Home Again

The Hermit Haus team: Carol, Russell, Suna, and me Suna is ready to go home.

Here I am with Than Merrill of Flip That House, CT Homes, and Fortunebuilders Grand Coast Capital took a few investors to see the San Diego Chargers play. Suna is in the front. Paul Esajian stands behind her, and I’m peeking over his shoulder. I blurred all the face except for us and employees of GCC.

Traveling at night, the headlights were bright

And we’d been up many an hour

And all through my brain

Came the refrain of home and its warming fire

— Karla Bonoff

We’re finally home. It was a long weekend in San Diego, but we survived and we learned. A lot. I’ll be posting about what we learned on the Hermit Haus blog over the next couple of months.

More importantly, we came together as a team and had a good time. Thankfully Russell and Carol rented a car, so we were not stuck eating the dreadful hotel cooking. We were able to get away for a few quiet meals, including on nice sushi meal somewhere in SD proper.

Fortunebuilders put on a mixer for those of us who joined the “Inner Circle,” which gives us better access to the big three: Than Merrill, JD Esajian, and Paul Esajian. From what I can tell, Than is the CEO of Fortunebuilders and its subsidiary companies. JD runs the renovation business, and Paul runs the financials, including Grand Coast Capital, a national hard-money lender.

Because Suna and I invested in Grand Coast, we got invited to see the San Diego Chargers play a home game and network with other investors. They put us on a bus and led us up to the Fortunebuilders skybox, where they put on a board of finger foods and booze. We had to leave before the game was over, but that’s okay. I wasn’t really interested in the Chargers. Apparently, nobody else was, either.

But the important thing is that I survived flying there and back again. I’ve never been a fan of airports and airlines, but now TSA seems to be actively everyone to drive to their destinations. If only Suna had the time. I love seeing the country at ground level. What I can see now may all be overly familiar, but that is comforting. At least I don’t have to worry about “special screening” at home or in my car.

 

San Diego

Suna and I waiting to fly out of ABIA yesterday Suna having dinner in the hotel restaurant

Does this look like a $30 meal

I never saw my hometown until I stayed away too long

I never heard the melody until I needed the song

—Tom Waits

Suna, Carol, Russell and I are in San Diego for a Fortunebuilders “bootcamp.” It turns out they have a special meaning for that word that goes far beyond my previous usage. A Fortunebuilders Bootcamp is a large educational event that offers a range of classes to hundreds, if not thousands, of investors and potential investors. Russell is attending the “Internet Intensive” while Suna, Carol, and I are in the “Rental Intensive.”

The Internet Intensive focuses on using the Internet, including a proprietary system called Realeflow, to market to a range of buyers and sellers. Russell is a good choice for that since he is in charge of our back office systems and website.

I’m looking forward to the Rental Intensive and hope I learn a bunch of stuff about managing my rental portfolio.

I can’t say I’m impressed by the hotel hosting the event. The restaurant is overpriced as only a “artistic” or “trendy” place can be. Unfortunately, the quality of the food was not up to the pricing, once again demonstrating the difference between confidence and arrogance. I also wonder if the leadership isn’t looking at the hotel as a distressed commercial property that they can add value to.