[millennial]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=yamashi1] what type of real estate are you into?[/quote]

Mostly residential. My brother and I have 1 commercial property.

It’s a lot of work to find the right places to buy. Then you have to remodel to get superior tenants… Advertise, manage the properties, etc… it’s a job.

You can do it the old-fashioned ways: pay the “normal” prices, then use the established contracting and realty services… but your returns will be commensurate.

About boomers… in the last decades they rode consumer growth, economic growth, population growth to asset riches.. but they didn’t really do anything special. But they think they are special. They just had to buy and hold. And people who did that hold the wealth.

Now, we have slower growth than in the past and more competition from abroad and from well-qualified immigrants. It’s a different world where more creativity is required.[/quote]

Thanks for sharing FlyerHi! I understand all of the work involved with residential, so I decided to stay away. I understand it can be a ton of work in order to get the returns; unfortunately don’t have the time now, but maybe something that I can do in the future.

Agree with the boomer comment. After we won WWII, America has had the luxury of a large expansionary economy with a large middle class and sole super power status. Since then, the rest of the world has caught up and we are forced to compete with many more intelligent, and hard-working individuals/companies from other parts of the world. This was definitely felt while I was growing up in the 80’s outside Detroit, where it seemed that the loss of the “sole superpower” status was threatened by the Japanese. No longer were American sub-par automobiles the only car people needed to buy as more affordable and longer lasting Japanese cars flooded the markets. Millenials have learned that to compete we need to stay innovative and continue to remain creative in how we think. We live in a time where we are competing against other people from Asia, South America, Canada, and Europe for admittance into the same schools; to be hired by the same jobs; and to buy the same houses. We have learned that the only differentiator as an American is our ability to remain creative, and to think on our feet. The days of the majority of Americans able to get into top tier schools, then graduate and find a middle class job, buy a decent home on one salary, retire at age 65, and collect a pension and social security and ride off into the sunset are gone. Unfortunately, the ones that either cannot find a way to be productive or are inflexible have been hit the hardest and will be left behind.

[millennial]

[quote=Clifford][quote=moneymaker]I’ve noticed lately that Home Depot, Kohl’s, among others have a lot of young workers. Is it just me getting old or have others noticed the work force getting younger?[/quote]

That is because most millenials are having a hard time finding jobs with their degrees. So, they ended up taking retail jobs.[/quote]

Yes I agree, there are a glut of educated millenials who are unable to find jobs, or are stuck in middle manager positions with limited opportunities to move up. Unfortunately, with the last downturn, many boomers are unable to retire on their savings and are now working many more years than expected. This has led to the older millenials being stuck in entry to middle management jobs and the newer graduates not even being able to get anything other than retail/insurance/realtor jobs. The few that have been able to find something have done so through networking, being smarter than 95% of the rest of the population, or by starting their own businesses. It is a tough time right now to be entering the workplace.

[millennial]

[quote]It has been VERY costly to build in CA since the inception of the MR Act (year varies by county). A builder doesn’t have to worry about “absorption” in a CA coastal county.[/quote] You are correct when talking about places with limited infill, but I’m talking about everyplace else.

[quote]As for downtown SD, I worked down there for over 25 years and never saw “dead people on the sidewalk from meth/heroin overdose,” nor have I recently and I have to go down there and park 1-2x month. [/quote] Trust me it happens[quote]The areas I suggested to you were in 92103 which is, for the most part, very quiet (in the residential areas). Not only that, it has beautiful architecture and streetscape and is prestigious and coveted by buyers from all over the world. PLENTY of “professionals” (mostly attorneys) I worked with downtown raised their kids in that area![/quote] Not saying people don’t do it, just not my cup of tea. Also I think if you take a % of population, the majority of kids are raised in the suburbs.

[quote]yamashi, you never told us if your kids are in daycare/afterschool care NOW and/or if you managed to “escape” from the lifestyle your parents provided for you. Inquiring minds are wondering ….[/quote]

Right now they are involved in after school programs (Chinese, piano and martial arts), but my job allows me the flexibility to work from home and the freedom to set hours when necessary. I never said that daycare/afterschool programs are bad, but millennials value technology and using it in ways to make life better and more efficient. You don’t have to be chained to a desk and monitor all day if it doesn’t make sense.

[millennial]

[quote=The-Shoveler]
Yes there are Boomers who live this life style too, maybe 5% or so.[/quote]

What lifestyle do you keep referring to? I think he’s just referring to ways of doing the same job more productively and creatively. I think in any job you can find ways to improve processes and/ technology to make your personal life better. Anyone can bitch and complain about anything, like that it’s only for the 5%, but not many can come up with solutions to why the other 95% can’t do it.

[millennial]

[quote]yamashi, I take it your kids ARE currently in daycare/afterschool care?

And were you aware of this public (K-8) school about 3.5 miles north of dtn SD?

https://www.sandiegounified.org/schools/grant

http://www.greatschools.org/california/san-diego/6151-Grant-Elementary-School/%5B/quote%5D

All of the elementary schools in our district currently rate a 10 or better. The middle school is a 10 and the high school is a 9. My daughter’s elementary school also has a GATE Seminar program which is also a +, so I don’t have to drive to a different school. In addition, my commute to work in the morning is against traffic and takes me between 20-25 minutes. I personally would never move more than 30 minutes away from my job. Downtown is fun, but I don’t think its a place where I want my kids to be playing. I’ll wait until they are older before exposing them to transients and dead people on the sidewalk from meth/heroin overdose.

[quote]Actually, yamashi, millenials weren’t the first generation to have both parents working. I myself (and my siblings) grew up in a household in the ’50’s, ’60’s and ’70’s with both parents working and we weren’t alone. [/quote]
I’m not saying they were, I’m saying that is what I remember growing up. Also, McMansions are a product that happened during my time. 50’s-70’s homes were for the most part less than 2,000 sq ft. Not like the huge homes we have today.

[quote]If you’re speaking here of CA housing prices, yamashi, RE prices didn’t go up over the years in CA due ….[/quote]

Your rationale is all BS. Costs don’t determine prices, people do. To qualify for these higher mortgages people need to have dual incomes to cover the mortgage. Simple as that. All this other crap you talk about has nothing to do with anything. Large developers make products that people can afford. Without absorption, then the developers cannot find financing to finance their projects. I used to finance large developments (KB, Lennar, Pulte, etc) and the first thing I review is the feasibility of the absorption. This is prior to looking at the budget, hard and soft cost contingencies etc. If people can’t afford it, I could care less how much the developer spends; in many of the cases, this requires dual income. One person loses a job and bam 2008 happens all over again.

[millennial]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl][quote]But the other 3 jobs are about my own creativity (one is finding innovative/smarter ways to invest in real estate) and a schedule that I make. I’ve been really busy lately and I haven’t able to travel (I should because the Dollar is strong), but I hope to take time off once I get all my ducks in row. [/quote]
BG what type of real estate are you into?

[millennial]

[quote]That’s the “bullshit” establishment part that millenials hate. I can understand the feeling because “showing up and being there” has nothing to do with pure economics and merit.quote]

Exactly. I don’t think just cause you have grey hair and a fancy title doesn’t make you the smartest person in the room, nor does it make you immune to questions. Some people may think this is being disrespectful, but that’s the way we think. We are also “show me” people. You say that you make the company this much $, then show me. Most things are quantifiable and your value to the firm in many cases can be as well. If you preach about what it takes to be a good leader, then show me your great followers. If you are telling everyone how good of a parent you are then show me your kids. If you preach about how to make money then show me your tax return. We are a skeptical bunch cause we are smart and we are tired of hearing so much BS. Being in the information age data is plentiful, so filtering is key.

[millennial]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=bearishgurl]
(Japan is interesting… population in declining. Tokyo prices are increasing but suburban prices are dropping).[/quote]

This is actually not the case. My brother in law lives in Tokyo and refuses to buy a home there due to declining existing property values. What developers do to continue propping values is destroying old inventory and replacing it with new. If you buy a home there, it does not appreciate because your home becomes old stock and everyone wants to get the newest thing. The problem with Japan is there is a very strict immigration policy. This + declining population= bad news. At some point the government has acknowledged that they will need to loosen policy otherwise there will be a lot of old people and no one to take care of them.

[millennial]

[quote=bearishgurl]Of COURSE, seniority means everything! It DOESN’T MATTER if millenials “think” they are smarter than their superiors because they were “educated” and “know how to dive for data.” [/quote]

I don’t think millenials feel this way. We have learned that smarts don’t make you better. We are more concerned about results and the bottom line. We are results oriented people so something like the word “think” is not involved with our decision making. A more proper statement from a millennial would be “That guy makes $100k more than me cause he’s been here longer, but based on the last report he only generated $100k to the bottom line, whereas I brought in $250k. WTF”

[quote]Imho, millenials would do well not to judge their superiors unless they have actually walked in their shoes. Since they haven’t … and in many cases, don’t want to, they may never find out. [/quote]

I think there is some miscommunication going on here. I agree with your statement, but what I’m talking about does not involve judging people. I never judge my superiors unless I have something factual in hand. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt (senior/not my senior). Everyone is different and everyone wears different shoes young/old. I treat everyone with respect and when people do something puzzling, I ask why they did it instead of judging them instantly. Intelligent beings do things for a reason, and you need to understand why in order to grow your mind and your way of doing things. Millenials continue to seek improvement in both efficiency and technology so we can spend time doing other things. In order to do this, you need to understand all the ways you can do something and improve upon.

[millennial]

[quote=bearishgurl]Yamashi, I personally don’t see NYC or CA turning into another Detroit. The conditions which caused Detroit property values to plummet have never existed in NYC or CA and will never exist because their economies are far more diversified than Detroit and the whole of MI ever was.[/quote]

Would you agree that the decline of property values in Detroit has some correlation to population? Would you agree that values of properties are dependent also on supply (absent price ceilings/floors)? If population continues to decline in places like CA, NYC or America due to shrinking population values need to come down, and/ housing supply needs to contract. It will never be as bad as Detroit, as you said due to the job market. But we are really dependent on continued immigration from other countries to continue to prop up the market.

[millennial]

[quote=bearishgurl]I understand what you’re saying, yamashi1 and FIH. But by being able to walk in on a Friday morning and say “hi” to your coworkers and then leave for skiing (without having it come off your vacation balances), you are trading lifetime job security for an at-will position. I hope you are preparing well for when the time comes that you are out of work and no one will hire you anymore. [/quote]

I think you’re assuming a lot of things here.
#1 you are assuming that the value I bring is not greater than the cost which is not true;
#2 you assume that I don’t put in my hours, which I obviously do, otherwise I would not be employed and earning a decent living;
#3 you have this pre-notion of “lifetime job security”, which is an obvious fallacy even with government;
#4 you assume that my mindset is due to not ever going through a loss of a job, which is false and is actually a result of losing my job in 2009 and going through hardship.

[quote]In spite of advances in technology over the past ~20 years, the working conditions of a “represented gubment employee” are not much different today than they were before the advent of the internet. They still have to “show up” in proper attire (whether that be a uniform or strict dress code) and work a full day or 8 or more hr shift, depending on classification. If they leave early, it will come off their leave balances. This is especially true for employees within agencies which serve the public. These employees will eventually earn a defined benefit pension (although with less generous formulas then in the past but computed on higher salaries) but you won’t. [/quote]

Can’t speak for government employees, but private sector seems a lot different. My previous employers have offered pensions, but not my current one.

[quote] You say here that you have 3 young kids and moved far out into the suburbs (exurbs?) after your third kid was born … but you and your spouse don’t really want to be there. If you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you just buy a place in the city and raise your kids there? [/quote]
My wife and I work downtown and I am able to enjoy it, but probably not a great place to raise children. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that feels this way. It seems pretty normal for young professionals to live in the city and move to the suburbs once they start having children. Options for me are sending my kids to private school and living in the city, or moving to the suburbs and going the public route. I chose suburbs cause my wife was a product of private and is not a fan.

[quote] You stated that when your last kid enters college, you and your spouse are going to sell and beat feet back to the city so you can “enjoy yourselves” again. Well, that’s what I thought 1.5 years ago when my youngest left for college. I wanted to move to a ski-area (S. Lake Tahoe) so I could ski anytime I wanted to and possibly work a PT gig for socialization and grocery/utility money. Even though the housing is still quite reasonably priced up there, I have lots of equity in my home (at least 70%) a steady income and plenty of assets, practically speaking, it’s not as easy to do as I thought. The “math” keeps me in place for the time being as I am still helping my youngest thru college (room & board only). You have THREE kids you may need to put thru college! You have a l-o-o-ong road ahead of you and I hope it all works out for you and you can afford to move back to the city as you envision and life’s surprises don’t get in the way of your goals.[/quote]

Yes I will be able to retire and pay for their college. I have 529 plans setup for them that considers inflation. They will be OK. Retirement is dependent on lifestyle and liabilities. When I lost my job in 2009 and had no liabilities I was able to move my family to Maui and pretty much lived the retired lifestyle for about 10 months. It was great, but I was itching to get back to the mainland. So took a job in Santa Barbara and the rest is history.

[quote]And btw, my kids were NEVER “latchkey kids.” They went to afterschool care thru the 6th grade and then a homework assistance program in 7th grade and transitioned back to extracurricular activities/home in 8th grade. They are far apart in age so my “child-rearing years” spanned a longer period of time than that of most parents.[/quote]

I never meant it personally. I’m just speaking for my generation. For the most part, we were the first group to grow up in single parent/dual income households. Latchkey kids/afterschool care became the norm. Because of this, housing prices and sq ft. of homes and mini mcmansions increased exponentially further complicating the problem as single income families were priced out of good areas and therefore dual income became a requirement.

[millennial]

[quote=flyer]There are definitely young people everywhere, and we often wonder where they are all going to work and live–especially if they want to stay in San Diego.

Many articles have revealed that most younger people (especially those raised in CA) will have a very difficult time continuing to live at the level of life their parents provided if and when they leave the nest.

Many, including our kids, have done just fine making the transition (without spending thousands on rent) so there is hope, but we’ve seen an even greater number who have not. It will be interesting to see how all of this develops over time.[/quote]

I think for places like California and NYC the affect will be similar to Japan and Korea where housing has been increasing while wages continue to remain stagnant or decrease. In Japan and Korea, people live with their parents until early to mid 30’s until they can save enough to purchase a home. This will lead to less children/family and a declining aging population. If this happens there will be a plethora of problems, but the housing market should correct itself…think Detroit.

[millennial]

[quote=The-Shoveler]This guy seems to be very lucky (maybe in the lucky 5% club).

Anyway I hope when times get tough you are not the first kicked to the curb.[/quote]

Are you talking about me? You don’t know me, so don’t assume. I don’t know about you, but personally I’ve been through a lot as well. My short career has seen two recessions (2000 and 2008) which has affected my career trajectory immensely. The first .com one happened right after graduating college so no jobs, and after the second I was let go from my only job after 8 years. Luckily I learned to survive by maintaining a debt free lifestyle and apportioning a significant amount of my income to recurring cash flow. I have also learned that a job is just a job and if you’re good you will always have one.

[millennial]

People always have something to complain about. Whether management decides to listen or not is up to them, but smart employers understand that employees are not soldiers (unless they really are) and treat their employees like individuals. If you do this you create more productive and happy employees. Dress codes serve their purpose, but if it does not hurt the workplace and alters my personal freedoms why should it matter? If the person wants to come in for 4 hours a day but still makes me millions a year, why should I care if he’s at home mowing his lawn?
If there is a lull in the workload and you have some free time, why not enjoy it? Be at the office for 3 hours today and enjoy this great SD weather cause tomorrow might be another 12 hour rush. Life is too short to be spending your time in front of a computer, and acting like a drone. Now that we have created amazing technology, we no longer need to be just great workers, but can also be great parents, great sons/daughters, great travelers and just more interesting people. Life and the workplace has definitely changed for the better.

[millennial]

As a millennial we grew up in an era where the growing majority of households had two working adults; and for the most part not raised by our parents but by daycare providers or no one at all! Personally, I remember walking home at age 6 with my younger sister to an empty house, preparing a PB&J sandwich and either throwing on the TV or jumping on my bike to go play with the neighborhood kids. I miss those days, but as an adult I’ve come to realize that I don’t want to be like my parents. I created children because I want to be with them, want to spend time with them and watch them grow to become responsible adults. For the first time in human history, technology has enabled us to do all of this. Obviously there are some limitations that face-to-face contact cannot replace, but you have to admit that society has become more productive than ever before; our efficiency ratios prove this. For instance, today I’m going to stroll into my office around 10 to say hi to everyone then going to pick up my oldest daughter to head out to go skiing with her all weekend. For her the time we spend as father and daughter is invaluable and one that we will cherish forever. If my office needs to get a hold of me, they know how to reach me. But I work to live and not the other way around.

[Author]

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