I don’t care how smart or successful you’re when it comes to family all of us make dumb moves.  An acquaintance of mine did very, very well for himself and his family in the automobile dealership business.  He cashed out and decided that he should buy a fast food franchise for his children to run.

You can see this coming, can’t you?

Successful guy retires with a pot load of money.  He decides to get into a business that he knows nothing about for his children.  Successful means that he won’t listen to others who’ve been in the fast food business and know what a grind it is.  He was president of a small group of auto dealerships.  Very different from being a franchisee.  Buying anything so much as a T-shirt for a child of yours is loaded with pitfalls, but a business.

Long story short, the children aren’t that interested in being in fast food and have stopped coming to work.  They might just not be interested in working that hard.  He’s stuck working his butt off 12 to 16 hours a day to save his investment.  Unless he sells out at a large loss, he’s looking at four years before he breaks even, not counting his time.

The number of lessons are astounding.  Here goes.  Success in one field does not guarantee success in another.  Never attempt to make financial and career decisions for your children.  Realize that any start-up will require lots of long hours to be successful.  Just because you were smart today does not mean you will be smart tomorrow.  Each decision has its own risk.

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Filed under: Estates

I don’t write too much about condos in Los Angeles but we’ve definitely got them. For the most part they don’t have the appeal of some New York condominiums when it comes to poshness and elaborate style but this one is pretty breathtaking. It’s the double penthouse that takes up half of the highest two floors at The Wilshire on Wilshire Blvd. The condo has a private foyer and a large and ornate two-story living room with silk draperies, custom rock crystal chandeliers, hand-made carpets and sculpted moldings. The home has a beautiful bronze and iron staircase and balcony detail, a water filtration system, four fireplaces and remote control security monitors. The walnut family room has the look of a European pub with coffered ceilings and a granite bar. The media room has a 100-inch rear screen projection system and there is a formal dining room and separate sitting room. There is a private in-unit elevator which also goes to the upper floor where there’s a mahogany office, guest suite and a storage area that includes a hair salon and wrapping room, which can be converted into an additional bedroom. The master suite has an antique marble fireplace, blackout shades and soft pastels. The gentlemen’s bath and dressing room has a steam shower and the ladies’ bath has a spa and big closet. The building has 24-hour concierge service, 24-hour valet, gym facilities and swimming pool. This condo is listed at $11.5 million.

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Continue reading Wilshire Penthouse, Estate of the Day

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Filed under: Estates

Even in one of the hottest real estate markets in the United States people are starting to feel the pinch of the foreclosure crisis. The AP has a story on the falling housing prices in one of the most beautiful and costly areas in the country. In January, home sales fell more than 55 percent from the year before. The number of houses at any stage of foreclosure jumped by 152.9 percent. So far the very costly wine towns of Calistoga, Yountville, St. Helena and Rutherford are still doing well but the city of Napa and the town of American Canyon have been hard hit, finding that the newer housing developments are particularly vulnerable both to lack of sales and forecloures.

Part of the worry for Napa is that its exponential growth has been fueled by wine tourism which might begin to wane in the current economic climate. Currently condos, offices and retail stores are under construction, designed to appeal to the tourists and part-time residents. While the general wisdom seems to be that recessions do not cause people to cease drinking wine, it may cause them to cut back on winery tours which would impact other luxury retail businesses which have come to the area in the past couple of years.

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Right now, my right hand is aching because I’ve been working for hours. Plus, the mouse I’m using right now is too bulky. I’ve found this nifty gadget called the USB massager.

From the website:

USB massage pad made out of plastic with 26 rubber fingers, will work with any USB port, Computer or Mac, and has an off/on button on the rear of the domed shaped massager. The power cable is 180cm long.

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 If you’re considering a career change in “retirement,”consider working for a non-profit.  It’s rewarding (although not high-paying), and isn’t it about time you gave back?

The non-profits, like other businesses, are facing a “crisis of leadership” as baby boomers retire.  An article in OnPhilanthropy states 65% of non-profits anticipate a leadership change by 2009.  The article notes that many baby boomers are “disinclined” to retire completely (I would concur with that statement).  Maybe this is the time to consider a different type of job,with a non-profit group where you can make a difference.

For more information about non-profits, check out b5media’s 501(c)files blog, where  Tom Durso writes all kinds of interesting stuff.

Tags: baby boomers, careers, non profits

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