Monthly Archives: June 2017

Birthing

OMFG, you would not believe the last 48 hours I have had. After a very long Saturday with the open house and following up, I even wrote a long blog post and all… Well, whatdya know. At almost 9pm, I received a text from one of few the couples whose contact info I did NOT collect. They had stopped by when the house was swarming with visitors so I didn’t get to gather their deets.

Anyway, the text said he was at the open house. He looked me up and saw that I was a fellow Dukie (first time Duke has actually hooked me up!). He wanted to see the disclosures. Would I be able to submit an offer if they wanted to bid on the house? Of course. We spoke briefly on the phone then later that night, back and forth on email about the strength of their package– what it takes to win in this market and esp in this neighborhood. I invited them to meet with me and my guru in the AM to discuss strategy. They had plans the next morning and also wanted to see a couple of other places Sunday on their own; maybe stop by my open house again in the afternoon. Ok.

I stayed up super late re-reading the disclosures and calculating pricing. By morning, they emailed saying they changed their plans and wanted to submit an offer. Bc I had moved offices, I lost access to my e-signing program, and I had not yet gotten set up on the new office’s system. Long story short, I wanted the personal letter to be hand-signed so I suggested we meet before my open house at the property. Then began the chaos of the day. I was trying to assemble the docs and get clearance from my guru. The printer wasn’t cooperating. Bubs cut his nose while shaving and was bleeding profusely. We couldn’t find bandages. Then the printer ran out of toner. We ran out of regular paper. Argh!! I decided to print out at the office. Meanwhile, my laptop has been having more and more issues with shutdown and blue screen. I ordered a new one last week but it’s stuck in Asia due to some mechanical airplane failure. When we get to the office with Bubs driving like a maniac, my badge doesn’t work. Are you fucking kidding me??? We drive to Staples to print from my laptop, and ONE service person is helping an old man who doesn’t know what he’s trying to do with some newspaper layout. Time is a ticking, and I am freaking out. The shit gets printed. Then we arrive at the house and my ekey doesn’t work. It was wonky the day before too. Thankfully, I got the combo key for a spare in the side yard. I enter the side yard and it’s a letter-lock not number-based combo lock. WTF? I call the list agent. When he answers, I realize I am in the neighbor’s yard. Duh. Ok, we get inside and my people sign and we chat for a bit.

Then they head off and the open house begins. I’m trying to assemble all the finance docs to show proof of funds. J goes to Staples again to scan in my signed docs. Then, my T-mobile hotspot service is super wonky, which means my wifi sucks. Everything online takes forever. The house is a trustee sale, so I want to be sure the title names are correct. I text a bunch of people to confirm. No reply, so I just send in the doc. Later, list agent says the seller name needs to be the Trust. Have to redo the docs. This time, I get the help of my colleague to send it in. All day, the shit is like that. I’m fumbling around with the e-sign program and then some sig spots were missed. I’m worrying that the buyer is thinking this is totally Mickey Mouse. Open house picks up crazy in the last hour. By late Sunday, listing agent says offer looks good.

On Monday, we’re waiting. I check in in the morning with the list agent, and he says they received others but we are well-positioned. By Monday end, we’re asked to go up bc other party increased bid. My buyer refuses. Fortunately, we get the acceptance despite having the lower offer. I am overjoyed and ecstatic.

On Tuesday, my buyer is asking me again about the solar panel lease. He’s researched the company and is worried. Doesn’t want the panels and wants seller to pay off the lease. I tell him, we would have to reimburse seller and he refuses, saying the lease contract has nothing to do with him. Umm, what? That begins the first of many uncomfortable conversations with multiple parties. Meanwhile, since Monday, I’ve been trying to speak with a live person at the solar company. No callbacks, no email replies. WTF. I probe with my buyer to really see what it is that he wants. Is there another path that would satisfy him? Yes, compensation to take over the lease. Then I get a number for that. I tell the list agent, we want the seller to remove the panels at their cost. List agent calls me like what are you talking about? We told you there was a lease or payoff option. Yes, but my buyers say it’s not in the contract. Yes it is. No it’s not. Finally, I give him a number the buyer wants for compensation.

On Wednesday, I hear the sellers will split the difference and my buyer is upset that I didn’t give them the original number but instead talked him down. He wants to hold firm. I go back to the list agent, and the shit hits the fan. He warns that if we don’t take this deal, sellers will request a contract cancellation. My office insists they can’t do that and are contractually obligated to move forward…  We’re on the phone in the mail room with the list agent and the big guns come out with voices raising… OMFG. More back and forth and then ultimately, we acquiesce to the deal with me throwing in the remaining amount the buyer wants. Now, we’re hoping to move on. That was just Thursday.

On Friday, I’m waiting for the sellers to sign the addendum agreeing to the buyer credit. Late afternoon approaches and still no signature. I begin to worry that the sellers are having second thoughts. Ugggg. Meanwhile, I meet the appraiser at the house. The lender keeps bugging me that we need the signed addendum. Turns out the seller was having tech issues with e-sign. Imagine that. We’re good to go. I then get on the phone with the solar company to begin the lease transfer papers. On hold for freaking ever again. I finally get a little bit of breathing room by week’s end… And I’m off again prepping for another open house. I figure I’ll try to keep the roll going. Scored a 2 BR/2 BA condo in my stomping grounds. Yup, I’m keeping my foot on the gas, Chuck Yeager style!

The following week: Monday and Tuesday, I was out of the office bc my nieces were in town. That didn’t stop me from having to make MORE calls to push and prod the solar lease people. Jesus Christ. It was seriously ridiculous. Understaffed, behind, doing the best they can… blah, blah. Meanwhile, I am combing through the disclosures and inspection reports, calling the inspection companies even to learn more… so that I can properly advise my buyers on next steps. I’m also checking in with the lender, making sure all the loan docs are on track. I keep being told everything is on schedule, then suddenly Thursday rolls around and I call the escrow officer. She says she hasn’t even spoken with the lender. Huh? I mean, it’s so weird but like all the parties are so busy they don’t even check in with each other… it’s very bizarre. So then I’m tracking down the lender again asking them when they are planning to give the estimates to the buyers. By Thursday evening, the lender tells me we might need to get an extension “bc of the major holiday.” Say what, lady? I check with my mentor about the timeline. Even with the holiday, the contract requires us to close on Monday, July 10. Ugh! I push back to the lender: look, I negotiated big time to get the sellers to choose OUR BUYERS over the other families. We have to get this done on time. On Friday, the buyers still have not received the loan doc estimates. I’m CC’d on emails where the escrow and lenders are sending spreadsheets back and forth. I’m finding errors including my name listed as the seller. Meanwhile, my mentor is telling me this is supposed to be the part where those two parties take care of shit without my prodding and checking…. Figures, MY deal would NOT be the norm. By Friday night, the lender calls and tells me there is an error in the docs from the escrow company that would potentially cause delays. By then, it’s after close of business and the escrow officer has gone home for the July 4 holiday weekend. She is completely unreachable. Yup, I was shitting bricks.

Thankfully, the lender worked things out on her team’s end and proceeded to the next step. I got in touch with escrow on Monday for the corrections. Whew!

So, we’re through another hurdle. Loan sign off occurred on Wednesday for my buyers. The sellers signed off the next day, and we are positioned for funding on Monday morning and close Monday afternoon. Just in time as my parents and Bubbey get back to town! Of course, the solar papers are still dragging ass behind the schedule they promised, but it’s not going to clog the deal, so whatever. Sigh. I mean, I’ve definitely learned a shit ton on my inaugural deal. 🙂 While all of this is happening, I’m researching kitchen reno ideas, washer/dryers, kitchen designers, etc. Also, attending training, hustling for open houses on the weekends, prepping for the open houses, studying the market and comps, AND doing a buyer consult meeting completely in Mandarin. Haha, I suppose this job is a dabbler/generalist’s dream with all the multitasking.

Tour Guide

Last week, our nieces were in town, accompanying their mother who was working a conference in SF. J and I were in charge of the two preteen girls for two days. Admittedly, I don’t really have much interaction with kids. I guess growing up in my very non-celebratory family and with my cousins, aunts, and uncles living in Taiwan, my family dynamics are generally very distant. So the thought of chaperoning our nieces for two days kind of stressed me out. J was in charge of getting some feedback from the girls’ parents so we could narrow our choices. Long story short, we got the whole “They’re flexible and will do anything” runaround. I know everyone was just trying to be nice esp bc they know we’re like childfree with limited kid experience, but man, the ambiguity only made things more challenging.

Ah well, we went up to SF on Monday, with the plan being to check out Lombard St., Muir Woods, the trolley cars, and Fisherman’s Wharf. Well, I dunno why I was even surprised, but shit, due to traffic and “city problems,” everything thing took forever. Logistically, the poor girls were like trapped in our car for hours with Uncle J driving like a lunatic. Note to self: for any future visit to Muir Woods, drive to Sausalito and take the bus in, bc there is ZERO parking. Parking was so bad, J just circled around while the girls and I walked the park for 90 minutes. Afterwards, we were WAY beyond lunch time and then headed to Sausalito for lunch. At 2:30pm, the wait for lunch was 45 minutes. What? Yeah, we finally ate around 3:30pm and then it was time to battle the traffic back down the peninsula. The girls were great sports about everything, but I’m sure they were famished, windblown, chilled to the bone, and/or bored. For Day 2, we hit up Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and the trolley cars. But man, it was so freaking windy. I mean, honestly, I am way over SF. It’s just one of those things where the juice ain’t worth the squeeze. Haha, we have the lowest tolerance for inconvenience EVER. The thing is, ultimately, we don’t even know if the girls had a good time. A part of me suspects that they would have been happiest just hanging out at home watching tv. Shrug. It’s hard to tell with the young-ins, I tell you.

The Cyclone

Well, it happened. Yup, I submitted my first offer and I scored my first acceptance. 1/1 baby. I am so stoked. Closing date is July 10.

It all happened very fast, but it was by no means easy. I don’t want to reveal too much since we haven’t yet closed, but as my father has always insisted, “There is no free lunch.” I will say, I am grateful that after seven months of busting my ass, I have finally received some kind of affirmation that I can do this work. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the last several days have certainly taken years off my life. I’m hoping the anxiety will subside as I gain more experience and exposure. But shit, I sure felt like I got sucked into a cyclone. Yes, a cyclone (and NOT a whirlwind) of intensity. I had more sleepless nights, runny bowels, tummy aches, numb fingers, no appetite, and two meltdowns.

In my defense, I mean, this is a huge transaction. For many, it is THE biggest transaction of their lives, so even though no-contingency offers are common in this market, I felt so much weight in the responsibility. I wanted to get it all right. And shit, aside from the transactional components, I also learned so much about communication, interaction, negotiation, and the ridiculous messiness of carrying out my fiduciary duty in the midst of high drama and high emotions.

In retrospect, it’s ironic: Even though I have spent a lifetime training up, between my social intelligence and social psych classes, personality tests/readings, comm books, body language seminars, etc., nothing ramped me up like the week following my offer acceptance. The good news is that I made it through and seriously, I have gained so much wisdom.

That said, I’m still keeping my foot on the gas pedal. I know, Bubs and my friends are telling me to take it easy but shit man, I have a fear that I will lose the momentum if I stop. So the next weekend, I hosted another open house. It was a condo just five minutes from home. I randomly pinged a Chinese agent (among several others), met with him two days prior to the open house, and bam, just like that I scored a decent professional contact. He seemed quite impressed by my initiative and attention to detail (I had numerous questions about the HOA docs). Hehe. Yes, I am keeping tabs on all the positive feedback I get: I’ll need a stash for those days when I’ll be discouraged and down in the dumps. 😛

In general, condos are logistically more complicated to host, bc you’re not allowed to prop open the main doors, so visitors have to call your cell first and then you go out front to let them in. That means I leave my shit unattended while strangers are checking out the unit. NBD if I don’t overthink it. I tried to line up a partner for the open house, but my lender got caught up at the bank, so she was 2.5 hours late. Regardless, I fielded the visitors ok. No real sparks. Remember: there are no loyalties in this business, right?

Other general observations? The young professionals can be really standoffish and rude. Older folks are more chatty and friendly. Sadly, no real leads after two days. Ah well, it won’t stop me from staying in touch and from adding the peeps to my database. 🙂 Hey man, I gotta work my system!

Randomly, I got a text from a former colleague at SCU on Sunday afternoon. His family lives in downtown Mountain View and he saw my open house signs as they drove home from Trader Joe’s. Muhahaha, my signs are paying off! J made some funny comment that he felt weird putting up signs near our own hood. I interpreted that as him feeling some shame about my work and career. He dodged my probing questions. In the end, I think he was just feeling sheepish about my work in sales… kinda like when he just drops me off for flyering at the parks. It’s just too much people interaction for the Unabomber. Indeed, I have been feeling pretty darn talked out at the end of each day.

Resurgence

A few months ago when I was taking that BOLD sales/prospecting class, I remember how the head coach kept telling us to keep up the momentum. He told this story about a famous pilot, Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barrier. Did I re-tell this story already? Anyway, as Chuck Yeager approached the sound barrier, all the instrumentation and shit inside his cockpit started rattling and cracking and breaking. In his communications with the control center, he was convinced he was not going to survive. A few seconds later, he lost contact and everyone in the control center got all sullen, thinking he had died. But just a few seconds after that, he came back on, thrilled to report that he had broken through the barrier.

Obviously, what I’m doing is nothing pioneering or life-threatening, but this story totally captures the moments (so many already) on this whole real estate ride where I really thought I could not go any farther. So many times, I came up on barriers that I felt were insurmountable… that’s it, I would tell myself: that’s the end of this road for me. My mind and psyche were flooded with all those negative thoughts: this was a mistake. I’m not the right personality for this work. I don’t have the constitution for this; I don’t have the charisma; I’m not a salesperson; I’m not compelling; I don’t have the street smarts; I don’t have the emotional intelligence. Who will ever hire me.

I know, all these statements may sound overly dramatic, but when you go for months without a lead, you really start to believe these things. I still say to Bubbey every damn week: “This is my last chance at success.” I mean, for fucks sake, I’m getting too old to be changing careers and turning new tricks.

Yet somehow when I hit these new lows, I always find some way to come back up. To be honest, I think about all the people around the world who struggle and who persist and who inspire. This is not some raw deal or raw hand I got in life. Hardly the case. These are choices I made to do things differently, and I need to hunker down and make this shit happen!

For the longest time, I felt like my parents were always disappointed in me bc I never settled down with my career. I kept changing, I kept switching. While I kept starting over, my peers were building legit careers: they were honing their knowledge and skills, becoming experts and specialists: becoming VPs or partners or directors or chief surgeons or whatever. Meanwhile, I was perpetually in low-mid level positions. They never wanted to tell their friends what I was up to, bc it was nothing impressive. They wanted me to put my head down, work hard, and move up that ladder in ONE place.

Oddly, their ideas and thoughts about jobs seem very different now. I don’t know if it’s bc they have lived a whole other lifetime in the last few years or what… dad now always says you’ll never build wealth from a job (like from a salary). The path to wealth is through assets and passive income. I mean, it’s not so much the money part of his comment that resonates with me (though I totally agree); rather, it’s this subtle acquiescence that suggests: loyalty and hard work to other people don’t really get you jack. I mean, that’s an oversimplification of course. You get stability and security and health insurance. But I think too about how quickly tech is replacing jobs (even skilled jobs) and how much automation will make so many things obsolete eventually… maybe dad has a different perspective on my flexibility and adaptability, seeing as I can do a variety of things, from contracts to project management to web work to making signs… Ha!

I dunno. I still get down and frustrated, but generally, I feel mentally stronger. And more than ever, I feel more in control of my time and my energies. With real estate, I am enjoying the diversity that the business entails and I do feel like ultimately, this is something that is mine that I can grow. It’s not something where after a few years, I’ll feel constrained or limited or pigeonholed. There’s a path to growth. And with it being a business, I get to choose my tools and programs and how I want to run things. It’s pretty dang cool.

So I’m feeling a resurgence. Last month, I vowed to fill all my weekends in June with open houses. I’ve done that 3/3 weekends now. This weekend, I scored my best open house yet: a single-family home in a very hot neighborhood in Sunnyvale. I got more people at my open house today than probably all my past open house combined. It was nonstop. And all Asians!!! I was extra diligent about gathering info and following up. Yup, contacted people within HOURS of my open house wrapping up. Tomorrow, I go back for Day 2.

Before my open house today, I also hit up two busy parks in Sunnyvale. Yup, did my whole “approaching strangers with kids” tactic and passed out my open house postcards. J went with me to the park; we split up; and then I texted him when I was done. He couldn’t stop remarking about how hardworking I was. It’s kinda funny though: In my regular circle of friends, no one works in sales. So when I tell people about all this prospecting shit, they are kinda in awe that I somehow find the energy to do these awkward activities. But then when I talk to my colleagues or people who work in sales, they’re like, yeah you gotta do MORE. More people. More conversations. More calls. MORE. What you’re doing is not enough. Sigh. Maybe tomorrow, I’ll kick it up another notch.

Sadie Spunkmeyer

Being a sassy woman, it’s hard for me to resist fellow spunky personalities. Earlier this month, we hosted Sadie, a pudgy little King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Going by our somewhat lengthy meet-and-greet, I was bracing myself for yet another spoiled doggie. While she was over, she was super panty and excitable, esp for a 10-y/o. She constantly vied for the attention of her owner too, jumping up and practically begging to be coddled. I know, total eye roll. But shit man, I wanted the business. Like I said before, I love having multiple things going on at once. That shit just makes me happy, and given that my real estate biz is taking longer than I had anticipated, success in Rover just gives me a little boost. And of course, I still miss canine companionship. Long story short, I agreed to the assignment. And well shit, Sadie is the most people-obsessed doggie I have ever had. That said, there is a cuteness to coming home to something so soft and cuddly and I mean, she just demands a greeting as soon as you step in the door.

She was only with us for a week, but my goodness, she got Bubs wrapped around her tiny paws very quickly, and he would not shut up about how she was the BEST client yet. I mean, yes, those are some fightin’ words, bc you know how I feel about my sweet Ramona. But I do have to admit: this dog had ZERO meds/health instructions and she was really great being home alone. I mean, she wasn’t thrilled about it, but she never destroyed anything or demonstrated spite. Not that Ramona ever did either. But Ramona did also smell. In her defense Sadie also snored up a storm. Shit, I had like another week of uber-shitty sleep. Apparently, she’s had surgery to correct the snoring, but it’s come back again.

I have to say, she did always give us a hero’s welcome when we came home. It was awfully nice to have a sweet, smiling, happy being that was just thrilled to be with you. There’s something about that positive spirit. Somehow I didn’t cry when she had to go home… maybe I’ve finally gotten enough practice understanding the arrangement. But I def miss having a little cuddle bunny at home. I’ve been scouring adoption sites again. Maybe in August, it will be time to have a furry beast warm our hearts and home again.

On the more businessy side of things, I am on track to more than double my Rover income from last year. J keeps poo pooing it when I tell him. I mean, I get it: doubling from like $1 to $2 is not really anything worth noting. Still, doing Rover just makes me happy, so eat it.

I’m slated for a 16-day chunk later this month with Stormy, a poodle whom we trialed last month. It’ll be fun.[FAG id=7511]

Fire Danger

John and I are friends with yet another Peaches and Cream couple. John used to work with the hubby, and they are kind of deluxe when it comes to food and wine… Oh yeah, we traveled with them one weekend to Paso Robles and that was when the hubby was horrified by my attempt to reuse a wine glass…

Anyway, they live in a townhouse complex that has zero outdoor space, so they love coming onboard the Houseboat to chillax in our backyard oasis. Well earlier this month, they were house- and dog-sitting for their family friend who lives in the hills of Belmont. We went over: hung out by the pool, chilled with the big golden retriever named Tank. They cooked up a fabulous meal: delicious dry rub ribs plus homemade cole slaw and potato salad. They were totally loving the lifestyle, though I thought being in the hills sure was windy… I know, MV has made me so fucking soft.

Regardless, we had a great time, but then later that night, John received a text from the guy. The fire department was just over: when cleaning up the grill area several hours earlier, the friend touched the wood chips used for smoking the meat. They were cool to the touch, so he threw them into the plastic garbage bin. THREE hours later, that shit turned into a roaring fire on the side of the house.

The friend was watching tv, he heard crackling or something and went from the couch to the side of the house and saw fire!?!?! The house didn’t have an extinguisher. Nuts. The plastic bin totally melted down, and the house has high-fuel eucalyptus trees next door. Thankfully, the fire was put out, but the next day, J went up to help clean. It’s a miracle bc the garbage bin actually contained the fire for a bit and the nearby brush didn’t ignite. They had to rent a truck to haul off the trash, get a pressure washer, AND get a new grill (the old one got melted plastic all over). What a mess, but the most important thing? Thank god no one got hurt. That doggie didn’t alert them to jackshit. It was a reminder though: grills are so damn dangerous. One time, John was using our grill and the fat from the meats dripped through the grates, and there was a big grease fire that exploded from the grill. Our unit is placed up again a wooden fence, near our neighbor’s tree. Thankfully, J put the lid down and the fire calmed down but man, it was scary. And we def keep an extinguisher on hand.

Jumping June

Well, a lot has happened since the end of May. First, mom got her MRI test results back. The scans indicate that her brain “plaques” are not due to a hemorrhage or tumor. It’s not exactly good news: just news that eliminates other possible explanations for her cognitive decline. She is definitely getting worse. I am seeing her decline written all over my dad’s face when he calls via FaceTime. He says she seems happy and fine. But goddamn, he looks tired. He says that when they go out to restaurants and she needs to use the restroom afterwards, he waits for her right outside the women’s bathroom, bc there have been times when she came out and got disoriented in the restaurant. The thought of this is seriously stressing me out, bc that means she really does have to be chaperoned at all times.

I’ve been doing a ton of research recently for dad. He wanted me to contact real estate investors to gather data points for selling his properties as-is. That route turned out to be a total no-go at like 70% of market value. Then, I researched estate planning folks. As usual, I spent all this time checking reviews and BBB and whatever. Dad will just attend some free seminar given by a company that has a regular radio spot and use that company if he likes the seminar. Then I have been researching activities to keep Alzheimer’s people active… My parents actually enrolled in a watercolor class offered through the Frederick Center for Aging. My dad just kept saying they weren’t good (See? Perfectionists. This is class no. 1. Neither has ever taken watercoloring… they aren’t going to be good right out of the gate. Get over it!). I’m glad they are signed up (4 classes, once a week) and are finally getting outside of the house and interacting with people. Frickin’ hermits.

I also had a call with an agent in Rockville. I was actually thinking about her for my parents, my neighbor’s parents (who live in MD), and maybe my MIL… eventually when any one of those parties is ready to move. The agent was a kindred spirit actually. I like her a lot and turns out she has connections to my hometown and her hubby graduated from Stanford. Anyway, we have promised to do lunch when either is in the other’s neck of the woods. Kinda cool. The whole reason I found her was bc last time in MD, we drove by a cute bungalow for sale, and I noticed the KW sign. KW is kinda lesser known back home. I looked up the listing, saw what a fab job she did getting the place ready for sale, and then dug around seeing where she’s done her transactions: Frederick, Rockville, NW DC. Check, check, check. Yeah, sometimes building my network is fun.

What else. My newest Rover client started on June 2. I was really worried Sadie was going to be way overbearing and spazzy, but she’s turning out to be top notch. Yeah, getting up there with my beloved Ramona aka Kidney Bean even!

Workwise, there has been some drama. I really thought I’d escaped all that bullshit office politics when I left govvie and higher ed. Apparently. Not. Long story short, my coach/mentor abruptly changed offices. We were trying to still partner together despite being in different offices, but after a week and after seeing the writing on the wall where the old office clearly was NOT going to support an ongoing partnership, I decided to switch also. It’s fine: the new place is basically the same distance and the office is larger, not to mention run by women leaders whom I really like, and WAY more organized. I feel good about the move, but you know, there’s a lot with meeting all the agents here and just kinda settling in. As a side note, the drama/feuding between the offices is continuing. So juvenile.

My German family is still working with my lender. I hope they can make progress soon so we can start house hunting… we’ll see. Meanwhile, I am still trying to fill my weekends with open houses. Last weekend, my colleague at the old office passed me some options: on Saturday morning, I discovered that I would be co-hosting a Sunnyvale condo with a veteran agent with nearly 30 years of experience! He was a great guy and we talked the whole time, but open house wise, traffic was kind of slow and at the end of the day, I was super wiped. Not just from all the talking but also bc talking to him really highlighted just how far I have to go. He was super savvy too: knew all the tax laws and financial secrets. I think he said he used to be Mayor of Sunnyvale. He was SUPER well-connected: had all kinds of stories of influence and getting shit done. He was similar to my dad too in that he had established multiple income streams… another key to building wealth. 

I was supposed to go to a dance festival in downtown SJ afterwards, but man, open houses make for very long days, esp when I go doorknocking beforehand. Yeah, no real leads that day either. Kinda sucked. But things are warming up again: I just scored an open house for this weekend. I’m also slated for another next weekend. Work, work, work, work, work.