COMMENT OF THE DAY: BREAKING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF HOUSTON REAL ESTATE GO-GETTERS “Back when I worked [in] real estate, being a visionary was something of a liability. I’ve been laughed at in my face before by coworkers because I pitched an idea that was outside of the box. I made a couple of investments that were . . . driven by creativity, interest, passion, vision, legacy, AND also by ego. And on paper, they also made sense financially, but they turned out to be money pits. I really believed in them at the time and made an honest-to-goodness effort. But now I’m broke (and feel broken), am doing temp work for the Census, have no other prospects, and am looking at military options. The only redeeming quality about these investments is that they’d be so difficult to sell at this point that the bank doesn’t seem to want them back. If I invest again in real estate, it will be a much more boring endeavor, a commoditized investment following a traditional set of strategies. I’d want for a contractor to be able to show up at the job site, glance at the plans, and know EXACTLY what to do because they’ve done it a hundred times before. ‘Build me a rectangular prism.'” [TheNiche, commenting on Weingarten Plans an Alabama Theater Demolition. Is Staples Moving In?]
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I believe in you. It’s good to see you’ve identified some of the riskier aspects of doing ego driven work along with the process complexities of managing overlapping trades and programming functionality. Maybe I’m a little romantic in the post-modern notions of Charles Moore, but the truly greatest architecture is the unseen, the unnoticed, & is often taken for granted like a figurant in a classic novel. Things will turn around for you.
The recovery process is a drag, but I promise you will recover. You’ll be wiser and a bit more conservative the next go-round. Focus on the good stuff in your life and just do a really good job at whatever you’re doing, even if it’s temporary.
I wish I weren’t speaking from experience…!
Ah Niche, having seen one of your visions, it saddens me to see you throwing it in, but you will find a way to feed all those parts of yourself. Perhaps you’ll have your money investments and a pet project or two on the side.
Niche, we have all taken a hit. I was on the verge of making a small fortune, when the banks failed. Yea, and a lot of it was speculative in nature. You win some, you lose some. I started in the RTC days and have had some luck along the way. My personal experience has seen people make a great deal of money during bad times and good times. I have also heard complaining during both times. There is no question that the former years have made some of us to look like genius because of the rising market. However, I remember in the early 90’s watching guys make money hand over fist in the worst market, buying troubled assetts. I value my time in the military, great life learning experience, however it can be not so kind to creative intellect. My humble suggestion is that you do your research before you make that decision. It can be a great thing for certain persons, I realized that I could contribute more in the private sector.
Best of Luck in your chosen path.