Living & Working In The USA

 

Let’s start this page with pictures of South Beach around 1992!

 

• What an amazing PLACE back then! I absolutely fell in love with South Beach back then. Now it is a very different place and the vibe is also different, but then again, things have CHANGED almost everywhere. I am sure it is still a great place to visit and even live.

• The Beach at its best. I am sure that some will say, that it was when THEY were there, whenever that was!
• For me, it was in the early nineties. The mid-eighties were, as far as I was told also interesting.
• In the early nineties, which was the time, when I was there, the MULTI-CULT I  was so diverse that on one side were the model shoots on a weekly, or even daily basis, but seeing old couples and older folks hanging out all over south beach, was also great to see!
• The fact that the rich, the poor, the famous, and the ordinary people were hanging out on South Beach at the same time, was great!

 

• There were also many CUBAN Coffee places, where you could have a breakfast with Cuban coffee, 2 eggs any style, toast, and marmalade for $ 1,99 was great.
• The variety of restaurants was really nice, and every month another restaurant opened its doors!

 

My 1st Arrival In The US on January 09.1992

 

Well, it was actually my 2nd arrival in the US.

My or our (my parents and me) 1st arrival in the US, which was in New York, on Sept.24.1978.

 

 

But this arrival was the first for me, on my own, on Jan.9.1992. This day I will as well never forget!

 

• So what was so special about this day? Well, it was one of those LIFE-CHANGING moments. Have You Ever Had One?
• I was still living in Palma De Mallorca, at this time, and when I landed, went thru immigration and airport security, which was a breeze at the time. I went to pick up my rental car, which I rented for 2 weeks. When I sat in that rental car, a Mercury Cougar 2 door, turned on the radio, a Rock and Roll station was playing Brian Adams, I believe, and the sun was shining.

 

In THAT MOMENT I Knew I was going to live in Miami!

That was an amazing moment. To feel FREE, in the land of the Brave and the Free !! I can not describe it any other way.

But how did I know that I would live here, even though I had NO IDEA what I will do for work! Well, let us just say, that I had 2 ways of doing that.

 

1.  The 1st option was this: IF I could NOT find any work, or an Opportunity as an Entrepreneur then I would spend at least 3-5 months every winter in Miami, and the remaining time I would continue to live time in Spain.
2. Option 2 was that, IF I would FIND WORK, I would just move to Miami ASAP. ( Which I did )

 

As my brother decided to join me on this VACATION, which it was, but only for half the time, we both decided to move to Miami, once we figured out WHAT and HOW we will work, or in other words, how we could and would support ourselves and pay the bills.

 

We both enjoyed endless nights of partying on South Beach for about 2 weeks. After that, we went on the road to find out IF we can actually do something to make some money.

Well, to make a long story short, we found something that WE knew would or should work. Of course, we KNEW, that there were NO guarantees, so we took our chances. As in Life, there are usually also No Guarantees!

• In these 2-4 weeks, I also met my girlfriend Mara. We met in THE SPOT. A bar/nightclub on south beach at the time was owned by Mickey Rourke. I saw her, we talked, went out and she was my girlfriend for the next 9 years or so!

 

• After flying back to Spain, at the end of January of 1992, I sold all my stuff, got an International moving company to ship my personal belongings, and arrived again in Miami on March 07.1992.

 

Both me and my brother had NO Green card, NO work permit, and absolutely no idea, if our plan would succeed! How crazy is that? We both left everything behind to start a NEW LIFE in Miami. We both had some money, but that would only last for about 6-12 month. So we really had to get going with our idea.

 

• I have to call it an IDEA, since NOBODY ever before tried this in the US, and we were the pioneers of this.

 

• WHAT was it, you are asking. Well, we decided to do basically the same thing we both did in Germany before and what I did in Spain.
• We organized SALES PRESENTATIONS. But this time in Florida. So how do you get German-speaking tourists to attend a sales presentation, while on VACATION? Simple, but it took some time to figure that out.

 

• Not to bore you with all the details, but we organized a BUS tour to the biggest OUTLET MALL in Florida, which at the time was SAW GRASS MILLS MALL. This mall is so BIG, (2,3 Million Square Feet!) that one day is just not enough, but you will find what you are looking for! From Prada to electronics, everything is there! So what do tourists from all over the world want to do when in Miami? SHOP until you drop. And that’s exactly where we took them, and they enjoyed and loved it.

 

UNFORTUNATELY about one year into this venture, which was really working well for us, something happened at the end of 1992, beginning of 1993. Not really 100% sure about the timeline anymore, but it was devastating for us, and the entire tourist industry in Florida, for years to come!

 

This Is What Happened:

Tourists arriving from Europa usually rented a RENTAL CAR. Unfortunately, these rentals were so easy to spot, due to their unique license plate configuration, that a RENTAL CAR was sticking out from all other cars, like a PINK elephant in the Zoo.

These rentals were now the pray for mostly black people who followed them from the Airport, stopped them on the freeway at gunpoint, robbed them and some even got shot and killed!

 

The real sad part was for us, that within 2-3 months, all the folks killed were from Germany! So it took the German media not even 1 month to tell all Germans to NOT FLY to Florida, but to especially avoid MIAMI! It’s not safe, and you just might be robbed, shot, and killed if you go! And that destroyed our business within only several months.

 

 

So NOW WHAT? All our work & money that we invested, in setting up this business was now gone! It just stopped working, since no more German-speaking tourists came to Miami, at least for the next 3-5 years. Well keep on reading and you will find out what TRUE Entrepreneurs can do.

 

How did we get our Work Visas and solved the Immigration issue?

• Well, that is pretty simple really. We found a really GOOD Immigration Attorney. His name was Richard J.Lind. His office was and still is in Coconut Grove.
• BEFORE we started to work and open up bank accounts, we did our DUE DILIGENCE on what we could do, but also we consulted an immigration lawyer on HOW we would do it.
• He became a dear friend of mine, and if you need a really good immigration attorney, please contact him. I am not getting any kickback by telling you this, but if you have any immigration problems, do consult him. If he can not help you, then chances are nobody can.
• We first entered the US LEGALLY and were allowed for 3 months. In that time our Attorney started to work on our Work Visas, got us a 3-month extension, and within those 6 months we got Visas.
• He got both of us, a 5 year E-1 Visa, which is extremely difficult to get. This allowed us to stay and work in the US for 5 years. We both received our SS number, and had basically all the benefits of a Green card, or US Citizen, except we could NOT vote.

 

After our business collapsed and we were forced to do something else, the E-1 was still good. If the business works or not, fails or succeeds, it does not affect the Visa status.

At least not until it is time to renew it. Only then you have to figure something out, which I of course we did.

 

So WHAT did we do next?

Good Questions, since many months of work and a lot of money, was put into our Sawgrass mills business. The answer to that question is based on what was going on at that time in South Beach!

 

• In the early 90s, South Beach was on its way to be a very TRENDY place to live.( And it certainly is an expensive place now! Trendy…for some, I guess.) So Real Estate was getting more and more expensive to buy every week! I am not kidding you. Properties on South Beach, in the Art Deco District, were going up in price weekly. So after, a few weeks we decided to look into buying a building on South Beach

 

• We looked for about 3-6 Weeks, and finally found a beautiful Art Deco building on the corner of

  

  12th street and Drexel Ave. This was right next to City Hall, and across the Police station of South Beach.

 

• We absolutely LOVED the location and the building. It was only one block from Washington Ave., and 3 blocks from Ocean Drive. One block to the gym and everything within walking distance, except EPICURE MARKET, a Jewish Deli on 1656 Alton road, which had the most amazing fruits, vegetables, meats, cheeses and ready to eat STUFF that you can imagine! Unfortunately it closed its doors, due to a lawsuit in 2017.
• Please read more here. This was a VERY SAD moment for me. To learn that the one place that I LOVED to go to, is closed now, WOW a sad day for South Beach, where CHANGE happens so fast, you don’t even have time to react in any way, other than just be amazed, and ask WHY?

 

• LINCOLN ROAD was and still is a MUST-see and visit if you are on South Beach. Great restaurants with really GOOD FOOD and the best place, other than Ocean Drive for people watching!
• I can not recommend a restaurant, since I pretty much never ate anything bad, so just go for what you are craving for! Here is a place that, IF YOU LIKE BOOKS, back then was great and to this day still is.
• Books & Books on Lincoln road. Here is their website.
• They also opened a Cafe there, and it seems like their food is really delicious! So please try it, and let me know! Here is their website.

 

We bought the building as a family. We wanted to restore it to its full glory when it was built in 1942.

Both I and my brother moved into two separate apartments since we wanted to be on-site when the renovation started.

We started renovation shortly after we moved in. We renovated our own apartments first then talked about how much we would have to spend ( It is always much MORE than you think) and how long it would take to get it done and have a return on our investment.

 

• By the way, if you are wondering how much we spend then I will only say this. My own apartment was sold in 2002 for approx. $245,000 was on the market again in 2017 for I believe $545,000! We paid for the whole building a bit more, but not much more.
• We were going to spend an additional $100,000 for upgrading windows, ACs, paint, and some electrical work, and in the end, it took us almost  $300,000 to get the job done, due to a greedy and evil, and untrustworthy partner we had, by the name of Mallory.
• He was the real estate agent, (which he still is!) who sold us the building, and instead of paying him his commission, we gave him his percentage of his commission in the company that owned the building.
• By the way, that was his idea! Many years later, I found out why he proposed that, and by the time I found out, another 42 entities filed a lawsuit against him. But, it was already TOO LATE for me!

 

I will REGRET this decision for the rest of my life, since not only took the building, not 1-2 years to get done but almost 7 years to be renovated and all units to be sold. It was also  Mallory who deceived us, and MANY other investors. He took our TRUST ( Yes, stupid us, you are right) and took advantage of us since we did not know about this kind of renovation and its laws, rules, and regulations!

In the end, we also got sewed by the condo association, who just did what THEY believed was the right thing to do, for no other reason, only to FU.. with the developer, which was us. A lawyer we met and consulted on this matter told us that we made ONE crucial mistake when we started to pursue this venture and convert/sell condos.

The lawyer told us that it is not; IF WE GET SEWED, but WHEN we get sewed by the condo association as developers!!!

 

• The National Sport of the US is not Basketball nor Baseball, it is filing a lawsuit against ANYBODY who has or seems to have money! If it is RIGHTEOUS or not, who cares.

 

 

 

• Overall we lost 7 years of our lives, and on top barely made the money back we invested, while we should have made at least a healthy profit. We did not and we LOST!

 

The Lesson To Be Learned Here Is As Follows:

• If you do any kind of venture or business that involves money to be invested or spend in excess of $10,000, please consult an attorney, and find out, what the WORST CASE scenario would be!
• That way, you are prepared for the worst, just in case, it happens. Or decide to step back and do something different. Sure, IF you are a woman or a man, who works for the US Postal service, or has a regular JOB, with a Salary, you probably won’t have to worry about getting a LAW Suit filed against you.
• So, if you do make or do any kind of business in the USA, form an LTD. or CORP. first, consult a lawyer or even better two, and then decide what to do.
• My advice to you. I had to learn the hard way and lost a lot of TIME and money.
• The ONLY thing that kinda still bothers me is, HOW can this real estate guy, Mallory still be in business? Amazing!!!

 

About one year after Sept.11.2001, I moved to Germany, since my Dad wanted to sell his company, but in reality, he wanted me to take charge of his picture business, that he build for over 30 years. Since I lost so much money in Miami, my girlfriend Mara, split up with me, for a good reason, or it was just meant to be, I wanted and needed a change, so I decided to move to Munich, Germany. A beautiful City, in which I did spend 7 years as a child, but never really discovered its beauty before. So I moved AGAIN, and left South Beach, a place which I loved, and thought, I would never leave.

• So much to write and tell about, that I almost forgot to write about…

 

Another amazing story happened while I was actually in for 6 months in Germany since I wanted to visit my parents and take a look at my Dad’s business if I really wanted to do it.

 

So I was in Germany around June 2011. On Sept.11.2011. I was at my parent’s house, watching TV, and

all of a sudden watched the TWIN Towers burning and eventually collapsing! I was probably, like most people around the world watching this, in shock! I could NOT believe what I saw. It was a horrible moment. Terrorists? NO. The truth is far from it.

I do not want to get into this, but I did visit someone in Tower One, while in NEW YORK, and all I can tell you, is these towers did NOT collapse because a couple of airplanes flew into them. One of the Architects who worked on the towers said.

Even if 4-6 planes simultaneously crashed into them, they would still NOT collapse, since they were built like a spider’s web! Anyway there are many more facts about this horrible event, that prove, it was not a terrorist act, but I am sure you can figure that out yourself.

 

• The actual story I do want to talk about at this point since it’s like a science fiction thriller.

 

It began, when I rented out my apartment for those 6 months, while I was in Germany.

It was not easy, since not too many people need a place on South Beach in the summer.

I did get a prestigious and well-known real estate company involved since I needed to rent my place, while I was away for 6 months. Mortgage and other expenses were running and bills kept on coming, while I would be away.

 

• Eventually, or pretty much at the last minute, the agency (honestly I forgot the name) found a person. A mature single male, who needed a place for 6 months and was willing to pay the rent of $2000 a month, since it was fully furnished!
• His name, I will NEVER forget Eddie Shehab, from Tunisia. He was, as far as the agency told me, in the Oil business. All good so far, right?

 

• After calling and texting the Agency, and him about the initial deposit of 3 months, he finally made a deposit into my checking account at Citibank. Pretty much at the last minute. One month went to the Agency as a commission.

 

I flew to Germany and while I was there, his first rent was due on the 1st of the month, which he never paid! Yep, this guy never paid his rent again. The fact that I was in Germany, also meant, that I could not do that much.

 

• To make a very very long story short: When I returned from Germany, I got a phone call from the FBI. Yep, THE FBI. They asked me, if Eddie was a tenant of mine, and wanted to talk to me.

 

The next thing I know, an FBI and a Secret Service Agent were at my door.

They asked me a bunch of questions, and I gave them whatever Eddie left behind in my Apartment, he FLED only 3-4 weeks into his lease of 6 months! The FBI said that Eddie was involved in the 9/11 attack !!! Wow, I thought.

 

• Did I forget to mention that the Agency never did a CREDIT CHECK on this guy? Yep, the guy was a CON ARTIST and somehow avoided that step. The Agency never told me that, so I at least got my one-month commission back from them.

Ups almost forgot another small detail. When I left for Germany, my 525i BMW was left at the building, and my keys and other personal belongings were locked away in a separate closet with a deadbolt on it. Eddie broke into it, took my keys, and STOLE my car!

 

• I did file a stolen vehicle report with the Police, and they arrested him in New York while driving my BMW. He got out on bail. I guess the cops there had NO IDEA, who they were dealing with. When I flew back to the states, I flew to NY, since my car was longer in Miami, but in NY. I had to go in front of a Judge since the car had about $2500 worth of parking violations on it! Those I did not have to pay since I reported the car stolen. Sorry NYC parking division, well not really.

 

• When I picked up my car, in the suburbs of NY, and saw my 525i, I cried! It was horrible to lock at. It was banged up, with scratches everywhere, and inside was a disaster too!
• I did drive it back to the Beach and SOLD it for peanuts. Eddie Shehab ended up costing me well over $20,000 in UN-paid rent and damages!!

 

• Ups, did I forget to mention, wait for it….wait for it…Eddie Shehab,  somehow PAID his cell phone bill with my money and my account at Citibank. This was several months after the visit of the FBI. So this con artist was still out there! The $ 1000 cell phone bill was paid with my money! He only had my account number and the routing number. Asked Citibank HOW this was possible, but I never got an answer from them!

 

• Eventually, after numerous affidavits and 5-6 months later, but only with threats from me to Citibank, I got my $1000 back from the bank.

 

One Of My Best And Smartest Investments In My Life:

One of the BEST and smartest things I did or better bought, or let’s call it a WISE Investment, while I lived in Miami, was to buy a Rolex. Yep, you are reading right, it was a great Investment. Besides being a beautiful watch and a timeless masterpiece, it was a great investment!

WHY, you might ask? That is only IF you ever thought of buying a watch for more than 1000 US, or Euro. If this thought, never crossed your mind, it will never happen, since first of all, you need the money to buy it, but foremost, you need to SEE the beauty of this WATCH. It is a TIMELESS masterpiece!

 

• It’s just NOT, just a watch!!! It’s something that people who OWN a Rolex, can understand, and the ones who never had one, will just not. Its that simple.

 

• Owning and wearing a REAL Rolex, gives you a feeling, that I can not really describe since the one I own is just not really recognizable by most people. In the last 23 years I had it, only 2 people said something about it, that knew it was a Rolex. One of them was a young teenager, not older than 16, and when he asked me about it, I told him it was fake…why you may ask? Because only I need to know that its a real one.

 

• I am not wearing it to show off, or to pretend to be someone else, or to be “SOMEONE”…nope, sorry readers. I bought this watch to REWARD myself for the many years of hard work in my life, and for what I have achieved at that moment in my life.
  

 

It was a GIFT to myself, from myself, since I thought the TIME was right to get a Rolex! I EARNED it.  I was 33 years old, and it was my own money, which I worked hard for, so I bought it. To this day, I LOVE my watch,  just like the day, when I bought it. Not only diamonds are your BEST FRIEND…

 

• You might now ask, why was this an investment? Easy explanation: When I bought the Rolex in the mall, called Bal Harbour, at Tourneau, I remember the salesperson, his name was Robert Katz, who said to me:  “I should buy another one, ( he meant, for my girlfriend..she was with me in the store) since it would be a good investment over time. Prices would only increase “!
• Sad to say, I did not listen to him. Even I would have, the 2nd Rolex, I would have bought for my girlfriend at the time, would NOT be mine anymore… It would have been hers, and considering all the money I spend in our 9-year relationship, it would just be A LOSS for me.

 

But Robert would have been right!

I paid for my Rolex in 1996, it was a DATEJUST, with a white-gold bezel, but all steel, the amount of  US 2556.- TODAY, the same watch is worth easily the same amount, if I needed to sell it fast!

But, If I would take my time, depending on the country I am in, I could also get up to $ 3500.- for it, or maybe even a bit more. In an emergency situation, I would always have a VALUE.

This situation, you have seen many times in movies,( TAKEN-with Liam Neeson, where he gives his Rolex to the girl who saved his life…)  and when you travel as much as I used to do, you never KNOW, what might happen, and credit cards have NO value at all. Who knows, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most other watches lose money over time, not a Rolex, at least in most cases.

The Rolex Daytona, which was owned by Paul Newman, was sold in 2018 for $ 17.752 Million US Dollars!!

Unbelievable or not? Sure, Paul Newman was a very well know actor, but 17,8 Million for a Rolex? Well, that is what I call a great investment since I am sure that whoever SOLD the watch to the Auction house, paid a lot less for it.

 

 

 

That is folks! Other stories about South Beach, NYC you can find in my Blog. Hope you enjoyed these stories of MY Life!

 

just in case you are wondering what I have been up to in the past years…well here it is.

I created this website that helps people to sleep…or just click on the picture below:

I just HOPE that it will help you as well and you will recommend it to your friends and other people who you know who have sleeping issues. Thanks.

A subject that millions of people all around the world have problems with. Sleep disorders or another name for it: insomnia.

 

 

Here is a company ASEA GLOBAL LLC which is based in the USA, specifically in Utah.

Their Ethos is: Believe. Belong. Become.

They have helped thousands of people all around the world with their products, which by the way have NO competition.

Their product is so unique that many in the medical field do not believe that this product really works. But a FB page called ASEA Healthy Self, with over 193,000 members who give their testimonials can not be wrong.

But please check it out yourself. Please write me a short email requesting to be a member, since you need a simple INVITE from a member, which can be anybody, or me.

Here is one of their amazing product. You can find more information on their website, which has a ton of information on it. This is the link  HERE.