They bought two taxi medallions as a safe investment for retirement, then leased them out. At first, their expectations, based upon actual experiences of their friends were good. The lease payments they received allowed them to to pay the loan they had taken out to buy the medallions, leaving a surplus for savings or spending.
But then came Uber. The market crashed. They were still able to lease the two medallions, but the rent was not enough to pay the note. Now they have to add money from their savings each month.
They came to me for help.
First we analyzed the possibility of a bankruptcy filing. When it became clear that there was too much risk in filing for bankruptcy, we developed a long-term strategy to manage this problem.
There are three lessons here: (i) “Past results are not a guarantee of future performance”; (ii) listening to your “friends” is not always a good investment strategy; and (iii) when faced with financial difficulty, it is best to consult a specialist, to help you take control of the situation, rather than losing sleep every night. Contact Paul Hollender, Esq. to develop a customized taxi medallion strategy