I may be retired on 12/1

[ImcLoud]

Since the scare with my wife, I approached a couple companies that showed interest in my company, 2 were very serious and 1 was in the position to get it done...

Its been a long painful negotiation, they wanted to buy my building and I can not sell it with the business because my real estate company owns it so it would take 2 loans{which they can't get} or me selling it to myself and the taxes would make it not worth it}, so they wanted a 100 year lease, then when I was like "forget it" because some day I will want to sell it, far sooner than 2114 {and they figure if they ever don't need the building they can just close up shop and I can clean the windows with the lease}lol.

We agreed on a 10 year lease at $4400 per month {thats a little less than fair market rental value, But there are not a ton of people knocking down the door to rent it} so I think its fair, I will have to sign a lifetime 200 mile non compete which doesn't bother me since I am done with all of it, plus my son will be 18 in 2 years, I can always have him start up if he wants to, but that would be for him, not me, and I may not be able to even do that, I would have to have my lawyer check that out...

For equipment they had a third party company come in {hired by their bank} and tell them what everything was worth, and that is what they paid!!! Can't ask for more than that, they are buying all the newer stuff, you guys may remember in the beginning of the year I bought all kinds of Cat machinery, they gave me what I paid for it all!!!

The actual price for the business and all contracts is VERY generous, but we have signed proposals with deposits on the jobs well into the 6 figures scheduled out to February, so they know they are getting a profitable business..

We are just working out the "consultant" agreement, they offered 5 years and 1 day salary {its actually 6 years but for 364 days of the 6th year I don't have to even answer my phone for them} at $63K per year and since my wife is vp she gets a "severance package" worth about $40K, I countered with 5 years and 1 day at $78K for my "no show" job... I haven't gotten it in writing but I got the verbal OK at 7:30 am...

So that was the last part we had to agree on, my no show job is 10 hours of verbal consultation per week, lol, its a joke and they will never call me, but its a way they save money in taxes and don't have to pay me all at once... Its new to me but my attorney says its good...

The bad part is my employees are not promised anything, except unemployment, some may be kind of hung out to dry, my office manager will always have a job with me, she is just moving from my "office manager" to my "personal assistant", so she will be running the real estate company which is much less work for the same pay {minus ot and she is going to have crappy medical now, co-pays on the new policies are insane, my other company was fair, these are stupid}, but she is going to be making her same base salary for MAYBE 20 hours a week, its a pitty position but she is worth ever penny...

2 of my techs {well one tech and my carpenter} are going to start their own business after the new year, I am helping them with it and I am going to sub them all of my property maint. I don't have enough work for them full time, but it will be a nice account for them, the rest of the guys have jobs for 90 days after the transfer of ownership and then their performance will dictate if they keep their jobs, I honestly don't know which way that will go, since I think the company buying me has more than enough help to run both companies and they make MUCH less than my guys.... Tricky situation there, I bet they are going to tell them "you can stay but you have to take a pay cut".. If that does happen they will be smart to just take the layoff and collect while they look for another job, they will be able to collect at what I paid them...

So thats pretty much it, I am NOT going to be the boss anymore, kind of sucks, but I want to spend time with the family. I fear its a little late since they are always doing something, between school, sports, friends, and girls there isnt a lot of "dad" time, reminds me of "cats in the cradle" lol...

I sold a few properties but I kept the "cream" the newer easy multi units in the easy to rent locations... I paid off all the mortgages with some of the profits from the ones I sold so all rentals will be profit {minus taxes and uncle sam of course}...

My wife is already planning 56 days in Italy, lol, she actually spoke these words at dinner tonight when I told her the deal was getting signed Thursday "maybe we should buy an apartment in Milan", I told her yah if she wants me to have to go right back to work, lol...
she found this one http://www.sothebysrealty.com/eng/sales/detail/180-l-1952-gh2fls/splendid-apartment-on-the-top-floor-of-historic-palazzo-milano-mi-20129 I don't think I am in the plans since them stairs will break from my weight, lol... Plus you guys have seen pictures of my home, how could I go from this to 1000 sq foot apartment... I know it would only be for vacations, but no matter how much money I have I am not buying property in another country to use for 2 months a year...

ANYHOW, life goes on, we are supposed to sign Thursday at 10:55 at my attorneys office, speaking to one of the owners of the other company {Its in his and his 2 brothers names but he is the "man" over there} he is worried I am not going to sign, he said "please don't change your mind, it cost us a small fortune to put this together" he had to say please 5 times!! It made me want to ask for more money but speaking to the bank last week they wont allow any more... So I think I did good, but I honestly feel like I am selling a piece of my soul...

Not all of my employees know about the sale yet, they have seen bankers and appraisers all over the place but no one asked about it yet... I have been thinking about how I am going to tell them, I think I am going to go in Friday early and sit everyone down, give them a check for 1 months salary, take them to lunch and go to the casino... My wife said that is a horrible idea... She said I should sit them down 1 by one, give them some money in cash {which I am not doing that is crazy talk, they are getting a check, lol}, and deal with each one separately... Only 3 of them know about it already and they are the 3 that are going to have jobs, so they are easy to deal with... My wife also seems to think Jason and his brothers should be there when I talk to my guys that are still going to have to work with them... I don't see the point in that...

I have a lot of thinking to do about that part of it but anyway, thanks for reading through, had to kind of tell someone about this all since there is only a handful of people that know about this... I havent told my parents yet!!! Which my wife thinks is weird, I wouldn't let her tell her parents either, she told me thats because I am not going to sell, but I am really signing day after tomorrow, I already made up my mind, if all the ppw is in order and they meet all my terms, Ill take the check and they will own my baby...

 

[Adam]

Congrats, man! You're certainly retiring long before I did...or will. I hope it all goes smoothly and that your employees find new jobs.

I may have some new fierce competition for top poster in the Boring thread.

 

[macddmac]

I retired 6-1/2 years ago.. Busy as ever Irv. Enjoy your wife and family!
Cheers, Mac

 

[ImcLoud]

Thanks guys, I'm not really retiring, I am still going to have to maintain my remaining property, even though it kind of runs itself, she is going to take care of the day to day, books, billing, delegating maintenance and repairs, dealing with tenants, enforcing lease agreements, listing new rentals, ect, but I am sure I will find something to do...

She is very good and I couldn't let her go, she already has a list of potential clients that want her to take care of their properties too, I told her not to get too crazy with it because I don't want her burnt out andd I want my properties to not get neglected, but she explained that she wants to build an outside client list that pays for all the business expenses, so I can run my properties for free, she plans on picking up 6 or 7 clients to cover her salary and the office front {which I own, its only a total of 510sq ft, zoned commercial beneath an apartment I rent, it used to be a barber shop but I am going to convert it into an office for her by the beginning of the year {there hasn't been a barber shop in it for 8 months}. I am going to build a small waiting room with a reception and bathroom, then a single office, its perfect for real estate... I designed it last night, lol... My wife was just shaking her head saying I will never stop working...

That will be my first order of business, I am going to go pull the permits today and I just ordered a dumpster to be delivered tomorrow, this weekend I'll take the kids over there and do all the demo, then Ill order all the materials and have my carpenter put it back together.. I have just enough handscraped hard wood left over from an apartment I rehabbed a while back to do the floor, I should actually have almost all the materials to do the entire place, and I already told them my desk doesn't go with the business {I had it custom made and had no intentions on getting rid of it}, so I will only need a reception desk a coffee table and some waiting room chairs...

I am getting pretty excited about this, I feel useful again...

 

[Swerd]

Wow, that's big news. Congrats.

Now you can focus on building speakers, or BBQ smoking.

I've been here on & off for much of the last year, and I missed what happened to your wife. I've read the more recent good news that she is on the mend, but I never saw the earlier stuff. If it isn't too painful to relive, can you link that thread or post, or give me the short version by PM?

 

[ImcLoud]

Wow, that's big news. Congrats.

Now you can focus on building speakers, or BBQ smoking.

I've been here on & off for much of the last year, and I missed what happened to your wife. I've read the more recent good news that she is on the mend, but I never saw the earlier stuff. If it isn't too painful to relive, can you link that thread or post, or give me the short version by PM?

I am not sure if I ever went too deep into on the open forum, me and a few members had talked about it through pm's...

Heres the start to finish...
Starts off with stomach pains and a fever then faster than you can blink she's 6 surgeries in and a few rad treatments, hysterectomy, ect ect ect and she is back to her perfect self... As soon as we found out it was more serious than a stomach bug, we went to the best in the world, ended up being in Boston, then she didn't want to be in a hospital so I moved everything to the house, 24 hour nurse, doctors did house calls, sometimes up to 3 times a week, I stopped going to work, moved a lot of stuff to my home office, and got a fast lesson on how fragile life is...

Thank god she is back to normal now, I know people say "I don't know what I would do with out..." But I honestly cant go on without her, not just saying it, I really have no idea how to wake up with out her there and I would never get out of bed... When she was in the hospital over night she forced me to leave so the kids had me here, I couldn't drive out of the parking garage, I slept in my truck in the parking garage at least 8 times, then one of the nurses told her I was sleeping in my truck and she let me stay in the chair next to her a few nights, then she got it all worked out to come home... Now that I think about it it probably had a lot to do with her coming home before they wanted her to...

If you are ever looking for something to put you in your place and show you how not in control you are, go take a walk around Dana Farber / Brighams... All I could think of when my wife was really sick was all the times she said "lets go to a b and b for the weekend, and I went to work, the times she called me a 9pm and said "where are you" and I was an hour away from leaving work, working an hour away from home, and she went to bed with out me there, the times she planned a vacation but a piece of property I was closing on early demanded me be there or a job I bid on came through and I had to be there...

I didn't see that I was being selfish, masking it with things like "well someone has to pay for kids private school" or "well you want to live in a 4500sq foot house" or what ever else I thought money could buy when the truth is, its all BS.. None of that matters...

I wa laughing a minute about when I read one of my posts in this thread, where i said I wouldn't buy a house in another country, I talked to a real estate agent from H-ford today, I was thinking about it earlier and I want to buy her an apartment in Italy, if she wants it and I can afford it she can have it...

I have spent so much money on stuff that will be worthless in a few years, why not let her feel like we can go to italy when ever she wants... I spent $150K on a boat under 24 ft!!! lol, I can think of worse things to buy than an apartment in milan... PLUS that at least 4 more rooms I can put speakers in...

As far as retiring yes it is "big news", tomorrow will finalize it, its pretty exciting, I thought I was going to be depressed but when I was going over the numbers it looks like it makes more sense to sell than run it myself... I am actually pretty excited, I am regretting planning this weekend to demo the barber shop, I wish I planned smething with the family to celebrate, I will be with them but we are going to be ripping out walls, lol... ALthough my wife will be there too, she is kind of excited that I am turning that into an office for my office manager, she loves that I am keeping her, that was her one concern... Come to think of it everyone is excited... My office manager went and bought the lights she wants in her new office, lol... Her and my wife are going tomorrow to pick out art for the walls... I am sure that is going to cost me a small fortune but its all for the cause, my wife seems to think its all giong to hit me at once and I am going to go into a deep depression, little does she know, I am going to buy a pair of salk 8's and a pair of parasound mono blocks to power them...

 

[Chu Gai]

What's wrong with a Hooters style barbershop?

 

[j_garcia]

Too long for me to read the whole thing here at work, but congrats and onward and upward

My kid was complaining to me today saying I am too busy, but he asks me to do things like work on his car or just go to eat and then never shows up. Kids. Someday they'll learn.

This is the key to life right here:

I didn't see that I was being selfish, masking it with things like "well someone has to pay for kids private school" or "well you want to live in a 4500sq foot house" or what ever else I thought money could buy when the truth is, its all BS.. None of that matters...

None of that other stuff matters. I got in a car accident that SHOULD have killed me, but I'm stubborn. That sort of thing does change one's perspective very quickly.

 

[Swerd]

Thanks for the long reply. I'm sorry she had to go through that, and I'm real glad to know she's better.

When a family member has "stomach pains and a fever of unknown origin", skip the local docs and go straight to a big cancer center like the Dana Farber. It's good you did that with her.

… little does she know, I am going to buy a pair of salk 8's and a pair of parasound mono blocks to power them...

If you're going for the SS8 (and I do like them ) you might consider getting the amp that Jim Salk uses when he shows his speakers at audio shows.

The top of the line hybrid amp: AVA FET Valve 600R Amplifier

Or the solid state version: AVA Synergy 450 Amplifier

I've heard both, and they're simply the best.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I didn't read everything, but I think i missed one important detail : how old are you?
And second : i can't wondering did i had anything to do with your decision to by ss8?
Have you ever heard them in person?
In any case it seems like you had put some serious though into this and made a decision.
Not an easy one, but seems like a solid one.

Only thing anyone could say is huge congratulations!

 

[Adam]

Irv, I also didn't know what your wife went through, and I'm sorry to read that but glad that she's on the mend. I wasn't comfortable asking because I figured it was a personal issue that you'd mention if you wanted to. An apartment in Italy...man, that sounds awesome! If she doesn't want one, well...I've always been nice to you, right?

 

[ImcLoud]

Thanks guys, chu while I am sure the kids would love a hooters barber shop my wife sister and mother may have something contrary to say about it...

J, I was surprised to see how the "way" I have been for a long time was changed in a matter of hours, my entire thought process that I based my decisions on, turned completely around and faced the other direction in less than a day... Life is fragile and while I faced death a couple times {I have a 400hp motorcycle lol} I didn't understand it until I witnessed the emotion first hand that comes with a situation that could have left me with out my wife, my kids with out a mother, and it was only then I learned how easily my life that I thought was so secure could be ripped apart... SCARY...

Swerd, I really want a pair of them jc1 mono blocks, I dont know why, probably more looks than sq, I just love them...

BSA, I have heard the 8's and I am a believer, I always recommend them to anyone spending enough to afford them, they are in my opinion the only speaker approaching $10K that is worth buying and I have never heard a speaker that I thought was worth more than them, and I have heard some that cost 6-8 times more than them, also I am ging to be 35 years old...

Adam, in the beginning I was a little more emotional about it, now that it seems to be behind us, it is much easier to discuss... She is a very strong woman and I kept positive even when her, her sister {1 of them anyway}, and her mother were practically planning a funeral {thats for another conversation, you can not pick your family}, while they were giving up I went and bought my wife a new car, lol !!!! Every time someone asked me how she was doing I said "great, its almost over" when the truth was I was lying, not just to them but myself too, but it worked...

I knew she would be fine, because she had to be, I'll admit I went through a few stages of praying, first praying that "it" would be nothing, then I did some angry spiteful praying {I wish I did that in private, some of the people at my church will never think of me the same way, I think I scared the priest}, then I did the begging praying, now I do thank you praying....

Anyway, I am off to the first day of the rest of my life, I already got a call from one of the brothers making sure I was coming, they are sending a car to pick me up...

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

retiring at 35 years old ????? Did I hear this right? Holy crap

 

[itschris]

Listen Bored... in the end, you need to do what you need to for your family and yourself. If you gut is telling you it's time for a change and you're actually taking the steps... hell... you're already there and good for you for not allowing yourself to be stuck in the mier of it all for another 10 years. It's tough when you have employees who rely on you, but it sounds like you're doing what you can and that's absolutely all that anyone can ask of you.

It'll likely be very difficult for some, but they'll figure out. They'll have to.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Chris, I'm not judging anyone. One thing is change carriers and sell the business (for any reason) and whole entire thing is to retire from ANY professional life.
Now from what I understand so far (and I could be wrong here) it sounds more like prior rather than the later option which makes more sense to me personally at age 35.

 

[Swerd]

Make sure you take your time and choose a veneer for those Salk SoundScape 8 speakers that is both stunning to look at and that you'll be happy with over the long run. If I recall, your tastes seem to lean toward glossy black. Jim Salk certainly can do that, but he is excellent at wood finishes and has come up with some imaginative and very successful finishes. Get your wife involved in that process. Jim is excellent at talking with people about this. Make sure to take full advantage of one his best talents.

I suppose JC1 monoblocks will get the job done for those speakers.

Have you considered making a donation to the Dana Farber or the Brigham and Women's Hospital? Those Harvard hospitals sometimes act like they own the world, but they really are excellent at what they do, and can always use the money.

 

[j_garcia]

J, I was surprised to see how the "way" I have been for a long time was changed in a matter of hours, my entire thought process that I based my decisions on, turned completely around and faced the other direction in less than a day... Life is fragile and while I faced death a couple times {I have a 400hp motorcycle lol} I didn't understand it until I witnessed the emotion first hand that comes with a situation that could have left me with out my wife, my kids with out a mother, and it was only then I learned how easily my life that I thought was so secure could be ripped apart... SCARY...

It was that stream of people coming to visit me in the hospital that sort of altered my perspective. My stupidity affected all those people and it bothered me.

My last company was family owned and operated. The owners were very nice and treated us all like extended family basically. "Dad" got sick and went through all the best of the best treatments, got an apartment next to the treatment center in Boston or wherever it was too, the whole works...and he amazingly did very well. Then out of the blue he was gone. I sat down and talked to "Mom" and she said "We were high school sweethearts. We've been together almost our whole lives. I don't know what to do now." She's a tough one and she was crushed. That was like being hit with a sledgehammer in the heart.

 

[lsiberian]

Congrats. Enjoy your family.

 

[ImcLoud]

Well everything is signed.. and I am still standing, we are going out tonight to dinner with the kids to celebrate.. I left the closing and got a ride home where my kids were just getting home, I brought the checks in and had them on the counter, my son read them and said he wants a new rzr, lol he just emailed me this link http://www.polaris.com/en-us/rzr-side-by-side/rzr-xp-1000-eps-white-lightning-le , I told him he was too late his mother just bought a million dollar villa in italy, he emailed me back a frowny face...

retiring at 35 years old ????? Did I hear this right? Holy crap

Chris, I'm not judging anyone. One thing is change carriers and sell the business (for any reason) and whole entire thing is to retire from ANY professional life.
Now from what I understand so far (and I could be wrong here) it sounds more like prior rather than the later option which makes more sense to me personally at age 35.

retiring at 35 years old ????? Did I hear this right? Holy crap

I will still do things, lol I am still going to own my real estate company, but I am done growing that, In the last six months I sold off all of the more "demanding" properties, I kept the very profitable units.. I had some units that were $750 a month, 900 a month, ect and them were the hardest to get paid for and the most difficult to get rented, and the most frequently vacant... So I sold all of them, it wasn't hard at all... I kept sage and the manor which are 2 of my better properties, they have 9 units between the 2 locations and the least expensive rental is $1450 per month, between them two buildings I clear over $8000 a month after taxes, insurance, and income tax. They are NEVER vacant for more than a single month and that is only because I go though all units between tenants, I have 17 residentials and now the single commercial rentals, the other commercial rental is going to be the real estate office... I think its set to work pretty smooth...

Make sure you take your time and choose a veneer for those Salk SoundScape 8 speakers that is both stunning to look at and that you'll be happy with over the long run. If I recall, your tastes seem to lean toward glossy black. Jim Salk certainly can do that, but he is excellent at wood finishes and has come up with some imaginative and very successful finishes. Get your wife involved in that process. Jim is excellent at talking with people about this. Make sure to take full advantage of one his best talents.

I suppose JC1 monoblocks will get the job done for those speakers.

Have you considered making a donation to the Dana Farber or the Brigham and Women's Hospital? Those Harvard hospitals sometimes act like they own the world, but they really are excellent at what they do, and can always use the money.

The donations are set for the rest of our lives, we started that the day after she was admitted, I an a couple of my friends did employee matching, DF has programs already in place, they are no slouches in that department, that is for sure...

I have a piano black system already, I think I am leaning towards black walnut with peribonka granite plinths... I have some awesome black walnut veneer {I have enough to do 4 sets of speakers} that I would like to have used and I have a couple good sized chunks of peribonka that I can have my friend cut, drill, and polish into plinths... I have plenty of time to figure it out...

Congrats. Enjoy your family.

Thank you that is definitely the plan...

 

[Chu Gai]

My cousin works for DF. You might remember that was one of the organizations scammed by MLS.