LOL
I have a feeling he’ll be pleading the 5th on that one. Any acknowledgement and it could be assumed she made her rounds in the military office to do her duties.
Actually, I bought the BMW because I enjoy driving it. It seems to be everyone else that is hung up on the fact that it’s a BMW. (For the record, we owned it before we started in REI.) So, while you may assume I’m driving it to flaunt something, the fact is I’m driving it because it’s a blast to drive.
By no means am I saying BMW owners or everyone with expensive cars are superficial. A lot of owners do purchase them just so they can say they have a BMW or an expensive brand. The really spoiled one’s who are multi-millionaires but never made a dime themselves look down upon anyone who doesn’t drive an expensive car.
…on the other hand, what’s the point in working your butt off; dealing with tenants and all the other hassles of business if you’re going to live in a rented trailer and drive a Yugo?
Mike
Absolutely, I once saw an 18 year old girl driving an Enzo. :banghead: But, I can’t tell you how many times I hear, “Just because you own a BMW, you think…” and the reality is that they haven’t got a clue what I think.
So back onto the actual subject (Monica Lewinsky not withstanding), we still work full time and do rehabs on weekends and evenings. While we may soon approach a point where we can quit the jobs, we want to see what the RE market in San Diego is going to do over the next year.
RE Agents are painting a rosy picture but the facts seem to be pointing in a different direction. I think the market here is going to keep going down and the number of foreclosures will go up, and we’ll end up with a glut of houses. A toddler could have made money in 2004-2005 by flipping houses here. Now, I think we’re getting to the part where the people who aren’t dedicated and willing to put in the work will flounder.
I see a lot of people at the meetings and on forums that have bought into the late night info-mercials. They decide that they’re going to get into this and become millionaires in a few months and it will be easy. They don’t realize that it will take work, effort, and dedication.
There is nothing wrong with living the good life. Infact, isn’t that the goal for everyone? I was only referring to the truly superficial people who live their life thinking about plastic surgery and money exclusively. The wasteful people who buy WAY more crap than they would ever need or use. If you spend millions of dollars on a vacation home across the country that you spend 2 days a year in, that you pay $60,000 for a chartered plane each way to get there, you’ve got your priorities mixed up.
Danny,
I’m not paying $60,000 for any chartered jet, not when I can borrow yours! Hey, how else am I going to get to your Mega Yacht?
Mike
I was hoping you would just push-start your Yugo, but Ohio is a pretty flat state so I can see some issues with that. I suppose you’ll want to have my helicopter pick you up at your house to take you to the nearest airport…
No pics but lots of stories…even before she hit the news. One day she got sent home because she ‘forgot’ to wear underwear…
BTW - it 's really a matter of comparative perspective - Bill IS married to Hillyuri after all…
Keith
Hello aak5454,
I have a question. 6 of my friends and I are planning to start an investment
group to start invest in real estate. Do you happen to have any advise on
do’s and don’ts when you form a partnership with friends?
Thanks in advance!
driving a mercedes does not necessarily indicate wealth. i know a lot of people driving $60k+ cars, that are essentially living paycheck to paycheck. some of the wealthiest people i know would seem to be middle class if you just looked at the possesions-- modest home, modest car and not a lot of “bling”. look at Warren Buffett, for example-- one of the wealthiest men in the world, but he lives in a very modest house in omaha (last i heard was approx $600k) and drives an american made, nothin’ special sedan.
I suggest reading “The Millionaire Next Door”, by Stanley & Danko. Most of them are living modest, quiet lives, in modest, quiet neighborhoods.
For all those people against buying a car to show your wealth:
I admit that is what I am going to do. I am shallow. I used to run…let’s just call it an illegal business before I changed my life. I can tell you when I had my downfall almost 10 years ago people I thought were my friends who were jealous of me reveled in the fact I was going through a bad time, simplybout of jealousy. I am not assuming this things got back to me of what they said and more than anything it hurt knowing these guys who I put my life on the line for were happy abput my donwwfall. But it was a positive thing becuase it made me realize all I have is my family.
Just like my brother in-law same crime, we did the same time except afterward I worked two jobs, went to school, became an engineering asst. who will be a an engineer, bought a house, basicly worked my a$$ off but he and a few othewr never stop downing me when I am not around. Now, everytime I think about it I want to just tell him how he started where I did but has not progressed one bit, cheats on his wife and kid but has the nerve to about me. I am not angel but I really stay on the grind to make my families life better. My wife likes her job but it pays very little. I work two jobs so we can live comfortable with her getting low pay.
Instead of calling her brother out or ripping my mother inlaw a new one, I am going to buy a truck I want but will rub it their face that I am successful.
Is it shallow and immature? yes. Does it feel good? Hell yes.
I’ve had some good partnerships and one that ended not so well (made money, but ended up POed).
The partnership that went south, I was the money guy and my buddies did 95% of the work, but I took a minority stake up fornt as we all knew it woudl be that way. In the end, they felt that they did not owe me much even though my $$$ enabled the whole deal happen and in the end pretty much forced me to take a meager pay-out. Its a long story, but here some thoughts based upon that and some partnership that worked well.
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Group size. Six is a fairly large group. It would be best if you have similar financial backgrounds and goals/time horizons. This is unlikely with such a large group. I personally like to do 1-2 other people in addition to myself; keeps the group dynamics easier as I want to focus on the deal(s) instead of managing the personalities involved.
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Exit–becuase of having such a large group, you need a good mechanism whereby people can exit the partnership without hurting the others (i.e. forcing a cash out).
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Work load—dollars are easy to value becuase…well, it money. Time, effort and brain power is harder to value. Eventually someone will feeling he is doing too much work and not getting enough of the pie.
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Leadership–will there be one clear leader? There are pluses and minuses to having a storng or weak leader.
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Membership selection. Think really, really carefully about the people you do business with. Friends who are great from hangin’ out, drinking adult beverages with, etc buddies might not be the best bsuiness partners. Just becuase you get along well do not necessary make them an ideal business partner. Things like ethics, honesty, conflict management (i.e. are they hot-head), finanical and other resources they bring to the table are important.
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Communication–there need to be lots of it and written have a meeting with six people, your have 6 different ideas of what happened during thr meeting. Again, the larger group makes it very tough for discussions and decisions to not be made with some sub-set of the group missing.
In the end, with REI (like many other business ventures), writing the check to close a deal is the easy part. Dealing with people is the difficult part and the more partners who have, the more complicated the process will be.
Good luck
[quote author=REI newbie link=topic=25034.msg117274#msg117274 date=1171496834]
Hello aak5454,
I have a question. 6 of my friends and I are planning to start an investment
group to start invest in real estate. Do you happen to have any advise on
do’s and don’ts when you form a partnership with friends?
Thanks in advance!
I am currently in a partnership, HATE IT, this guy is the worst. We started out great but as the money came in to play he got worst. One thing you must remember — Money changes weak minded people! Protect yourself at all cost. Get an attorney to draw up the partnership. I must ask why do you need these partners? Is it the lack of cash flow? I vowed that if God gets me out of this one I’ll only be partners with my wife. One thing about guys, they are too caught up in competition. Everyone wants to be in charge. Please, Please be prepared for the worst because most partnerships end in disaster and ruined relationships. My partner and I don’t even speak on the weekends and we used to hang out alot, when we were broke! I hope you get it ---- everyone’s not equally yoked, as the Bible says.
Good Luck,
Anthony
Let’s discuss Success stories, Salaries and Real Estate…
You can’t discuss it because the success stories are huge and run to many pages. The Vanderbilts are perhaps the greatest rags to riches story. Then you have people who bought companies listed on the Stock Exchanges to get their hands on overlooked land and building assetts. I know of someone who 50 years ago purchased a shoe retailer with 650 shops, he paid $4 million dollars all borrowed. After the bid he drove to the Head Ofice to take command, during a chat he asked the accountant to explain the firms bank account statement to him, he was told they had $ 4 million dollars in the bank on deposit? The shops and the business cost him zilch.
You then have Bill Zeckendorf of NY. Another family paid $7500 dollars during the depression for a closed steelworks, 4o years later they were selling small parcels of it for $2m. They sold the unwanted rump for $45 m.
You need to read up on the Florida and California booms, and the people, the events and deals they did. I can remember when Las Vegas was a miserable stretch of arid desert and boring. I walked from the Sands to the Golden Nugget each day passing empty lot, after empty lot. 2 miles of thirst and boredom. Was I glad to get back on the plane.
It might well be the big opportunity is in places like Argentina, Bulgaria, Poland, and other areas. And its all going to happen.
My pennies worth: Read and take in all the bad-news on here about partnerships. I am at the stage when I DOUBT if there is such a thing as a partnership. Its all a pretence, an act, and it crumbles when success arrives, debts arrive, bills need to be paid, or heaven-forbid- something goes wrong. Partnership has a full brother called Recrimination, and two little sisters called Revenge and Anger.
Look at the celebrity news, the people who you admire, read up on Walt Disney and his chiseling partners and distributors. Maybe the biggest partnership shock ever was the break-up of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, who’d ever think Bud was the nicest, kindest guy you could hope to find, and Lou who claimed to be the star [he was] wanted him to take a massive 40% pay-cut. Why? because Lou was backing the gee-gees and give all he earned to the bookies. I can add volumes to this post, just remember when 2 men meet, there is often 3 conversations being held?