. President:
I recently spoke with a former employee of a conservative think tank, which was outed in the media. He lost his job, and he has since been having trouble finding work in your administration and in other foundations.  Part of the reason is that, in addition, he wrote posts on Facebook of which the left does not approve, and the inspector general’s office in your administration has interfered with his hiring.  They apparently went through all of his social media posts.   I have only heard one side of this story, but I have a few suggestions: 
1.        The IG’s office and all other executive-branch offices need to be investigated as to Antifa and far-left influence.  
2.       Your administration should encourage, not discourage, politically incorrect hiring;  postings of which the Deep State, the fake media, and Antifa do not approve should not interfere with hiring.  Totalitarian disapproval should not deter your administration from hiring conservatives.  
3.       Decisions like that of eliminating Stephen Moore and Herman Cain from consideration for the Fed need to be revisited. There are many other instances. The ongoing cowardice of conservatives and Republicans toward totalitarian bullying needs to end.  Your leadership can make that happen. Outing in the media is an honor, not a disgrace. Your administration should adopt a thoroughgoing political incorrectness.  Bury the fake media.

Best regards,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.