In April things really started to pick up. And no, I’m not talking about filing tax returns (we thankfully filed extensions for the first time). I have been a subscriber at www.taxloopholes.com for awhile, and kept hearing about events put up by a group called “Maui Millionaires”. I finally decided (with David’s support of course) to sign up for a “mini-Maui” charity event that took place in San Diego over a weekend in late April. We decided to “pack it in” and visit David’s parents in Long Beach, my brother who lives in San Diego, as well as look at some real estate in San Diego with a realtor David found online (www.bubbleinfo.com).
Well we did end up looking at some ocean-view properties in North County, San Diego. The market there is softening but probably still has room to go (down). Unfortunately we forgot to take any photos! Our dream is to move back to the west coast within the next 2-5 years, owning a home with ocean view. So this is just the beginning of our “research”.
We also met with a family friend who has been successful investing in foreclosures of high-end properties in southern CA. He was very generous in sharing his knowledge with us.
Anyway, I didn’t expect to get much “content” out of the “mini-Maui” event, since I have read extensively on the subjects of tax planning strategies and wealth building. I went mainly to meet like-minded people – and my expectation was not too high. I told David if we just met one person out of this 3-day event that turned out to be a gem (someone we like/admire, could be friends as well as do business with), it would be worth it.
Well, several hundred people attended the 3-day event and the local radio station was there to report on it. I did end up getting lots of useful content, and we were really touched by the charity focus of the event as well. What really blew my mind was the “network effect”. We met not just one, but more like 20 people, through this event. In particular, we met another couple , Brion and Jean, from San Jose, CA (where we used to live) who subsequently introduced us to a business opportunity that just far exceeded what we thought was possible! Also, we were introduced to some great investments (private placements) as a result of meeting some great people at this event.
Who would have thought that the 3 days we spent in San Diego would set the course for the rest of the year (and beyond) for us!
