Category: Personal Thoughts

Hmmm…to become a real estate mogul…or not

Carl Setzer
A house made of dollar bills

I held a real estate license for over 7 years. However, last December I let it lapse. Over all the years I held my license I closed no transactions…as an agent. For that time I worked on a team that sold bank and government owned homes. That was my focus. So I didn’t work with clients…exactly. I worked with asset managers, on behalf of the institution that owned the house in our portfolio. I needed my license, but I never needed to go out and generate leads and such that’s part of being a real estate agent. Buy I know about the local market, how to price a home, how to market it, and I know the contract process better than most agents. So, though I haven’t a single transaction officially tied though, I’ve closed hundreds.

Now, I’m trying to figure out what to do next. I’m nearing the end of my grace period with the state of Washington. As of right now, I just need to take a few hours of online course work and then pay the renewal fee. After December, I’ll need to retake my real estate course work from scratch to renew.  A significant up-tick in cost and time. And, I’m not sure the pay-off. I don’t want to invest either cost without a plan for some kind of return.

So, currently, I manage the construction process from getting a contract signed around to having permits in hand. I believe that my understanding of the construction process coupled with my understanding of bank and government owner homes gives me a unique skill set in the real estate world. New construction, custom homes as well as real estate flipping and investing are things I understand well.

Not sure I want to become a mogul. But I think I could make a positive impact on the world. Do I need my real estate license to make that impact? Is it enough to make the investment worthwhile? Would I make back the investment in money, time and energy? I’m just not sure. What do you think? I’d love to hear your insights and recommendations.

 

The Beauty Of Beginnings

Carl Setzer

I’ve long been a member of Lynnwood’s Trinity Lutheran Church. The past year and a half or so, we’ve been transitioning pastors. Never the easiest process. But we’re on the other side of that journey. 

Today we welcome Pastor Hector Garcifas-Toledo. Pastor Hector represents, to me, the evolution of my little suburb. First, we’re not very little anymore. And our ethic make up has changed radically since I was a kid. 

Growing up, Lynnwood was very white, middle class. My neighborhood is quite multiethnic now. We have myriad languages nearby. The microcosm of our planet, reflected here, delights me deeply. 

Pastor Hector has lived this microcosm. Born in Mexico, having lived in Taiwan, and serving as a pastor throughout the U.S., he understands diversity at the deepest levels. He IS diversity. 

I’m quite excited for him to join us, and for my congregation to move forward into the  next stage of our journey. The world is changing. My city has changed, and is changing. We’re ready to embrace that, finding ways to serve our neighbors. It’s quite wonderful, indeed. 

So, welcome to our neighbor Pastor Hector! I’m excited to see what our journey together brings. 

Autumn is here

Carl Setzer

I’m seeing yellow leaves upon my car in the morning. The trees are showing shades of yellow and red within the green.

Soon the leaves will hit the ground with vigor. And the season’s work will commence.

I’m looking forward to things pumpkin, to sweaters, and the cool Autumn light.

Are you excited about in fall the way I am? What are most you looking forward to?

A new concept for me: smokestorm

Carl Setzer1 Comment

The greater Seattle area has been dealing with unhealthy air quality for the past few weeks. Smoke from wildfires, first from California then British Columbia has choked us. So Cliff Mass, a well regarded climate scientist from the University of Washington, coined the term”Smokestorm“. 

The air quality has impacted most of us. I don’t have any asthma issues, service felt the impact. Mostly that my chest has felt congested, and I get winded far more easily. People in vulnerable looks have her but much, much worse. 

The rain over the past few days, though light, has been welcome. Most of us, though, wanted a good, solid rain. First to clean the air, but also to help extinguish these fires. 

How have you dealt with the smokestorm? Hopefully you’ve been able to find ways to make life pleasant. I’d like to hear what you’ve learned, seen, felt. 

A Bruce Lee Quote To Get You Going

Carl Setzer
A Bruce Lee Motivational Quote
If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.

As someone who tends to think far too long before acting, this speaks deeply to me. I like to have everything answered and understood up-front. That risk-adverse nature, I suppose. It does paralyze in it’s excess.

There’s deep value in visualizing a project, break it into a series of tasks and understanding what it takes to complete. However, perfection is a fantasy. We’ll never know every possible detail that could arise. NEVER.

That’s the value of the agile methodology. Conceptualize, plan, start, evaluate, review the plan, adjust, restart. I love that. It keeps that paralysis under control.

*image from Dumb Little Man. Check them out!

Some bucket list items

Carl Setzer

Here are a few things I want to experience, but haven’t yet. Just a quick list of stuff that rattled out of my mind. What’s on your list? What do you recommend I add?

  • Wander the San Juans: I’ve ridden the ferry through the islands, but haven’t set foot in any of them
  • Visit the petrified forest 
  • Visit Jimi Hendrix ‘s grave 
  • Visit Bruce Lee’s, too
  • A photo expedition on Rainier 
  • One on Baker, too
  • Cross country ski trips to Winthrop & Yellowstone 
  • Bike across the state, Seattle to Spokane. Well, maybe Grey’s Harbor to Spokane. That would literally be across the state 

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, please consider liking this post and giving Not Just Seattle a follow. 

Death Cab for Cutie: “Gold Rush”

Carl Setzer

Death Cab for Cutie has it’s origins in western Washington. This song does a great job of capturing the current ethos in Seattle and the Puget Sound region, as this song is about Seattle (though this video was filmed in Los Angeles).

Anyway, I’ve had many moments of late like what Ben Gibbard’s lyrics describe. I lived nearly 10 years on Capitol Hill and First Hill. Anytime I’m there, now, I’m struck by how unfamiliar it all is. Yes, I celebrate progress, but also miss what once was.

 

Blogging, Strategy and the Need For Focus

Carl Setzer

​I love to write. I love blogging. Yet there are challenges. Distributing my focus lowers my effectiveness. That troubles me. And yet, though each site has meaning to me. But each site has costs, economic and otherwise. Every time I focus on one, I can’t focus on another.

I haven’t had an objective, much less a strategy on any of my sites. I love to write poetry, about Seattle, about sustainability, geek culture, about so very much. Each site has value to me. I hate the idea of neglecting one at the expense of another. Yet I also hate writing substandard stuff. I prefer to be proud of what I put on the internet.

This time in history has so many choices; a blizzard of potentials and possibilities. And I hate letting go of those potentials. Any of them. Yet I know that must be done to achieve ANY of them. How does one choose which baby to let die?

Perhaps overly dramatic, but it captured the sentiment I’ve been struggling with.

 

Some Strategic Thinking About My Blogging

Carl Setzer

I’m in yet another transition period. Compared to so many of my friends, I seem to spend more time reflecting on transitions than most. I like to think it’s my thoughtful nature, but it quite likely simply stems from my plethora of insecurities.

Today I fit in time for an evening walk. The heat made it a bit less delightful, but otherwise it was fantastic. Walks are times for me to get exercise. My mind gets clear, my head empties of the running rambling commentary echoing about my mental recesses.

While walking (and listening to Debbie Millman’s “Design Matters” podcast), I got to thinking about my different blogging platforms. For some time, I’ve felt I’ve overdone my blogging presence. So I’ve drawn back quite a bit. I’m now down to three sites: this one, Carl Setzer.com and QuestionsAll, my poetry blog. And now I struggle. Each site has cost, with hosting, domains and, of course, upkeep time. Each one has its own success. Poetry gets the most consistent readership, more WordPress followers, and far more “likes”, my main source of engagement. Not Just Seattle gets higher page views, at least for the more popular posts, and has the most subscribers. Then there’s my main site: CarlSetzer.com. It’s not the most well read of my sites, very few subscribers, but it’s my name. I guess that’s the most “me” there is. It’s the highest ranked page for my name on both Google and Bing (note: on Google, this site comes up on page 2, since this other Carl Setzer, who opened a brewing business in Beijing, getting featured in such publications as Forbes and Fortune, has stolen so very much of my SEO).

Each site gives me something, fills me with elements of joy. My personal challenge, though, is to streamline my sites. The goal: one site. I’m starting to think that’s a foolish dream. Yet I would like to lower my spend some. Of course, I could focus ways on making the sites cover their expenses. Hmmm….

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Do you prefer one of my sites over the others?

I do appreciate my readers oh so very much! You all mean the world to me.

Wishing each of you joy and peace.

A great respite in this dreary spring of Seattle’s discontent

Carl Setzer

Quite the lovely day, today, north of Seattle. A wonderful sunny and warm respite in this gloomy spring of our discontent.

We have a project slightly north of Marysville, right off of Centennial Trail. So most of my team took a walk this afternoon. A delightful way to spend an afternoon.

The site’s going to have great views of the Olympics and the valley north of Marysville. It’s a really fun project. Been creative with AutoCAD and laying out lots. Getting to the site and seeing the land, the layout and flow is much more powerful than topographical lines on my computer.

Lots of wins. Though I did spent a chunk of this evening dancing with CAD. In all, a productive day, just in unexpected ways.

A view along Centennial Trail
A lovely afternoon walk