Alan Fox

On weekends I like to watch sports on TV. My favorite is football, but until the football season begins in August, I enjoy watching other sports, including tennis.

Last Saturday morning I woke myself up early, at seven am, to watch the women’s finals at the French Open tennis tournament.

The match was already in progress when I turned it on. I was disappointed that second seeded Coco Gauff, the twenty-two-year-old American, had already lost the first set to her opponent, the top-seeded Sabalenka.

Coco would have to win two sets in a row if she were to prevail in this major tournament. But, under windy conditions, Coco thundered back to take the second set at 6-2, then the third set at 6-4. An excellent start for my weekend.

On Sunday Carlos Alcaraz, a handsome guy from Spain, was one of the two men’s finalists. Carlos can usually outplay anyone in the world, but he was equally matched in this final round by his top-ranked opponent with the intriguing name of J Sinner.  This time I tuned in shortly after six am, just as the Sunday match was beginning.

And quite a match it was.

Sinner won the first two sets 6-4 and 7-6. Alcaraz had previously lost all eight of the matches in which he’d fallen behind by two sets, so this did not look good for him. But I didn’t quite give up.

Alcaraz won the third set 6-4. At this point, alas, I had to leave my home to attend a meeting. Alcaraz would have to continue playing without me cheering him on, in what would become one of the longest finals in French Open history – more than five hours. Obviously both players were young and fit. As I was driving, Alcaraz eked out a win in the fourth set, 7-6. Now Alcaraz and Sinner were tied in an exhaustingly long match where the players were as even as they come.

Then the fifth and final set — winner take more. Throughout my meeting I surreptitiously followed progress on my iPhone sports app.

Ultimately, Alcaraz prevailed by the narrowest of margins, 7-6, in a tiebreaker. You may have seen the photo of Alcaraz lying on his back on the red clay court after he won the final point.

So through the example of Coco and Carlos this past weekend we learned, yet again, that even if we’re far behind, we can still prevail if we persevere.

I spent Sunday afternoon reading a new biography of Mark Twain (an excellent thousand-page volume).

That is, until the NBA playoff game began on TV at 5:00 pm.

Alan

P.S.  Actually, in the entire match, Sinner scored one point more than Alcarez.  It was that close.

I founded ACF Property Management, Inc. on March 1, 1968.

I submitted five names to the State registrar, but a clerk in Sacramento called to say that none was available. In those days we paid for long-distance telephone calls by the minute. Since the call was placed on the registrar’s dime, I used the time to ask about other possible names, which is how I landed on ACF.

Three or four years later I proposed to my business partner George that we begin to invest in commercial real estate.  We had been sharing profits 50-50 from our law practice, and I proposed the same for the new venture. He was dubious.
“Too much risk,” he said.

“George,” I said, “Between us, our net worth is $15,000. Suppose we take some risk and increase our net worth to a million dollars, and we keep it. That seems to be worth doing. Even if we lose everything, we would only be behind by $15,000.”

He remained dubious.

I went ahead by myself. In retrospect, the year 1968 was a great time to begin investing in Los Angeles real estate. Over several years I accumulated a portfolio of about 90 small Encino Park houses.  I paid about $17,000 for each house, with $2,000 down.

Fast forward a few years. I sold most of the houses to an investor friend of mine, who was happy to pay $51,000 for each house.

To save you the trouble, I’ll do the math. On an investment of $2,000 for each house the profit was about $34,000, for a total profit of slightly more than $3,000,000.

You read that correctly. A very nice profit. But George didn’t reap any of the profit because he refused to take any of the risk.

Twenty years later, by sheer coincidence, George was seated next to me on an airplane flight from Denver back to Los Angeles. Why had he been visiting Denver?  To look for commercial real estate.  Apparently, during the intervening years he realized that practicing law produces an income only when you are at work. An investment in real estate provides an income twenty-four hours a day — even when you’re sleeping.

As far as I’m concerned, we take risks every day. When we ride in an automobile. or accept a new job. A new relationship is a risk. Having a child is a risk.

So I conclude that taking risks is inevitable. That’s why my goal is not to eliminate risk, but to manage it as best I can. Generally, a reasonable risk is okay.

Of course, a little luck also helps, and I consider myself very lucky to have started investing in California real estate in 1968.

But luck only helps if you allow yourself to take a risk in the first place.

Just ask George.

Alan

On Sunday morning of Memorial Day weekend, I was sitting in our family room reading when I was struck by the thought, “What a beautiful day!”

The full panorama of the back yard was in Spring bloom. Blossoms on the Orange trees, new leaves on the Jacarandas, and songbirds fliting from branch to branch.

At that moment it occurred to me that there was nothing in my life that I had to do.   Emphasis on the verb HAD.

I have spent my entire life striving. Striving to socialize (kindergarten was traumatic), trying to keep quiet in boring classes, and always striving to excel in every endeavor.  I fashioned the fabric of my career from the threads of education, desire, and necessity. It has been a roller coaster ride.

I founded my company ACF Property Management, Inc. on March 1, 1968, and we have been in business every day since, though it has been years since I have worked on Saturday or, heaven forbid, on a Sunday. We currently manage more than forty retail shopping centers throughout the United States.  My biggest delight at the office is working with an experienced, talented, and dedicated staff.

And what has my time, education, and hard work created?

Very simply: this moment — the culmination of 85 years of my past, somehow crystallized into a perfect moment of enjoying the beauty of my back yard, untethered from either expectation or obligation.

It’s a pleasure for me to share this moment with you, along with my wish that both our lives are sparked and sparkled with hours of striving, followed by many more hours of enjoying the beauty that is within and all about us today, and every day.

There is beauty in a blade of grass.

Love,

Alan