The 12 assets contributed by Prologis have been appraised at approximately JPY 173 billion ($2 billion). Mainly comprising properties located in Tokyo and Osaka, the newly establish portfolio totals 9.6 million square feet (890,000 square meters), the weighted average age being of 3.4 years.

NPR has already been approved for listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The real estate investment trusts will serve as a long-term investment vehicle for modern logistics facilities.

As part of NPR’s efforts to expand its portfolio, the trust already has exclusive negotiation rights for another eight properties owned by Prologis. Through the sponsor support agreement, Prologis will also provide pipeline, operational and personnel assistance. Moreover, Prologis’ wholly owned subsidiaries will act as NPR’s property and asset managers.

Although the sponsorship is a great opportunity for the US-based Prologis, it not intended as a securities sales offer in the United States, as securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they are registered or exempt from registration. Yet the high-profile player in the industrial real estate market comes with valuable expertise which will benefit NPR. Focusing on global and regional markets across the Americas, Europe and Asia, Prologis currently owns or has invested in properties and development projects from 21 countries which will amount, upon completion,  to about 565 million square feet (52.5 million square meters).

© hellotim – Fotolia.com

But thanks to high government debts and the resulting monetary policy of forcing interest rates to near zero, retired seniors and boomers nearing retirement are discovering that “retirement planning” ain’t what it used to be. Seniors, like my own mother for example, are discovering that it’s quite a challenge to play the retirement game today, in a world that is in the process of changing all of the rules.

For many years, a low interest rate was 6% and a typical interest rate was 9%. The idea of saving for retirement meant that you could expect to earn enough to pay all of your living expenses, without drawing down your savings. But the rules have changed. Today’s monetary policy is challenging retirees because it’s resulting in a major reduction in income from savings, while inflation in food and fuel prices is adding to the cost of living in a way that was impossible to predict a mere 10 years ago.

The new challenge for retirees is earning income in a world where the traditional savings and investment vehicles are no longer as effective or predictable as they once were. This is why real estate investing remains one of the most popular investment vehicles for everyone from wall street funded investment companies to mom and pop entrepreneurs. Both groups realize that passive income is an essential part of today’s retirement and financial planning landscape.

Real estate investing is one of the few industries that can provide a variety of passive income models for investors, from your basic “mom and pop” owners with a small portfolio of single family rental houses, all the way to a sophisticated investor like Donald Trump, who probably does not own any single family properties but likely owns hundreds if not thousands of apartments. And if you don’t like the idea of managing rental houses, and you don’t have millions to buy apartment buildings in New York City, there are plenty of real estate investment trusts, or REITs, that can take your small investment and pool it with many others so that you can earn passive income from things like office buildings and apartment complexes.

The internet has also brought a new ability for individuals to start and operate web based businesses for much less than the traditional “brick and mortar” operation costs. Opportunities for passive income abound both online and offline.

Many folks today figure that they cannot save enough for retirement, even if they are working and have a good income. But passive income streams can alleviate that problem by allowing you to have a consistent stream of income for years on end, even if you have not saved a million dollars for retirement. Passive income models are the answer to the question of how one can retire when they have little savings, or their savings are earning way less than expected 30 years ago, when you set up a retirement account.

Passive incomes ideally have three main components:

1. Automatable - can this business operate without me being there? Will I earn money from this investment even if I am unable to work? A REIT or a rental house fits in this category because income is earned from rents, not your labor.

2. Duplicatable – is this model a business that is easy to duplicate? How about writing a book? Once written, a book can potentially sell copies for years to come. Not everyone can write a good book, but many enterprising authors have created incredible passive income streams by creating products that only have to be made once, but can sell thousands of times without having to recreate the labor. There are many categories of passive income such as books, songs, jingles, video games, movies, etc., that fit into this category. If you don’t write books or program video games yourself, look for people or companies that do and invest in them.

3. Residual – the ideal passive income models not only create income today, they produce residuals from future sales for owners and investors. Some companies such as MLM’s are popular because of their residual component. But beware when choosing business models, and be sure that you won’t have to spend 40 hours each week recruiting folks in order to keep your “passive” income. Many entrepreneurs own a glorified job, not a passive income stream, because they did not realize that they’d have to work to keep the whole thing going.

Real estate investing is a perennial favorite of investors the world over because it’s never too late to generate passive income from real estate investments of various types. Even with simple, single family rentals, you find elements of all three criteria. It’s possible to automate the buying or selling process to an extent, either through agents or using technology. It’s relatively simple to duplicate. Building a portfolio of 10 properties over a 5 year span is something virtually anyone can understand and implement. And it’s residual. As long as you keep your properties occupied, and manage your expenses properly, your properties can continue to put money in your pocket for years on end. Or you can keep it simple and find companies to invest in that will do all of the work for you, and send you a dividend check.

Whichever model you choose, focus on these three criteria. Even if you think it’s impossible to save enough for a comfortable retirement, that does not mean that you can’t have a decent income for life. We can’t depend on social security checks as our entire income. You must have an income of your own that will pay you regularly even when the day comes that you can no longer work. And rest assured, that day will come. There are many passive income models out there to choose from. Many of them do not require expertise, though you should check out any companies or opportunities carefully. But when done correctly, owning passive streams of income is the true lazy mans way to riches, because you are creating an income you don’t have to work for.
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Donna S. Robinson is a real estate investor, author and entrepreneur located in Atlanta, Ga. Follow her on twitter at donnaconsults. Her latest book, “Basics Of Real Estate Investing” is now available for Amazon Kindle.

1301 Thomas Circle is a 292-unit luxury apartment community in the Logan Circle neighborhood, which is less than a mile from the White House. It is a ten-story building with a 24-hour concierge service, 256-space parking garage, rooftop pool, fitness center, clubhouse, business center, private courtyard, and outdoor kitchen.

All apartments include high-quality appliances, large bay windows, nine-foot ceilings, and full-sized, stacked washers and dryers. The apartments average 852 square feet and have an average monthly rent of $2,740. The building is also in walking distance to UDR’s other apartment communities, namely Andover House and View 14.

KFH will contribute a 70% equity investment of $44 million, while UDR will contribute $19.2 million, a 30% equity investment. The remaining funding will come from a $90 million loan from Fannie Mae. This is the third acquisition by this joint venture, which has secured $281 million is Washington, DC real estate, a total of 660 homes.

UDR is a multifamily real estate investment trust that owns approximately 62,000 apartment homes in locations around the U.S., including California, Virginia, Florida, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. Its headquarters are in Highlands Ranch, CO.

Kuwait Finance House was the first Islamic bank established in State of Kuwait, and it specializes in Sharia’ compliant banking, which operates on a shared risk model of investment. KFH’s services include banking, investment, trade finance, and real estate. 

On November 30, Home Properties purchased The Courts at Dulles, an A-class property located in Fairfax County in Virginia, just off Sunset Valley Drive. The 411-unit apartment community is 26 miles west of Washington, D.C. and only a mile from Dulles International Airport. It consists of 12 four-story garden-style buildings, which hold 193 single-bedroom, 179 two-bedroom, and 39 three-bedroom apartments, with an average unit size of 968 square feet. At the time of closing, the apartment units were 95.6% occupied with an average rent of $1,539.

The Courts at Dulles

Renovated in 2008, The Gates of Deer Grove is a 204-unit apartment community with six three-story garden-style buildings. These include 116 one-bedroom units and 82 two-bedroom units with an average unit size of 896 square feet. Part of the renovation included new kitchen counter tops, kitchen cabinets, appliances, fixtures, bathroom cabinets, counter tops, and fixtures. At the time of closing, the apartment units were 98% occupied with an average rent of $1,030. The Gates of Deer Grove is located on Dundee Road in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, IL. It is situated near a shopping center as well as the Deer Grove Forest Preserve.

The Gates of Deer Grove

Home Properties Inc. is an apartment real estate investment trust (REIT) with 124 apartment communities containing 41,909 units. Home Properties specializes in acquiring, rehabilitating, developing, and operating apartment communities in several U.S. states, primarily along the east coast.