May 3, 2016 www.broadcasteronline.com Broadcaster Press 5 Dave Says Condos Are Fine, But Do Your Research BY DAVE RAMSEY Courtesy of EveryDollar.com Dear Dave, I know when it comes to investing you like mutual funds and paid-for real estate. What do you think about using condominiums as investment properties instead of single-family homes? Jason Dear Jason, I don’t really have a problem with condos as paid-for investments. I own a couple of them myself. When it comes to making this kind of investment for the first time, however, I would advise that you keep a few things in mind. Based on equal price and equal neighborhood, the average single-family home will probably increase more in value over the years. Now, a nice, well-placed condo will obviously go up in value faster than a traditional house in a lesser neighborhood. So speaking in an overall sense, they’re not bad investments if you do your homework. You have to think about what you’re getting into and also take into consideration a number of variables. What are the HOA dues or condo fees going to be? Is the condo association being managed well? That and the neighborhood are the two biggest concerns I have when buying a condo. A lot of condo associations are very poorly managed. And if they don’t provide proper maintenance or keep a certain percentage of the complex owneroccupied versus rental, the condo association or complex can lose the ability to get normal permanent financing. If they can’t get FHA, VA or conventional financing, the values are going to drop like a rock — because you’ve only got cash buyers and investment buyers at that point. Research on these kinds of things doesn’t take an awful lot of work. Dave Just call the management company, and the realtor who’s involved if it’s listed, and ask for the documentation. Most of the time this sort of stuff is public information, so it’s not hard to access. Some other questions you might ask are: What are the reserves for the roof? What are the reserves for paint and the parking lot? Are they collecting enough to pay their bills, and are they actually paying their bills? Then you start looking at things from a buyer’s perspective. Would I want to live in here and have my wife and children here? Would a normal, reasonable person want to live here? If the answers are yes, then you’ve probably got a good, solid condo complex. RAMSEY —Dave The Church’s Emergency Fund Dear Dave, I pastor a small church that is debtfree. I’d like for us to save an emergency fund for the church, but I’m not sure what would be considered an expense. Can you help? David Dear David, In terms of mathematics, I would advise looking at it the same way you would a small business. The goal, first and foremost, is to keep the doors open in case something bad happens. The secondary goal could be to pay bills on time for the sake of the church’s reputation, and the third goal would be to do all this without putting a strain on the organization. In business, we would call this fund “retained earnings.” Technically, a church doesn’t have earnings, but they do have income. You’ll want to retain some of that on a regular monthly basis. For a church, basic things like payroll, utilities, insurance and taxes would need to be covered under an emergency fund. Coffee and donuts, new hymnals, and mission trips aren’t necessities. You should already be running a monthly and annual budget on the church, so separate the necessities per month and multiply that by a three to six month figure. There’s a huge level of wisdom involved in a church being debt-free, David. Congratulations! —Dave EveryDollar is a simple, online budgeting tool that helps users set a monthly budget and seamlessly track expenses. For more information, go to www.everydollar.com. Broadcasteronline.c om Hunger Study Finds Food Insecurity Levels Remain Historically High Feeding South Dakota announced the release of Map the Meal Gap 2016, an annual study by Feeding America that details food insecurity rates in every county and congressional district in the United States. The study reveals that 12.4 percent of the population in South Dakota is food insecure – 105,880 people, including more than 39,000 children. Food insecurity is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s measure of lack of access, at times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. Using county data from the five-year period of 2010 to 2014, Map the Meal Gap 2016 is the first Map the Meal Gap report with post-Great Recession county food-insecurity estimates. “Map the Meal Gap shares data about the prevalence of hunger in our community,” said Matt Gassen, CEO at Feeding South Dakota. “This information allows Feeding South Dakota to better understand the need and work with partners, donors, and stakeholders, to help close that gap.” This year’s report found that nearly 15 percent or approximately one in seven people in the United States struggles with hunger at some point during the year. While the rate has decreased since 2011, the prevalence of food insecurity across counties remains historically high since 2008, and has not yet returned to pre-Great Recession levels. Key local findings: The average cost of a meal increased 13 cents over last year’s data. In all SD counties, children are at a higher risk of food insecurity compared to the overall population. In eight counties of the state, more than 30 percent of the children are food insecure. Map the Meal Gap 2016 uses data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and food price data and analysis provided by Nielsen (NYSE: NLSN), a global provider of information and insights. The study, commissioned by Feeding America, is a detailed analysis of the nation’s food insecurity. “This new research documents the pervasiveness of hunger in every community in our nation. While the economy has improved and unemployment rates have declined, many people are still struggling to access adequate amounts of nutritious food for their families,” said Diana Aviv, CEO of Feeding America. Broadcaster Classifieds… ROCK-SOLID RESULTS! Give Mom a Massage Gift Certificate from A mother’s heart is a patchwork of love. Happy Mothers Day! Massage for Health Get your ad in the.. Call or stop in ~Author Unknown Classifieds Today! 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