A couple of weeks ago, I completed my first Spartan race in Lebec, California, which is about an hour and a half north of Los Angeles. Back in the day, I used to be a marathon runner and a triathlete, but it’s been 15 years since I last did any sort of organized, competitive endurance race. I wouldn’t really call my participation in this race competitive, but I did the race to get back on the health bandwagon and do something that was out of my comfort zone.

And now I’m hooked! I joined a Spartan training gym in Irvine called Fitness on Fire, which is, coincidentally, walking distance from an office condo that I sold in September, and I’ve signed up for my next race, which will be in the Inland Empire – January 28, at Glen Helen Park in San Bernardino. Let me know if you want to join me at that race, or if you’d like to join me for a training session in Irvine.

Just Sold!

I recently sold Chino Village, a fully occupied 20,000-square-foot shopping center with an additional 2.5 acres of undeveloped land. I originally listed this property for sale in March of 2022 and received several offers within the first week of putting it on the market. When we ran into a Phase 1 issue with a dry cleaner being on site, the offers disappeared. Later on, the City of Chino passed Measure Y, which will allow the land, which was previously zoned only for commercial use, to be used for residential purposes. Once that passed, we had renewed interest in the property again, and we eventually sold to an experienced commercial developer who plans to build multifamily units.

If you love being a landlord so much that you even want to do it for fun and not get paid for it, then this video game could be for you. It’s called The Tenants, and in this game, you act as a landlord of residential property. You start out as a handyman and work your way up to buy property, screen tenants, and deal with renovations.

You have to make decisions on whether to hire someone to fix a broken pipe, or try to save some money and do it yourself.  You also have to deal with tenants who are late on rent, or bad neighbors.  You can also trade up your properties, from a mobile home to a house to an apartment building.

If I had time to play video games, this actually sounds pretty fun to me.  If you have teenage kids who want to learn about owning real estate, this could be a good educational tool.  The developer is planning a follow-up game called The Constructors. which will include realistic interactions with city regulations, zoning codes, and evicting tenants in court.  Sounds like fun!  Maybe future releases will include the ability to own shopping centers.  If so, sign me up!

Target’s New Store Format

New Increased Transfer Tax on Property Sales in Los Angeles

Updates on the Metaverse

But most recently, the company Meta, more commonly known as Facebook, is facing challenges.  They recently laid off 11,000 people or 13% of their workforce, and many of the company’s workers believe that the company’s focus on the metaverse will eventually lead to its slow death.

Meta stock has lost two thirds of its value over the past year as ad revenue has declined, but it is still doubling down on the future of the metaverse.  Will they be correct?  Honestly, I am doubtful.  I’ve only used my 3D headset a handful of times since I bought it around February.  What are your thoughts?  Let me know if you think the metaverse is the future or if it was just overhyped.

Bad News for Office Real Estate