In Class Recently
Someone asked me how I started my own company in Real Estate as if my ideas would be helpful.
I can tell you what I did but with no guarantees.
I Was Director Of Property Management For The Forest E. Olson Co. In Van Nuys
When I decided to change to selling Apartment Houses in Canoga Park. I got lucky and closed two the first month. When the check arrived, I took a vacation and when I came back I started Duane Gomer, Inc.
It was slow. Yes, it was slow. When the light at the end of the tunnel didn’t materialize, I took a part-time shift doing tax returns for real estate clients. Part-time in that business means 14 Hour days.
When The Tax Season Ended
The light appeared, and I have been on my own ever since. What did I do? First, I had to decide what I could not do. I would not be any good going door-to-door trying to get listings; I would hope that no one was home when I knocked. No boiler room phone calling, etc.
My Approach:
I started writing a weekly column on Investment Real Estate in the Los Angeles Daily News in the Green Sheet as San Fernando Valley Boomers remember. I started teaching adult education classes regularly at UCLA. Then, since I wanted to sell or manage Apartment Houses, I figured out that those owners would probably be at Local Apartment Associations so I became a member of several and started giving keynote speeches to their conventions.
Luckily, at UCLA I met an Attorney who was also an instructor, and he got me appointed as a Court Appointed Receiver to manage Foreclosure Properties during the Foreclosure period. Great job and I was able to hustle other Legal Departments of suffering lenders. From UCLA contacts I was able to Syndicate apartment properties for small investment groups. At the time I was doing this, you were limited to ten investors and limited to showing 25 prospects.
This lasted for over 15 years, and then I decided that I enjoyed the teaching more than tenants. Don’t they say, “Find something you enjoy doing, and find a way to get paid for doing it.”
Duane: At 21 in 1959 I passed the CPA exam, worked for 2 National CPA firms and Lockeed Arcraft as an internal,operational auditor, left accounting and commenced focusing on listing and exchanging income properties. I then commenced concentrating on listing income properties at Forest Olson on Victory Blvd , was a top lister , where I met you. I also remembered that you were also dong tax returns at a big firm on Victory Blvd in North Hollywood.
I was a self employed CPA for many years , went to law school , at night, did numerous real estate activities, purchased various properties at foreclosure sales, passed the California Bar Exam in 1976 ,at 39 , went all over California in 4 Federal Court Districts , representing various lenders, including Banks and Savings and Loans lifting foreclosure bankruptcy stays.