Job Description - Real Estate Agent

I love explaining what I do because I am not your traditional real estate agent. I work specifically for investors that buy and remodel old homes. Because of this, my job is heavily based on market research and calculations that predict whether or not a property will be profitable after it is remodeled.

There are three descriptions that summarize what a real estate agent at my brokerage does:

·      Decision Maker

·      Tour Guide

·      Intermediary

Decision Maker

Real estate agents are decision makers because we need to decide whether or not to make a move on a property – will our investors find value in this, or will they pass it up? We do the following research to either support or reject a potential property:

·      Use similar, sold homes to calculate the true value and compare it to the price of the property for sale

·      Estimate the $ amount to completely remodel the property

·      Use newly remodeled, sold homes to calculate the After-Rehab Value (ARV)

ARV is just a fancy acronym for saying what the property is worth after it is remodeled. If the ARV is 20% higher than the listing price, then our investors will want it!

Here is a quick example to illustrate the decision-making criteria above. Let’s say one of my investors is looking to buy in the USC area. I would find an available property, estimate what it would cost to fully remodel it, then find out what newly remodeled properties have been selling for in the area. If the newly remodeled property can fetch at least 20% more - so if it’s for sale for $800k and after the remodel we can sell it for $960k, then I will write up an offer to secure the property. This is the most important part of my job, because if my judgment is incorrect then my company loses money.

Tour Guide

Real estate agents are tour guides for the following reasons:

·      Experts on the property and the local area

·      Lead people by walking them through places they have never been before

·      Try to persuade by promoting the most positive things about these new places

As you can see this part of my job is identical to what a tour guide does. Instead of showing you a new exotic spot in Mexico, I am showing you an old home that has a lot of potential. In addition to giving my investors a tour, I also show them my market research and calculations from the decision maker role.

Intermediary / Coordinator

Real estate agents are intermediaries because we help people reach an agreement by acting as a communication link. Real estate agents at my brokerage:

·      Manage all documents for the transaction between the buyer and the seller

·      Manage all communication with escrow, title, notary, and other agents

·      Find ways for both sides to compromise to ensure the deal goes through

In this part of my job, I am in constant contact with everyone involved in the deal to make sure we are all on the same page. When the deal is complete, I will have a folder that has easily over 150 pages of signed legal documents. The annoying part is that most of the time I have to manually print, sign, scan, and send every piece of paper. But besides that, I love this intermediary role because I get to use my negotiation skills to obtain the best deal possible.

Passive Sentences: 0%

Flesch Reading Ease: 58.7

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 10.3

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan Post #1

The book I chose to read is How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. I have never been a big reader and usually get pretty bored of books, but this one is different.

How to Change Your Mind is about expanding one's view of the world by getting to an ego-free state of consciousness. In this book, Michael Pollan explains what the new science of psychedelics teaches us about consciousness, dying, addiction, depression, and transcendence. Yes, this book is about mushrooms and LSD, but if you take a step back and forget about all the negative stigmas associated with these drugs, then you are able to see how useful they are in helping humans learn more about themselves and their connection with the world.

In 2006, John Hopkins University wrote a paper about a study they did that proved how Psilocybin (the psychoactive compound of mushroom) and LSD can cause mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. 2/3 of the volunteers rated their "trip" as the top 5 most spiritually significant events to happen to them and 1/3 rated it as the #1 spiritual significant event in their life. 14 months later these volunteers were checked up with and they reported significant improvement in personal well being, positive attitude, and general outlook on life. This study was one of the main reasons why Michael Pollan decided to try these drugs.

One of my favorite quotes from the book so far is "the efficencies of the adult mind blinds us from the present moment." This really spoke to me because we have so many mental heuristcs that we fall a custom to using over and over for different everyday situations, but are these mental shortcuts maybe holding us back from a better reality? Another interesting topic Micheal Pollan talks about is how our everyday waking conscious, our default conscious is just one of the many conscious states we have, and what if this everyday conscious isnt the best way to live? This was another main reason why Michael Pollan decided to try these drugs because why would he close the doors to other aspects of reality prematurely?

Who am I?

·       Where I come from:

I was born in Orange County and lived in Tustin until I was 5. Then I moved to Corona where I lived from 5-18. I went to private Catholic schools my whole life, even though I am not very religious anymore. My best friends today are the same ones I met in kindergarten. My family comprises of my mom and my two siblings (older half-brother and younger sister). When I was 13, my father passed away from cancer, this tragic event molded me into the man I am today.

·       Where I’m going:

I am going wherever success takes me. I plan to start my own brokerage. I know this is a big risk to take right after college and with only two years of real estate experience, but a great idea is nothing if the timing isn’t right.

·       How I will get there:

I will be taking my Broker’s License Exam right after graduation. After I pass, I plan to start my own brokerage where I will be using computer programming and machine learning algorithms to separate my firm from the competition.

·       How I’m LIKE my parents:

I am like my parents because I am driven/motivated, I am loyal to those close to me, I have high social awareness, and I have a good sense of humor.

How I’m UNLIKE my parents:

I am unlike my mom because I do not care what others think about me or materialistic things as much.

·       I developed my own expectations for myself:

Since my father passed away when I was young, I had to grow up fast and create my own expectations for myself. I had the opportunity to choose the sports I wanted to play, to choose the major I wanted to study, and to choose the career path I want to work. I am not operating under anyone’s expectations but my own, and that is both a blessing and a curse, because I am my hardest critic.

My role model:

I do not really look up to any random rich people, but I am very impressed with my grandfather. He immigrated to America from Croatia years ago with nothing, got his P.H.D. in cardiopulmonary physiology, taught for 12 years at UCI, started his own medical company, and then sold it for a great profit.

·       My connection with the ANIMAL WORLD:

Sea Otter – to be honest I do not know why but whenever I see a picture of one it makes me very happy.

·       My connection with the NATURE KINGDOMS:

There was an orchard behind my house that I always used to play in as a kid. One weekend my neighbors and I spent days building a tree house there. This became our hangout spot for months until a big rainstorm came and messed everything up.

·       The tripod of my basic personality:

Sun Sign – Aries

Moon Sign – Aries

Rising Sign – Libra