REAL ESTATE WITH PURPOSE
Reading Pearl S Buck’s book, The Good Earth in 10th grade brought appreciation for the value of the land and real estate ownership at a young age. Little to know then that the real estate business and its rough-and-tumble road would be a major part of life in the future. Real estate without greed and with purpose would also become a life mantra.
One of the first things I needed to do after my own painfully forced savings from my first post college job at Hewlett Packard was to own the place that I lived in for the tax advantages and possible appreciation. Everyone should, and it takes discipline, which landed me a $50,000 condo with two bedrooms, one to rent to a friend which, with the write-off and income had me living for free – it was my first real estate deal. It wasn’t about making a ton of money, just getting the feet wet. I recall a wealthy New York college friend explaining to me that there were three ways to make money - which he noticed I never had in my youth. Those were -Marry into it, Inherit it or Real estate. He didn’t touch on ethics, which is a joke for the most part with all the greed out there, but I discovered true ethics and developed principles to hold on to. I would end up naming my company Delphi Group, from ancient Greek history - the navel of the earth and center of knowledge – from where I could assist clients and partners with “Solving the Real Estate Puzzle”. Still doing it.
When getting into the real estate business as a licensed agent in 1987 during the Savings and Loan crisis/debacle/meltdown there were people saying, “man you’re crazy - the real estate business is dead, the brokers are starving out there!” Perhaps, but contrarily, and always being the contrarian, the opportunities were boundless. I had been out of corporate and started a wild underground club, which took off during that Depression (the booze and trash business were then thriving) and as I had helped popularize a downtrodden area dubbed Deep Ellum in Dallas Texas, with that club, it became time to get into business there to benefit long term from my efforts. It also served as a defense from the greedy landlords and former used car salesmen that were digging their nails in gobbling up properties as fast as they could with negative impact. I had to deal with a lot of criminals in the process of getting my license and worked like a dog at the beginning for very little money, running hard at any deal I could smell, often dealing with despicable people. Beggars can’t be choosers.
Like Raphael Nadal, the recently retired tennis icon, playing every point like he did- like it was the last point in his life - work ethics would produce results. I treated my partners and clients alike always doing the best in striving for excellence. I got screwed over by some clients, brokers and partners, but it never stopped me. A couple of clients really socked it to me, and when it was time for payday, where they had made millions from my butt busting efforts, refused to pay. One particular client even threatened to sue me and go after my real estate license. He made millions and I made Jack. Cie la vie.
Becoming more successful, lead to becoming a target and having many spread misinformation about me – it came with the territory, especially in the chaos of the area I worked in - the flipside of success was getting to Choose my clients and partners carefully as I dug out. I took a lot of pride in developing my holdings in that Deep Ellum neighborhood and hand selecting tenants, some now lifelong friends, that would make for a sweet mix. I treated old buildings like old souls, taking them from dilapidated states and utilizing their character, spirits and charm to transform them with the help of my tenants, who I considered partners, into inspiring spaces
The most important thing in developing any long-term conscious capital oriented real estate business besides hard work and patience is focusing on your niche and developing your farm. This involves getting involved in all community organizations and if they’re not there, like I did, help create them. In post college travels in my 20’s looking through Pearl Buck’s lens, I saw real estate opportunities, in that early 80’s Honolulu as well as Miami’s South Beach, both then being nasty horribly underserved communities on the down that sat on prime real estate. It was evident that anybody that would put some effort into those areas long-term would be a winner and they were. It is also noteworthy in recent times that investors in the rebirth of my hometown of Detroit, Michigan have been rewarded likewise.
Those areas didn’t capture me however, and my real estate toe finally dipped into the aforementioned 80’s Deep Ellum community. It was just a matter of time that a serious involvement occurred, as I liked restoring and working organically with the buildings, people and tools to do it. That east side of downtown Dallas didn’t come with a beach but rather a stock of historic buildings and a proximity to downtown (which I also got into redeveloping later) and the Baylor Hospital complex together with the spark of a few artists that set up shop in derelict buildings. I took assignments dealing with giant warehouses that were full of mold and rot, abandoned for 30 years or more and now housing numerous squatters. On tours of the properties, I would carry a maglight and a short lead pipe so as to not get mugged. Many prospective buyers, partners, tenants and even the building’s owners were afraid to join me and enter. When meeting anyone lurking inside the building’s shadows, I was always careful to call out and explain to them that I’m not there to bother them just to see what was going on, keeping it cool. I’d traveled the world dirt-poor with a backpack for a year after college, so fear was not my thing.
One remarkable building that I ended up buying was home to a few people that had begun using gallon milk jugs to collect their urine and stack those along all the surrounding interior walls up to 7 feet high where they ended up numbering in the 100s creating a mosaic of various nauseating colors and aromas brewed against the walls. It could’ve won an award as a Mapplethorpe-esqe masterpiece. That said, it was a choker that was quite a job to get cleaned out, and as always being kind to the people that were hanging out there , they were given plenty of time to find other digs and I even brought them lunch (that we ate outdoors .peeeyew!) , while I explained that they had to vacate the buildings and that the conditions weren’t suitable for them or any human’s habitation. I knew all the services in the city for the down and out and referred them to help with a prayer, repeating the same practice with many other properties over the years to the benefit of all. Fear is our killer. Calm wins the day.
Past the slime and bricks and sticks, the magic in the resurgence of these type neighborhoods was the good fortune of finding like-minded adventurers that were generating that cool vibe. It was great being able to add to that pixie dust, birthing various homegrown tenant mixes, including art galleries, great restaurants, clothing stores, artist co-ops, cool bars, and even a winery that my French friend Benjamin started on the first floor of my two-story office, garage and residence and eventually went big time - check it out!
All were nurtured to add to the hood and the club and restaurant business I co-owned as well - which boomed. So, rewarding was following that formula on a small scale and witnessing others doing it on a “Biggest in the World” scale in town with integrity.
Trammell Crow was a true rock star Dallas business leader and he and his family followed suit providing commerce and culture that helped put the big D on the international map and funded benefits for generations. I still have his book pictured here that one of my favorite partners gave to me in helping teach me the ropes in business and autographed by one of his sons. I tell this amazing story in my book - it’s incredible serendipity! Miss you George my dear old partner and like a second father to me!
Many others in the real estate business made money based on greed, flipping, hoarding, loaning to own, and overreaching then handing the aftermath to the taxpayer. Sticking with a niche, working with low debt, honestly, and being partner in a community through the ups and downs is far more fulfilling than the flash, dash and crashes that I witnessed with egomaniacs tossing hot potatoes wildly over and over again.
After a successful run in Dallas, moving to Bend Oregon was the next stop. Getting closer to nature and, in time, raising my kids with me at 50+ in an overall healthy environment was a great move. I kept active in D but needed something more to peck away at for the future. Made it happen.
Bought a worn out second home there in 2003 to renovate during the hot Dallas summers with focus on the outdoors while not being super aggressive in the real estate market that I smelt coming. At that, was still involved and hit the boom. It was interesting studying history there to find that a Michigander, Alexander Drake, was the prime mover in the early history of the city and made it happen. More cosmic convergence for me. Even though the bumper stickers in Bend say “Bend sucks don’t move here!” it doesn’t.
In conclusion, we see that the real estate business is a great way to make money if you’re patient and have a purpose above and beyond that. It’s good to make it part of your life, have a stake in the game and a means to an end where you can do good for your community. Be cautious and have Purpose and you will be rewarded. It will make you feel good inside! Life is short – and awesome! - keep that in mind!