CCIM, What Is Your Oppinion?
Hi,
I have been toying with the idea of getting CCIM training. We do small multifamily, SFR rehabs and a little retail. I love this process and want to expand my knowledge base.
Has anybody else gotten a CCIM? Was is a great move for your personal know how of putting together real estate deals? Or was it just another plaque on the wall?
Thanks
Jim,
Good eye and that is too funny. I was just talking to my wife about a vitrial assiatant wondering if it was worth it. They could handle all my tentant phone calls (toliet plug etc) schedul showing whatever it could free me up and I pay a small fee per month and less that a management company. Who knows.
J
Thanks....
Just had so much stuff in my small brain and sometimes I have to let it out or my head would pop like a pez...... (Collecting Pezs is another hobby)
J[ Edited by JamesStreet on Date 08/17/2007 ]
Hi James,
What a wonderful little gem! Anything that starts out discussing the Stock Market and ends with a sweeping statement concerning Americans being Americans requires a response.
Where to begin???
The US is a unique country and, for the most part, I am proud of my country. But I have had the advantage of living abroad for many years (not military), so I see things differently than many other Americans. So when you ask an American what makes America so wonderful, their knee-jerk reaction is to say, “We are free.” And then if you ask them what does that mean, their face goes slack when they realize that, while it makes a great line for a poster, in and of itself it doesn’t mean anything. The vast majority of Western Europe enjoys the same freedoms of the US.
So with the idea of not responding with knee-jerk answers, what specific “ideas’ has the US developed that have changed the world? Democracy…not a US invention, it started in Greece. The Rule of Law…not a US invention, how about the Magna Carta. Voting…again, an ancient idea.
For every US invention (not just ideas) that has changed the world, someone somewhere else has created a different product that has changed the world. So while we may have created airplanes (the Wright brothers), cars were created (depending on your definition) in Germany.
I have seen many, many times people talk about the “Government” crushing out creativity. And so many times the example is schools. But, again, what does that mean? You say “We crush it in our schools.” I must have missed Creativity Crushing 101 in school; my school taught reading, history and math. What, exactly, are you referencing?
So while it is great to wave Old Glory and say how great the American Spirit is, what, specifically, do you mean? So, while you want to make others think about things, I ask you to rethink your own viewpoint.
Bruce
Hi James,
Well this is shaping up to be a wonderful conversation! I look forward to the future twists and turns.
As before, where to begin?
I thought America was great because it created IDEAS, but now it is great because of Economic Freedom? Do other countries not allow their citizens to create and keep wealth? If you believe that, perhaps you should talk to Ingvar Kamprad (Ikea) or Richard Branson or Carlos Slim.
Is the Government allowing “Americans to be Americans” only a comment about taxes (wealth redistribution)? Or are you saying there is too much government control?
While it is great to think that the Government only exists to preserve clean water and safe food, etc., everyone also seems to like the police, fire departments, schools, roads, border control, disaster recovery (if you like FEMA or not) and the all important military. These things all cost money.
Americans as a whole pay a very small percentage of their income to taxes, when compared to the rest of the Western world. In point of fact, Americans are NOT paying enough money in taxes to support all the services we enjoy, hence the looming debt issue. So I am unclear about the whole Wealth Redistribution statement.
Also Americans “enjoy” the lowest amount of Government intervention, when compared to other Western Worlds.
But what do we get for this bit of Economic Freedom:
The US has the highest cost per capita for health care (compared to other Western Countries).
The US has the highest Illiteracy rate.
The US has the highest violent crime rate.
The US has the highest infant mortality rate.
The US has the highest per capita incarceration.
The US has the highest per capita debt level.
So while we (you and I) may have a wonderful life, the country as a whole is a lot worse off than the rest of the modern world. So what is it specifically that you want to change???
Do you like the idea of returning to the age of the Robber Barons; when there was as minimum government control as possible? Or should we just allow the guy with the biggest stick to do what they want?
By the way, if you think the human race (or the American people) prior to 1930 “took care of each other”, you have missed a HUGE piece of history. This may fit with a Norman Rockwell view of US history but is extremely removed from fact.
I guess the question of schools is the easiest topic to return to, so let us move on to that one.
Perhaps we are confusing CREATIVITY (the process of forming new ideas) with teaching to the lowest common denominator. These are not the same thing. I 100% agree that in any single class, the teacher can only go as fast as the slowest student. Oddly enough in other countries students are divided by ability, but not here. Funny huh?
And while smart students might be bored, this does not crush the Creativity out of students. Students show their creativity, and are rewarded for it, when they write papers or participate in science fairs or school plays or band/orchestra or fine art or photography or school newspaper or school politics or any number of clubs.
Creativity is not a process that is taught and learned; it is something that you are born with (my apologizes to all those who think otherwise). Schools, again for the most part, are created to pass a large volume of knowledge to their student base. The significant part of this is NOT up to interpretation (math, science, social studies, etc.). As you mentioned you do this one way or you fail…well that is the way it should be...2+2=4 and if little Johnny gets 5, he fails.
So, I am still missing exactly what is the problem and what you are recommending to change?
Bruce