Back to the Future: Investors who owned real estate in 1999, especially those who owned commercial properties, had a great year. Why was 1999 significant for real estate investors? How could taking a look back affect your future?

In a strange but true "Back to the Future" paradox, the 1985 film of the same name starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd occurred prior to the April 1999 IRS legal memorandum allowing taxpayers to segregate various building costs into shorter depreciable lives other than the standard 39 years allowed via a process called a Cost Segregation Study.

"Strange" because the movie had nothing to do with Cost Segregation and "True" because had the events of the movie been written by a CPA rather than Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale they would have undoubtedly proven more applicable and profitable to average investors - the type of investors who find purchasing hotels to be more than exciting enough on a daily basis.