🗞️ News & Moves 🏠

Wall Street's sweating over DOGE (WSJ Market Watch Economy)

Wall Street’s latest obsession?

Whether Musk’s "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) cuts will crash the economy.

Torsten Slok, Apollo’s chief economist, says clients ask one main question:

Will federal layoffs lead to a recession?

Jobless claims have increased by 5,000 to reach 219K, but that situation could change in a short time.

The Trump administration plans a 10% workforce cut.

This affects 200,000 probationary employees.

Markets?

Not sweating it.

The S&P 500 hit another record.

If these cuts result in more spending cuts and contractor layoffs, the Fed might adjust its timeline for rate cuts.

So, is DOGE a blip or a wrecking ball?

Watch the jobless claims.

Will $500 billion in AI funding propel us forward or fizzle out? (The National Review)

Trump has launched Project Stargate.

This $500 billion AI initiative is backed by Oracle, OpenAI, Nvidia, and SoftBank.

The mission?

Supercharge AI, create jobs, and keep America ahead of China’s tech race.

Oracle is already breaking ground on massive data centers.

Momentum is building, but skepticism remains.

Elon Musk says SoftBank "doesn’t actually have the money."

After the WeWork fiasco, many share his doubts.

Still, could this be America’s AI moonshot—a breakthrough that reshapes the future?

Or will it be another overhyped dream that never delivers?

One thing is certain: the stakes are massive, and the world is watching.

🚨 The Fed Pulse 🚨

The Fed’s steady hand is a signal—not of hesitation, but of confidence.

Rates are steady.

Some short-term noise exists, but the bigger picture is clear: slow, steady growth is on the way.

Housing?

January's drop in home sales made news, but the overall trend is still rising.

We’re four months into a steady recovery.

Single-family starts seem low, but they are bouncing back to normal.

This follows a mild season last year.

The foundation for a stronger market is intact.

Meanwhile, auto production is following expectations—no surprises there.

The 10-year Treasury yield is steady at 4.5%, keeping mortgage rates in check for now.

Consumer sentiment dipped, but don’t let that distract you.

The business cycle is turning upward, and those positioned well now will ride the next wave of growth.

He made $751K in 1 week

"Buy and hold. That’s how you build real wealth in real estate."

Or is it?

Some deals take decades to pay off.

Others?

A single week.

This is one of those stories.

My friend Dustin Maher, a fitness entrepreneur turned real estate investor, casually found a $751,000 profit while scrolling online.

He wasn’t looking for a deal.

He was on vacation in Canada when he found it.

And one week later?

He flipped it for a life-changing payday.

How It Started

While on vacation, Dustin found a commercial property listing on Ten-X.

This is an online auction platform for distressed real estate.

The property?

A 52,000 sq. ft. retail strip center in Madison, Wisconsin.

The price?

Listed at $1.2M.

At first, Dustin had no idea what Ten-X was.

He wasn’t actively looking for an auction property.

But he knew the location well, having driven past it dozens of times.

So, he did what any good investor would do: he ran the numbers.

The Numbers

Dustin valued the property at an 8% cap rate, estimating its worth at $3M in its current condition and in-place NOI.

• 4 tenants, 2 vacancies (70% occupied)

• REO (bank-owned) property—the bank had held it for two years but hadn’t leased the vacant spaces.

• Repairs needed: a parking lot and a roof. The roof estimate was $300K. Dustin marked $500K for the worst-case scenario.

• His pro forma valuation (fully stabilized): $4.5M

His max bid?

$3M. tops.

Proof of Funds

As Dustin started the auction registration process, he ran into a problem.

He needed proof of funds (POF) for his max bid of $3M—but he didn’t have it.

So, he did something unorthodox.

He posted on Facebook.

“Anyone have a few million dollars sitting in a bank account that I can show for proof of funds?”

A distant friend from a real estate mastermind responded:

“I got you.”

With that, Dustin was in the game.

Winning the Auction… Against Himself?

Dustin bid $3M, then watched a few other bids trickle in.

As the auction clock ticked away, he moved through Vancouver Airport customs.

He refreshed his phone while waiting in security lines.

At one point, another bid pushed the price to $3.1M, so he assumed he lost.

But then the broker called:

“The auction didn’t hit the reserve. We’re doing a final round of offers.”

Dustin held his ground at $3M.

The next day, the broker called back:

“You won.”

Only later did he find out that the highest real bid was only $2.5M.

Meaning?

He had likely been bidding against the seller (or the auction platform’s automatic reserve system).

Still, he had a deal.

One Week, Two Tenants

As Dustin finalized the closing paperwork, his broker mentioned something interesting.

A local investor with $40M in real estate holdings had also tried to buy the property for $3.6M before the auction.

But he wanted an appraisal contingency, and the bank refused.

Now, with Dustin under contract, this buyer was still interested.

So, Dustin did what any smart investor would do:

He got to work adding value.

In just a few days, Dustin had two interested tenants and one signed LOI for the vacant space.

It was an antique store owner whose current building was getting demolished.

She agreed to above-market rent with zero tenant improvements (TI).

That single LOI alone boosted the property’s valuation quite a bit, and the property appraised at $3.9M.

Dustin met with the potential buyer and threw out a price: $3.8M.

The buyer barely hesitated.

“You got a deal.”

He completed the purchase and, a few weeks later, finalized the sale to a backup buyer.

Just like that, Dustin locked in a $751K profit.

Takeaway

1️⃣ Know your price, and don’t go above it.

Dustin capped his bid at $3M and stuck to it.

2️⃣ Take action and have courage.

He had never bid on an auction before. Never used Ten-X. Didn’t have proof of funds. Yet, he made it work.

3️⃣ Speed matters.

Real estate isn’t just about what you buy—it’s about how fast you can move when the right deal pops up.

That's the case study for today.

Hope that it inspires you to go and make happen.

If you want to connect with Dustin, follow him on Facebook.

Till next Sunday 9:07 am.

Be Well,