Project Mayhem discussion

What do you do for a living and are there misconceptions or pre-conceived notions about it? Do you love or hate what you do? Are you in a cube or free to roam? Are you at a glass ceiling or shattering one? No matter what...this is the place to dispel or expose the things that you experience personally on the job.

Prologue:

Sluggo and I were getting into it a bit in the L&M thread, so I thought I'd start it fresh here.

Father
Thanks Sophia, I haven't made it throught the video yet (time constraints, work, work work.) but I will finish it and I'll be there, barring any last minute home showings.

Sophia
You should come over to the dark side! Be an investor :-) I'm also a broker and I have another broker do all that stuff for me cuz she's good at it.

Father
Is it really the dark side? I've been working with some investors and my broker also is an investor. I am starting to dabble in it now but it's a little scary. I'll come around soon enough. ;-)

No it's so not. But I feel as though there is a rift between realtors and investors....it's being gapped, but have you noticed all of the legislation being passed? All of the pro-realtor commercials? etc...

Plus if you go to any REIA (Real Estate Investor Association) Meetings, that's all that's talked about. Nasty Realtors....on the flip side, I recently took a bunch of Cont. Ed. courses for my broker's license and a huge topic of conversation was "Nasty Investors"

But the reality is, there will always be bad apples in both camps, but I'm glad you and the people you work with realize the truth that we need each other. Investors can do much more than realtors, but realtors also have a very important and necessary role. I liken it to this:

Realtors are General Practitioners...the ones who follow routine, care for general ailments, and do the physicals. Investors? We're the special teams....the surgeons, the oncologists, the plastic surgeons. We help the unhelp-able and fix larger problems than most realtors can, but I know I don't wanna deal with a cold when I prefer breast augmentation, u dig?

Sophia, I agree, there are certain projects I'm trying to work on that will require investors, developers,etc. to make them work. There is somewhat of a rift here as well, but luckily I'm encouraged to keep my contact list in a way that if something comes up that is beyond the scope of your average home buyer I call my investor buddies, if they aren't interested I just go down the line of buyers until I can find someone capable. We have a saying in our office. "NEXT!"

And Sabrina, I totally understand your feeling on blind consumerism. I have worked in retail to some extent for fifteen years. Different places and products, but pretty much the same thing. I managed a music store in Seattle for a while, selling and renting band instruments for kids, as well as selling high end pro gear. My store happened to be in a mall and I hated it. I think the reason I hate Christmas started at that job. Frantic people trying to buy, buy, buy. When I was a kid, I was happy to get a couple of toys, some candy and an orange in my stocking, I think that mindset is gone. I see it still in real estate. Everyone wants to keep up with the Joneses. I hope everything works out for you and your family, very comendable.

Yeah Sabrina! Hang in there. Maybe you're meant to be there to apply what you're learning or feeling at some later date?

WOW, Fazsha good point about it all being the same: retail, food service, banking, real estate, marketing, corporate jobs...I guess anything having to do with money, it's like one huge rat race! Even doctors, if it's not botox or lipo, the physicians themselves usually feel the need to have the nicest everything.

Why is it that we all feel so deserving when in maybe 98% of the cases, we're not lol.

THAT'S why there is a foreclosure epidemic, too many people had this ridiculous idea that they deserved a house. Or that they would make enough to cover any ARM adjustments. Or they just believed the bullshit their realtor and mortgage brokers told them. I am actually quitting doing a looottt of short sales because quite frankly...you got yourself in the situation you should face the consequences, point blank.

lol, Bah Humbug.

ARMs always rise. Even if the rates they're based on drop, they don't go down by much but they always go up exponentially if that rate increases.

They are best for people who can refinance them before they start to rise. The problem with that is that realtors and mortgage brokers don't explain how much that will cost and how difficult it is to do. Also, the buyer doesn't do their homework.

Another problem is people getting Lines of Credit that attach to the house, Home Equity Lines, and Second Mortgages that totally wipe out their equity. Plus they think that when they put that money into their home that it's increasing the value. Wrong again.

I actually had a client say something along the lines of "I bought this house for $130,000 and put in a $10,000 pool, a $5,000 deck, and I spent $40,000 remodeling the kitchen and my bathroom so I gotta get at least $185,000 outta this."

Guess what, the house is still worth $130,000.

The worst part is, we held FREE homebuying classes and credit seminars...we even had a radio show for a few months trying to warn people that the bubble was gonna burst HARD and the most people that came to the classes was 8. And not for lack of marketing, either.

Insane insane stuff. That's why I'm kind of reinforced in my thinking that people need to go through it to learn the hard way....cuz at least it's learning, lol.

Not really a traditional "job", but I'm a stay at home mom. I guess I don't really fit the description, being as young as I am. I really do love it, though. It's nice not having to wonder what could happen while I'm not with my children, and I haven't had to miss a single milestone since birth. The way I see it, I made the decision to have children, and it's my place to raise them, not a babysitter or a daycare. I imagine once they're a little more self reliant I'll take on at least a part time job, just for the finacial bonus.

Sabrina, I belong to a parents message board you might fit in well with. hehe. Have you ever heard of unschooling?

Thanks Sophia, for fielding the ARM question. I wanted to but was really hoping you would. Lol... It's true, a lot of people spend way to much money remodeling, thinking they are increasing the value of their home when they are not. It is impossible to get dollar for dollar on any remodel or add on project. Some things you can come close on but never 100%. I was talking to a friend who was debating on selling or adding on to his current house (yes, another groing Utah family groing out of their home). I found a link to a site on Realtor.com that somewhat puts things into perspective. It asks what you want to do to your home, how much you like your home, neighborhood, etc., and how much of the work you would be doing yourself. Just for fun I used the remodel calculator for myself, even though I plan on selling my house, and it told me to stay. It is by no means definitive, but helpfull. If anyone is interested I'll post the link here. http://www.remodelormove.com/index.cfm
Someday, I need to pick your brain on short sales. They have been my nemesis the last few months, and I've been on the buyers side. They are a pain. The problem we have here aren't always homeowners who are in trouble, but builders who overshot their budget, priced too high, and/or were granted extention after extention on their construction loans. Makes it kind of hard to get the bank to accept an offer when the debt far exceeds the actual value of the house.

Rhonda, being a stay at home parent IS a full time job. Actually, I'd say it is more than full time. I don't know how my mother did it, I was a little shit when I was young, (OK, I still am LOL). My wife and I both work and it is hard to keep the house up, and we don't have children. Kudos to you and Sabrina for doing what you do, whether you are doing it out of traditional ways or by choice.

My dad just sent me a motivational article about how to deal with problems at work. In reading it, I see that it really can apply to both work and our personal lives. I don't necesarily like the way she explains her point but I thought it interesting. I'll post it here, as we are discussing work and such, if you think I'm reading bullshit please call me on it. Either way, see what you think.

http://silverspeaks.com/blogs/index.html

That was pretty good. I see what you mean about her explanation, it was kind of round about, but overall I liked that article. I'm a HUGE believer in LOA and I think that's why my favorite motto on here is....say it with me:

"WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT!"

lol....I love knowing that, as she puts it, "I am the organization". That is so true and yes, is definitely applicable in all aspects of life. I am my industry, I am my government, I am my family, I am THE WORLD!

In fact, everything around us could be imaginary and our sensory organs are just telling our brains to decipher what it thinks is going on...so on that note, YOU create everything that happens around you...literally.

It's also true on all other planes. All of the experiences, emotions, people, and events that I encounter are all products of what I've attracted to myself. I love that. (I hate it sometimes, too) but overall, even if it is phooey, it empowers me to BE the change I want to see and know that I am in control of my own destiny and surroundings.

And yuh...I'm rambling, but it's nice to see others presenting this theory in other genres.

Cool Sue! I'm glad you stuck to your guns, though. It's crazy that they were so insistent on it. I guess it's understandable if you're standing in their shoes, but if you know you've got your immune system together, shouldn't be any worries. Funny thing is, the only thing that can compromise a solid immune system are things that we probably don't have immunizations for anyway.