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#82
03-29-2007, 04:11 PM
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Re: Ask tommy2 about Real Estate
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] I noticed you have a JD; how do you think that has helped you in your current field? Is it useful/valued by real estate firms (development or otherwise)? Thanks. [/ QUOTE ] Here is the meat of an email I sent someone recently which addresses just that issue: The value of the JD is more obvious in some types of jobs than others. I think it is important to decide now (or soon after you start) if you intend to be a business person with a JD or a lawyer with an MBA. Very different career tracks. I chose the former. The cost-benefit is less obvious on this track (for the lawyers, the firms actually usually say something like: "you will make $150K, but we will give you $160K with an MBA"; so it is very easy to quantify). One variable is that some business people find lawyers a bit parochial in their view of the business-world and therefore don't respect the degree as much. Another is how much "value" you place on critical thinking skills. Nothing in my life has every been as intellectually grueling as the first 6 months of law school. The intellectual horsepower you gain in those 6 months is worth (to me, at least) the utter monotony and [censored] that goes with your second two years of law school. So, like any good lawyer would tell you, the answer is "It depends". I can tell you that I have never regretted the time, expense or emotional roller coaster that is law school--but I would never want to do it over. The people and the process are, frankly, fairly miserable. But the gain will be with me forever. [/ QUOTE ] Tommy, great insights in this thread. I'm a 3L graduating in 2 months, and am a bit disenchanted with the law path. At the same time, I have become much more interested in business, finance, and RE areas while in law school. I only have my JD and my BA in poly sci, do you see any good way for me to break into a non legal job(i.e. finance/RE) with a decent salary? What types of firms/resources would I look into for a search of this type? PS, how do you think the article on China reinvesting TBills will play out in the markets, i.e. where is the money to be made off this when it happens? My gut says currency, but I don't know much. 
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#83
03-29-2007, 04:31 PM
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Re: Ask tommy2 about Real Estate
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I noticed you have a JD; how do you think that has helped you in your current field? Is it useful/valued by real estate firms (development or otherwise)? Thanks. [/ QUOTE ] Here is the meat of an email I sent someone recently which addresses just that issue: The value of the JD is more obvious in some types of jobs than others. I think it is important to decide now (or soon after you start) if you intend to be a business person with a JD or a lawyer with an MBA. Very different career tracks. I chose the former. The cost-benefit is less obvious on this track (for the lawyers, the firms actually usually say something like: "you will make $150K, but we will give you $160K with an MBA"; so it is very easy to quantify). One variable is that some business people find lawyers a bit parochial in their view of the business-world and therefore don't respect the degree as much. Another is how much "value" you place on critical thinking skills. Nothing in my life has every been as intellectually grueling as the first 6 months of law school. The intellectual horsepower you gain in those 6 months is worth (to me, at least) the utter monotony and [censored] that goes with your second two years of law school. So, like any good lawyer would tell you, the answer is "It depends". I can tell you that I have never regretted the time, expense or emotional roller coaster that is law school--but I would never want to do it over. The people and the process are, frankly, fairly miserable. But the gain will be with me forever. [/ QUOTE ] Tommy, great insights in this thread. I'm a 3L graduating in 2 months, and am a bit disenchanted with the law path. At the same time, I have become much more interested in business, finance, and RE areas while in law school. I only have my JD and my BA in poly sci, do you see any good way for me to break into a non legal job(i.e. finance/RE) with a decent salary? What types of firms/resources would I look into for a search of this type? PS, how do you think the article on China reinvesting TBills will play out in the markets, i.e. where is the money to be made off this when it happens? My gut says currency, but I don't know much. [/ QUOTE ] China: Almost every macro economist I have listened to over the past 3 years predicted a long period of low interest rates primarily driven by the glut of capital. A major driving force behind that glut is China's desire to own our T-Bills. If they start to move out we will enter (slowly but steadily) into a more "normal" interest range where mortgages are in the 7.5-8.5% range. How do you make $ off of this? I can really only speak to RE--we just raised many millions ready to go as all those guys who bought marginal properties have their financing reset. Just like in residential--they gonna have to bail when they are underwater. On the job front: I must have a lunch every couple of months with someone with the same question(s) as you. I can empathize. There are lots of paths. A few questions: What do you consider good $? Are you good at math/finance? Familar with Excel? Strong sales/marketing skills?
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#84
03-29-2007, 05:55 PM
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Re: Ask tommy2 about Real Estate
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I noticed you have a JD; how do you think that has helped you in your current field? Is it useful/valued by real estate firms (development or otherwise)? Thanks. [/ QUOTE ] Here is the meat of an email I sent someone recently which addresses just that issue: The value of the JD is more obvious in some types of jobs than others. I think it is important to decide now (or soon after you start) if you intend to be a business person with a JD or a lawyer with an MBA. Very different career tracks. I chose the former. The cost-benefit is less obvious on this track (for the lawyers, the firms actually usually say something like: "you will make $150K, but we will give you $160K with an MBA"; so it is very easy to quantify). One variable is that some business people find lawyers a bit parochial in their view of the business-world and therefore don't respect the degree as much. Another is how much "value" you place on critical thinking skills. Nothing in my life has every been as intellectually grueling as the first 6 months of law school. The intellectual horsepower you gain in those 6 months is worth (to me, at least) the utter monotony and [censored] that goes with your second two years of law school. So, like any good lawyer would tell you, the answer is "It depends". I can tell you that I have never regretted the time, expense or emotional roller coaster that is law school--but I would never want to do it over. The people and the process are, frankly, fairly miserable. But the gain will be with me forever. [/ QUOTE ] Tommy, great insights in this thread. I'm a 3L graduating in 2 months, and am a bit disenchanted with the law path. At the same time, I have become much more interested in business, finance, and RE areas while in law school. I only have my JD and my BA in poly sci, do you see any good way for me to break into a non legal job(i.e. finance/RE) with a decent salary? What types of firms/resources would I look into for a search of this type? PS, how do you think the article on China reinvesting TBills will play out in the markets, i.e. where is the money to be made off this when it happens? My gut says currency, but I don't know much. [/ QUOTE ] China: Almost every macro economist I have listened to over the past 3 years predicted a long period of low interest rates primarily driven by the glut of capital. A major driving force behind that glut is China's desire to own our T-Bills. If they start to move out we will enter (slowly but steadily) into a more "normal" interest range where mortgages are in the 7.5-8.5% range. How do you make $ off of this? I can really only speak to RE--we just raised many millions ready to go as all those guys who bought marginal properties have their financing reset. Just like in residential--they gonna have to bail when they are underwater. On the job front: I must have a lunch every couple of months with someone with the same question(s) as you. I can empathize. There are lots of paths. A few questions: What do you consider good $? Are you good at math/finance? Familar with Excel? Strong sales/marketing skills? [/ QUOTE ] Tommy, I consider good money to be around 100k (big firms start near 200 now!), but would still be quite happy around 75-99 range. I just feel like starting around 50-60k is something that I didn't have to go to law school for. I do consider myself to be good at math/finance but do not have any proof of that on paper/resume. It has always come natural to me. As for excel, I would say I am above average but not expert. Took an RE Finance course where we projected Cash Flows (before+after tax), mortgages, amortizations, ROIs, NPVs, etc in Excel. Also, I am in corporate finance now which does not use excel but similar concepts. Last summer I worked on Excel just to enter contract info, so I got familiar with the nuts and bolts. On sales/marketing, that is not so much my forte. Have not had much experience with it but I'll try anything once, hehe.
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#85
03-29-2007, 06:06 PM
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Re: HEY TOMMY!
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] I am a real estate flipper. Flipping 9 properties and holding onto 1. We get such a bad name sometimes [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]. [/ QUOTE ] I respect what you guys do, but I hate that people make it out to be a)easy and b)fool-proof. [/ QUOTE ] It is NOT EASY and NOT FOOL-PROOF. Flipping properties using nothing down techniques / creative financing / non-of-your-credit WORKS but it is like anything else: it requires a lot of hardwork and self development, as well as time. You also need to find the right teachers. People that advertise it as easy and fail-proof are probably spouting trash, but there are a lot of flippers out there making very good money doing everything the legitimate way, as well as not working really hard doing what they do. Ethical Investors involved in the flipping business are sometimes a rare breed, but we exist [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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#87
04-04-2007, 08:06 PM
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Re: HEY TOMMY!
tommy - any thoughts on whether a significant downturn in the US residential property market would be likely to influence those markets in other countries that have experienced similar massive price increases in recent years? or completely unrelated?
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#88
04-04-2007, 08:23 PM
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Re: Ask tommy2 about Real Estate
Tommy, is this a good time to short REITs and home builder stock?
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