Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter
Article By: Jim Porter – February 14, 2025
A struggling comedian was begging Jerry Seinfeld for some material and he came up with this corny one: “Why do they call it Ovaltine? The mug is round, the jar is round, they should call it Roundtine.” The funny guy responded with, “That’s gold, Jerry, gold!”
My friend, a retired lawyer, has been telling me to buy gold since the 1990s. Back in the day, I don’t remember him talking about gold being a hedge against inflation as much as I remember him talking about his lack of trust in the United States government, and how one day another 1929 stock market crash will happen.
I remember him talking about our national debt getting out of control at $6 trillion in the year 2000. Now 25 years later, we are at $36 trillion and paying more than $1 trillion per month in interest payments. Yikes, that is a lot of income tax money.
Back in 2000, I did not listen to my friend because I was focused on the “Rich Dad Poor Dad” idea of investing in income-producing assets like stocks and real estate. I thought my friend was being too conservative and paranoid. I might have foolishly thought I was a smarter investor than my friend and his juris doctorate, considering my 20 years in finance and a diploma from Sacred Heart High School.
If I had bought $100,000 worth of gold in 2000, it would be worth $845,000 today. Gold prices have nearly doubled in the past five years alone. Funny thing about this story, is “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author Robert Kiyosaki now worships gold.
Bottom line is this, gold and real estate have something in common. They are hard assets that you can physically touch and are a hedge against inflation. Real estate and gold have been owned by wealthy people since Jesus. Buy land and gold because they ain’t making it anymore. Kinda from Mark Twain.
Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.
