I support my family

Applying to College
21

<p>because my dad doesn't do english, he moved here 3 years ago from hong kong</p>

<p>i have to basically translate and decide everything for him, including reading the contracts and details on real estate, then talking and making deals with agents and tenants. i also have to order material for rehabilitation, bc my dad knows nothing about computers</p>

<p>so basically he just signs stuff</p>

<p>i know this sounds stupid and unbelievable, but i'm just wondering what i should do
and maybe i do exaggerateee my role a little, i wouldnt say i "entirely own and run" a business and make 70k a year.</p>

22

<p>whoa..how did ur dad start this real estate business in the first place if he doesnt know enough english? kinda sketchy here.</p>

23

<p>bc this is a family business, and i read the LCC registration form to start it haha :)
and, he started it just so we can cut taxes on stuff (eg. cars). but we can do real estate investment with/or without the actual company business name</p>

24

<p>Sol et's piece this together. Your father came over from hong kong with money to invest in real estate yet your parents work in factories? During the hours when business is transacted you have been both at school and running this business? Do you have extensive ECs too? And you havn't answered how you filed for financial aid, do you show your income, assets and savings?</p>

25

<p>It seems odd to me, ( I have my real estate license) that someone is allowed to sign a contract they can't read. It would be the EASIEST contract to break, because a minor child did the translation and negotiation. I know of no reputable person who would knowingly negotiate with a minor child. Period. So the making of deals is frankly unbelievable. If I was reading that, I would not believe you. I do know many kids help parents translate for doctors, schools, and such, but a real estate deal? How does the other party know you are telling your father all the important information. And the fact he CANNOT READ A CONTRACT means it is very tenuous. All your dad would have to say is that he didn't understand. Not that it would necessarily get him out of it, but why take the chance with a minor who can't even legally make a contract, negotiating on.</p>

26

<p>ok</p>

<p>umm, ok </p>

<p>yea my parents came from hong kong w/ money to invest</p>

<p>my parents work at factories for day time job (security/benefits)
after that, they invest in houses, after school (and job, for them), they take me with them downtown, maybe once, twice a week or something</p>

<p>this business does not need to be "run"
it is a "busieness" b/c it is merely a way to pay a lot less taxes and more organized and stuff
I can do everything without having the business registered
It's just investing and buying property</p>

<p>the process is, just basically
-look for houses online/from agents/ see which is good
-buy them, rehabilitate them
then, invest in them ie. rent them
or, sell them, for short, quick money</p>

<p>my ECS:</p>

<p>piano, accompanist/teacher/awards
violin, concertmaster/assis. conductor/awards/teacher
academic team captain, awards/events
speech and debate captain
webdesign team captain/manager/teacher
chess club cofounder
XC team
Swim team varsity, maybe captain
Robotics club founder
Community service club
FBLA
DECA
Talented Gifted group/National Honrso society/French Honors society/orientation manager</p>

<p>St. loius chinese language school stuff (STLCLS)
full scholarhships and awards
Lion dance team captain, fundraised a lot of $$ and stuff, and teach to little kids
martial arts student and teacher</p>

<p>work experience:
chinese restaurant
helped my dad start a company in real estate (he doesn tknow english)
-i help him do contracts/rent houses to people, main source of income
volunteer at a hospital
founder/president of organization that helps seniors about technology</p>

<p>misc.
skipped 4 courses in high schol
navy camp
conservation camp for 1 month
Teaching internship (education stuffs)
tutor people english in hong kong
formed an organization in hong kong..clothing drive for villages in mainland china</p>

<p>that's some of my mains tuff on myresume, but briefly, i'm gonna go ellaborate a lot more, etc.</p>

<p>and i havent filed the financial aid form yet...i'm a junior</p>

<hr>

<p>citygirlsmom:</p>

<p>the contracts are not anything bill gates tricky stuff
it's sales contracts/inspection contracts/tenant contracts
most forms are standard, and we dont do humongous business</p>

<p>we just buy apartments, and play with them
buy, sell, rent, buy sell rent, etc.</p>

<p>well, i gues they dont "negotiate with me"
i'm a middle man, in case my dad doesnt understand what people are saying, i can tell him, and he basically makes the decisions
but my dad basically does rely on me to translate some parts of contracts
also, we have chinese agents that help us with transactions</p>

27

<p>so yes, technically, on my colelge resume
i wouldnt say "I run the company"
i would say "I help my dad with the company' , then explain in my essays how</p>

28

<p>
[quote]
i'm a 1st gen at one of the top schools in the state, and i'm asian.
and my parents make 40k a year in a factory. BUT, I run a company that makes another 70k a year. How would that be counted, when looking at income?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Chanman, It seems like you are getting reading to borrow your self a world of trouble onthe financial aid front (even if your parents make $40,000 at the factory and $70,000 from the business that you run, your parents should be filing taxes on these businesses, or could you be acting in concert with them in evading the payment of taxes) and the possibility of lyining on your applications (which will land you in to the college of no where)</p>

<p>I am with Citygirlsmom, as a minor you can not legally make contracts.</p>

29

<p>I owned and operated a company that offered online services, had 8 employees, couple thousand dollars in assets, etc. and put it down on my application, as well as wrote one of the essays about it. I was neither 18 at the time, nor was I a registered business (you think I'm going to pay taxes?), but I have a long list of customer references and paperwork to back it all up. Still, I know that the experience I gained is a hell of a lot more realistic and useful than the crap they teach in college, and I believe it will give me an edge in admissions. Maybe it won't - I dunno. But they can take it or leave it. I would encourage you to put it down because I found running a business fun and challenging (on most days at least - some days it just SUCKED) - and it is definately something that not everybody has.</p>

<p>Have a few references on hand, and give them to your interviewer or include with your application (which is what I did with my resume), and I think you will be fine.</p>

30

<p>
[quote]
I owned and operated a company that offered online services, had 8 employees, couple thousand dollars in assets, etc. and put it down on my application, as well as wrote one of the essays about it. I was neither 18 at the time, nor was I a registered business (you think I'm going to pay taxes?)

[/quote]
</p>

<p>One of those crappy things that they teach you in college is Business ethics</p>

31

<p>Maybe they should teach those to the politicians instead, and tax rich people some more</p>

<p>I worked 30 hours a week to make enough money to invest into the business, which I spent another 60 hours a week working on, and often was up till 4am in the morning, when I had to be up at 6am for school. I think that when executives who make $500mil a year put a little more effort in, I'll start paying.</p>

<p>I should note that my profit margin was VERY VERY slim, and that I had just as many months with a profit as I did without, and in the end lost about $1000</p>

32

<p>I use an old desktop as a server and delegate web space. i make a third of minimum wage if we pretend I spend 10 hours a week doing this. It is hard to do all of the stuff while balancing it with school and other clubs - meanwhile, you are saying that your business is REAL ESTATE (which involves licensing - something your non-english speaking parents may not have) and rehabilitating old buildings. Do you drive from site to site? Do you buy and sell property? Why would anyone negotiate with a minor in regards to buying estate? People in my neighborhood work in developmental real estate, and its a full time job.</p>

<p>Chanman, you said you RAN a family real estate business - meanwhile you are doing all of this other stuff too. You are already saying that you only work on it to a lesser degree than you originally stated. How many hours do you spend a week doing this? Your story sounds iffy - outline exactly how it works. Do you sign the contracts? Do you make the contracts? How do you find customers? Do you run advertising? Or are you making this extremely exagerated?</p>

33

<p>yes, i drive all around downtown after school lol, maybe like 2-3 times a week, just to look for houses</p>

<p>and yea, i think that is true, i over exaggerated when i said i "own and run the entire business" sry about the confusion</p>

<p>what i meant to say is that i am a big part of the business. it's just me and my dad, and we share about the same amount of workload</p>

<p>it depends on the "hours" because everything is different from time to time
ok, i'll outline it out</p>

<p>i go online and get emails from agents, websites, and find property
then, i personally drive downtown with my dad, arrange appointments with agents, and discuss the properties
once the property and dealings are done and stuff, and i made everything clear so my dad can understand, my dad signs the contracts, all of them
then, we have our handyman people, and i call them up and say when they can work on the apartments to fix them up. my dad'll do the specifics (he's a handyman)
after that's all done, i'll either 1. sell it or 2. post a sign saying for rent
theres really no advertising or anything
it's in downtown city, so ppl just drive by all the time
If i sell it, again, my dad will make basic desicions, and i'm the middle man, he always signs. but during the process, i get really involved too
if i put a sign up to rent it, ppl will start calling my house, and i'll arrange appointments with them to see the house and stuff. Then they put deposits/credit check/etc... All the documents , still signed by my dad
and then, once they're living, it's set, but there are sometimes inspections. Those are simple, and dont take brain power
then when there are problems with tenants, i'll write letters to them, call them, and try to solve the issues. usually, there will be many problems on housing, plumbing, electricity, etc. So my dad will know how to fix them up/know the people that can because he's a handyman</p>

<p>then the cycle repeats...
that's basically it
there are no "customers" or "advertising"
it's just a property investment, not realy a business</p>

34

<p>but the decision making is almost always confirmed and decided by my dad, and i make no final judgements, even if i do advise him on certain things</p>

35

<p>I like the progression of your stories: how it started off with you admantantly stating that you run a real estate company that brings in 70k a year while your parents slave away at some factory and justify it with a tax evasion reason to how you ended up saying that what you do is "not realy [sic] a business." Exaggeration on a college application that makes adcoms think BS? Definitely.</p>

36

<p>it does bring in 70k, and they do work at factories, just for the benefits
and yes, the company "name" (why we had to make it a company) is truly for tax evasion purposes and other little stuff, like more organization, more trust, etc
and yea, it's not really a business</p>

<p>it's personal investment</p>

37

<p>I wouldn't say you support your family. My friend supports his family: He is the sole source of income (other than his dad's disability check {cancer}).</p>

38

<p>yea, i wouldnt directly say i "support my familiy"
i'm going to put down that i help my dad, because i think saying that being the manager of the company is going too far</p>

39

<p>um, back to the original intent of this thread - how about remaining objective rather than beating up on the guy?</p>

40

<p>The role you outline now is more believable. There are still some things that don't add up though. In almost no market can you rent a home you just bought at a profit. Also, your father must have incredibly deep pockets to be able to just keep buying investment real estate. People that wealthy usually aren't going to work in factories for benefits. So be careful what you tell colleges.</p>

<p>You do realize that all of those rental properties will be looked at in the financial aid equasion.</p>