Richard really felt the need to use my skills and time in his business to help him rather than to be helping other people all the time. He was always urging me to get my Real Estate License. I had resisted as long as I could. When he opened an office of Jones Mortgage in a building not far from our home in La Jolla, he really needed me to commit to being there full-time. I took my first class in Real Estate in April 1980. It was called "Creative Financing in a Tight Money Market" and I completed Anthony School's "Real Estate License Course" in November 1980.
Richard had also gotten into Help U Sell as a way to do the real estate side of the foreclosures on their investment properties for their clients.
Because of all the foreclosures, there was a need to bring in another type of income and Richard was trying to figure that out. He had traveled to Florida to learn about brokering and he finally brought in a woman to lead them in that direction. She was charming and knowledgeable about one certain type of loan called the Wrap and used me to type and do things for her. I still had hope I could help out a little and then go back home. Before I knew it, I had learned too much and there would be no going back...I was definitely in the loan business. I was not in charge of the A paper loans which go to banks, etc. instead of private individuals.
Richard wrote a letter to his brother Martin in June of 1981 and spelled out our family and business situation:
Dear Martin and Kathy:
... Economic pressures of interest rates and competition in our business are changing the business dramatically. I am trying to find where we fit. It is harder to do business on a profitable basis and we are getting more loans with foreclosure properties. We have several properties we are taking over through foreclosure sales. This is a new dimension of our business that we haven't done before. We are still solvent.
I have a lot of family in the business. Family members in the business is a double edge sword. It is advantageous to have them available so that I can give them direction, but it also places more responsibility on me to make sure they are successful. I've got Matt Hardy, Linda Hardy, Maria Hardy, John Hardy, Janet Hardy and Richard Stevens who are working in the business. Vaughn Leavitt is still here and he has his niece from Las Vegas here for a few weeks for the summer. She is also working in the business, I don't know how long we can keep it up, but it certainly keeps us involved.
Janet works in the business every day. It seems our time is well taken.
Let us know how you are doing, and how your children are faring.
John and Jennifer bought a spec house on foreclosure in Escondido. I thought we could get in and out really fast, but it turned out to be more of a problem that we thought. Now we are trying to get our money out.
Love, Richard
