January 27, 2009 – 12:24 am
On November 2, 2008 (which was Diwali, an important national festival in India), I officially decided to “double down” into the real estate market as an entrepreneur. I have wanted to be an entrepreneur for a long time (I even studied Entrepreneurship as an MBA student at Northwestern University in the late 1990′s), and decided if I was ever going to “take the plunge”, the time was now.
I saw and continue to see tremendous opportunity for impact and value creation in the real estate market and am inspired by the immensity of the opportunities in front of us. In the weeks and months since the decision was made, I have co-founded a company we have called “HausAngeles”.
Here is a link to our first newsletter for 2009….which introduces the company:
http://www.hausangeles.com/newsletters/HA_011909.html
January 12, 2009 – 4:50 pm
What is the #1 worry that most Americans have when they get laid off? I believe it is that they might lose the roof over their and their families’ heads in a worst case scenario (i.e., if they are unable to find adequate alternate sources of income).
Now imagine if the government of this country was able to promise all of its lawful citizens this: “No matter what, you and your family will always have a roof over your head. We know we are in the middle of the greatest economic downturn since the 1930’s and we also know that there has been overbuilding in the housing sector. We have put these two realities together to make a unique promise to all Americans today so that you may feel secure and confident about their family’s safety.”
Do you think the above promise would help the nation stabilize (and possibly even start an economic recovery)? I believe it might because it addresses the very heart of the problem in America today: a lack of confidence in our future and a deep worry (almost and actually a panic in many people) about what this future will bring.
Now, I am not one who believes that every American can and should own a home (even though I do strongly believe in the societal and familial benefits of home ownership). Nor do I believe that we should subsidize home ownership for current home owners any more than we would subsidize it for new homeowners. But we do have plenty of housing available in America today….and the government can and should do more to help those Americans who suddenly find themselves in an economically precarious situation.
The US government already provides rent subsidy at varying levels to the lowest income in our society…primarily through the Section 8 and public housing programs (Disclosure: I am on the Board of the Los Angeles Public Housing Authority, which owns/administers both programs in Los Angeles). So why not expand this concept to stabilize our families in a manner that is sensible, fair and proactive? This might just be the type of bold action we need given the times we are experiencing currently.
