SpencerBarron.com

Google “RPG”, and your first hits will be about role playing games. But before there were Role Playing Games, there was RPG (Report Program Generator). This was the name of a computer programming language developed in the 1960’s by IBM. It was designed to generate reports (thus the name) in a terse, simple way. It used a cycle of input, process and output that was built into the language, so that you did not have to issue formal instructions to the computer to read the data files; you just described the file using fixed -format File specifications and Input specifications, entered the necessary Calculation specifications, then output the report in the format described in the Output specifications. Your humble correspondent, without a lick of Computer Science education, learned the language (RPG II) from the manager of a small RPG shop (in a class he held in his kitchen) well enough to write non-trivial programs in a matter of weeks (one class per week). It was easy.

Today, that language has become RPGIV, reflecting continuing enhancements that make it an extremely effective language for manipulating data. You will not likely use it to write an operating system or make pictures dance around on your screen, but computers used by tens of thousands of businesses have it as their base computer language, generating reports and entering and displaying data.

The future of RPG today, though, is in doubt, even though programs totaling billions of lines of code are running today on hundreds of thousands of machines. This is a reflection of the state of computer science today, as well as an example of the fact that, too often, what is often serviceable and effective is set aside.for what is fashionable.

In programming, the fashion today is centered around the Web, and languages associated with the Web - Java, Perl, Python, Ruby, C++, Visual Basic, Javascript, and so on - visually oriented languages, for the most part. Can RPG do the Web? Yes, but you have to jump through hoops to make it work. There is no facility in RPG that allows it to use HTML as effortlessly as its customary screen display files. And there are forms of RPG from IBM and ASNA that resemble VB and Java with their Windows displays, but they are by no means nearly as ubiquitous as VB. The kids learn VB or teach themselves Java or C- they do not learn RPG. It is not sexy; RPG is like its cousin COBOL - they are functional business languages, but Windows and Web processing have to be grafted onto them to work on Windows or the Web. RPG can be used in conjunction with Java on the AS/400; it works quite well to use Java for the user interface and RPG for the core business logic; but people tend want to forget the RPG and use something (anything) else.

In short, all RPG has going for it is that it works. It runs on a machine (the AS/400 or iSeries or Series i) with a database (DB2) incorporated into the hardware- no extra database software, though it can run SQL (and RPG can call and run SQL statements). The operating system (OS/400) makes even Linux seem to run flaky by comparison, without the need for systems administrators, and the machine it runs on seems to run forever. There is no such thing as the “blue screen of death”; at least, I haven’t seen one in almost 30 years. (For a long time, Microsoft ran its business on the AS/400, well into the latter half of the 1990’s.) RPG can call C++ and Java programs, and they can call RPG routines. It can also run HTML, with a little bit of extra effort.

Perhaps RPG and the AS/400 are too good at what they do. You can run 35-year old RPG programs unchanged using RPGIV. (Try running 1980’s vintage GWBASIC programs unchanged using VB. It likely will not be easy, perhaps not even possible.) Planned obsolescence is not implemented, as what seems to be true in the programs of Microsoft and other software producers. (And frankly, I believe IBM has done the right thing, purely on principle. Programming should be done to benefit those who pay for it to be done, not to entertain the programmer. Change the program if you need to improve or fix it, not just for the sake of change.)

RPG is being taught by very few schools; some community colleges have given up on their RPG-AS/400 courses due to lack of interest. Few new programmers are being educated. The RPG programming population is getting grayer and grayer. Though it can be used quite elegantly to produce powerful data-crunching programs, the young are not learning it. Crunching data is not entertaining. On RPG forums the topic of the future of RPG is argued quite violently; perhaps it will survive as long as people care about it. It would be a shame to see vast numbers of programs rewritten because people no longer care to use this highly functional language.

I find it difficult to believe computer science grads find it difficult to learn a language that I could learn in a very short time under less than ideal conditions. (I typed my first programs into the computer on 96-column punch cards and fed them into a card reader.) I have read opinions of obviously educated people who feel that the RPG logic cycle and the use of RPG “level break” handling (of processing when a designated field changes in value) is incredibly complex; I read about it in my RPG textbook, said “Hey - that’s pretty cool” and didn’t need to give it any further study. It is incomprehensible that these people find it difficult. Evidently, it’s sometimes easier to learn something when you know nothing about the topic than when you think you know something about it and your mind is halfway frozen shut.

I wish I had a solution; far wiser heads have yet to come up with a solid solution for the growing shortage of RPG programmers. But it would be such a waste if someone doesn’t.

 Guest Post - Curtis Barron

The City and County of Boulder (Colorado) has a great website resource for identifying a meth lab.

 With the rise in foreclosures and more agents being the first people to enter recently vacant homes after and possibly during a foreclosure, a little education can go along way for your own safety and the safety of your clients.  Going into homes before they’re ‘trashed out’ can mean just about anything these days.

I just walked out of the second recent condo conversion in a month that I saw back on the market way at about 30% of what it had sold for.  It had been ‘flipped’ in 2006 by some investors.  In my humble opinion, it seems suspicious to me when large numbers of foreclosures show up all at once in the same building.  There were eight or nine lock boxes on the door.   Postings in the windows.   hmm…

If you know me, you know that this is what I do.  I want to know why and how, so, I did a little checking in the MLS and public records.

  The unit I saw had previously sold for $204k but was now listed at $60,000 in a building that every unit had previously sold for over $150k.  A few even sold for up to $250k.   What makes it suspicious is that there were no real upgrades to justify 204k.  In fact, the value today is probably about $80,000 if it was cleaned out.   No electrical or plumbing upgrades to the building.  Some newer windows and a few new light fixtures in the hallway.  That’s it.    Now it is possible to get $160,000 for this type of unit if it’s done right.

 Some developers who do a killer job on the conversions do make top dollar.  They add roof top decks, change the curb appeal, improve all the common elements and put about $30,000-$60,000 into each unit upgrading the kitchen, bathrooms and finishes.  The units I saw at this place weren’t like that.   For this building though, the appraiser would have to be blind not to notice that the doors were missing handles and nothing that was described in the MLS was actually completed. (business center, fitness room, etc..) 

It’s painful to see because you really don’t get a redo on a condo conversion.  It’s to late.  The building is still a dump.  Can you imagine trying to coordinate an overhaul of the building with 24 different owners.  It’s going to be a blight to the neighborhood for a long time.

They bought the property for $2.9 mill and sold the units for a total of $4.8.   15 days after they closed on the property, they were already selling them.  6 at a time.  Many of the buyers bought multiple units.   They were 80% sold out in 2 months.  In the middle of winter during 2005-2006.  That was not a great time for selling condos,  even nice ones.

It seems like if you wanted to make 1.8 million fast the dirty way, you could get people who were going to file bankruptcy purchase these properties using stated 80/20 loans.  The paper values would support the apparent protection of the 1st lender and the 2nd would be carried back by the seller.  It’s all just funny money right?  Seller kicks back some money to the buyers for the ’service’.  The buyers then try to rent the properties out and never make a payment.  When it all goes south, they just walk and let the properties foreclose.   Now, I’m not saying that is what happened here, but I do think it happens.

I know there are people who believe that the only one they’re hurting when they do this is the lender.  That frustrates me.  It gives the entire industry a bad name.  Especially when a lot of people need to work together to decieve the lender.  It’s no wonder that the agent that listed the property had his license just long enough to do this deal then leave the business by going inactive.  The building had been listed as having an agent owner so he must have been involved.  I wonder what his employing broker was thinking.  Probably wasn’t.  I wonder if the buyers weren’t actually in on it and had their credit ruined by an investor who made a lot of promises he didn’t deliver on.

I’d love to give you the address and name the players…but that seems to get people in trouble.  No, I can’t flat out say that there is some fraud involved but it makes you wonder doesn’t it.

 Out of curiosity, I had to check to see what people were reading outside of my main page and feed.  Essentially what posts attracted the most hits from search engines and links from other blogs.  Here’s how they show up in order of popularity.  

1. Why Johnny Can’t Code and How to Help Him. by Curtis Barron  - What!  I find it hard to believe that my Dad’s post is the most popular post on my blog.  It’s actually kind of painful.  I wonder how much this speaks to the fact that niche expertise is the real strength of a search engine.  Thanks for the contribution Dad.
2. Money Magazine – Buyer’s agents Co-op and how to get a better deal buying or selling a home.  Ah yes, the outcome of my complaint about Money printing misleading  information about the Denver real estate market.
3. Thanks to Blogs. My only guess here is that this is the intersection of people searching my general interest and personal categories.  And of course, this post seems to have a penchant for automated spam.
4. What should be in a Comparative Market Analysis and how long will it be accurate?   This was my take on how to evaluate the value of a property, seems to be popular with investors and appraisers.
5. Apple’s New iphone, up to the hype?  Nothing like mentioning some pop culture to turn up the heat.
6. The Top Ten Most Common Complaints about Homes for Sale – Useful Feedback.  This is my take on the feedback you get, if any when selling a house.
7. Most Brokerage Business models don’t benefit the Agent.  It’s true!
8. Zillow Returns Power to the People with Site updates.  I still love Zillow.  I don’t think they’re going to make any real money for a long time but they’re headed in the right direction.   Oh, and I love the fact that if you mention Zillow in any post, there is a high likelihood that the hard working Drew Meyers will stop by. 
9. Where to spend my marketing budget?  This has become a lot more popular over the last 2 months.  I think agents are rethinking were they’re putting their money.
10. Blizzard of 2006 – Buried in Snow and loving it.  What I love most about Denver is that the sun comes out after it snows.  As long as the suns out, you probably don’t even need a coat.  It’s just when the sun goes down…. Brrrr…

And a few honorable mentions.

• Most Denver homes are overpriced.  I attempted to illustrate the difference between the list price and the sale price and drive home the importance of some due diligence on the part of the buyer. 
• Buying a home? Think before making your first offer. My opinion on what a buyer needs to think about before making an offer on a home.I truly hope people find my writing useful, informative and perhaps even entertaining on some level.   Thanks for reading.

I’m sure there is a lot of reason’s why you may feel you shouldn’t buy a home right now, but here are reasons you should.

1.  You are an investor with a long term view to acquire properties that should appreciate during the next cycle while cash flowing in the short term.   Great investors don’t buy in hot markets, they buy when no one else wants to.  In Denver, one of the best deals of this type are in close proximity to current and planned transit oriented developments all across the city. Check out the Overland neighborhood of Denver and the University Hills neighborhood.

2.  You are not a current home owner and have good credit.  You sir/or maam are a hot commodity.  You should take advantage of that.  The smart money may realize that the current low interest rates on mortgages + downward pressure on home values = A great deal.   You have a chance to ‘lock in’ a payment for your living space.  Your rent in many areas of Denver is expected to rise along with inflation and eventually demand.  Inflation when you own a home is a good thing.  In many ways, inflation can actually help the home owner.  The payments over time ’seem’ more affordable as competitive wages adjust to the cost of living changes.  In addition, home values traditionally keep pace with inflation over the long term.  By picking the right area, you can combine the gains from inflation with actual appreciation that comes when an area is revitalized (Gates redevelopment in Southeast Denver, Platte Park) or business moves into the area (Check out the Fitzsimmons area of Aurora).

3.  You need a place to live.  Sure you could rent a place, but you’ll soon be back in  the same situation again.  Many homeowners will now be open to leasing a home with the option to buy it.  This is rarely an option in a hot market.

4.  Your current home is inadequate.  Often, you just need to make a move.  In this case, the overall market just doesn’t matter.  When you sell a home and buy a home in a similar market, it’s likely that the value that you think you are losing is balanced when you consider both sides of the home equation.  The increased inventory can make it hard to sell but it can be also give you more choice when its your turn to buy.

5.  You just want a good deal.  Good deals are to be had if you know where to look.  If you want a good deal, buy a home in a market that is continuing to appreciate even now.  For example, Denver Highlands up 10%.  “But I thought this was a buyer’s market”.  Or buy in an area that you expect to recover first such as DU, Rosedale, Washington Park.  These are all close to the popular parks, nightlife, and of course Denver University while still having easy access to downtown and the Denver Tech Center.  Trying to locate a foreclosure deal in one of these neighborhoods is highly unlikely.  Rather than looking elsewhere at foreclosure in depreciating areas, buy the best VALUE in the best neighborhoods that you can afford.  Now that would be a good deal.

I know what your thinking,  HQwho?  Don’t fault yourself for not hearing of it.  I’ve been working with them for about three years now during which we’ve (notice my team approach) implemented many changes to improve the overall direction and marketing presence of the company.  Since some of the others in our company are just warming up to the idea of blogging, I’ll get to be the first to discuss what we are doing.

HQHomes.com implemented a new website that has one of the better IDX solutions (just shy of a custom solution) available for searching for homes in the area.  We feel that real estate search is the cornerstone to any long term success for a real estate website.  Considering what our search looked like originally.  This is a huge step up.   One of the features I find the most useful is an RSS feed for the paticular search that you want.  We hope our clients find that this search is better than any currently in use by a competing brokerage.

HQHomesBlog is going to be the outlet for much of our statistical research on different Denver neighborhoods.  We also plan to let this be our up to date platform to give our view of the markets.   We have been delivering a newspaper to some parts of Denver with some good response but find  that most people don’t have the time or desire to open a good old fashioned newspaper.  By the time they look at it, it’s out of date.  The blog will hopefully fill this gap while decreasing some of our costs. 

One of the better side effects of blogging, besides traffic to the website, is the fact that readers and those interested in our company can get a better feel for the neighborhoods they’re interested in and the agents that work in those neighborhoods.  

I’ll be a frequent contributor on the site.  Feel free to stop by and give your opinion of what we are doing.

Can you imagine what the Mona Lisa would look like if Leonardo da Vinci worked quickly with a 4 inch brush?  He probably would not have caught the details necessary to communicate his intent and we likely would never have even heard of this masterpiece.  If the details get lost in translation, much of the artist’s intent will be lost.   Similarly, it’s difficult to communicate complex ideas with just a few words.  A couple months back Jim Cramer of “Mad Money” made a few broad statements about the housing market.  Anyone that watches his show “Mad Money” knows that he claims that there is a bull market in every market (stock market) and he’s going to help you find it.   I find that interesting  coming from a man that said on the Today show that ‘anyone that bought a house now would be making a big mistake’.  Where’s the positivity for the housing market?  In fact, he even said that anyone that bought a house then would lose money.  That’s a pretty broad statement and of course, Realtors and sellers everywhere got all worked up about it. 

The media loves to overstate fact in order to generate some fear.  They love to stumble across the financial equivalent of the ’if it bleeds it leads’ statement targeted to get the public to stop and stare.  Scared out of their wallets, afraid to make a move.   Combined with their love to oversimplify, they start getting dangerous.  They love to pretend their audience isn’t intelligent enough to make their own decisions.  Instead, they make the decisions for you.  That’s not conducive to good investing in housing or otherwise.   Most investors know they can’t just buy the stocks that get hyped each day on CNBC.  They know they need to dig a little deeper.  Sometimes when most people are saying sell, that’s when you need to be buying.

Real estate can be just as complicated as the stock market but thankfully, real estate moves a little slower.  There’s a lot more real estate markets and homes out there than all the stocks that Mr. Cramer claims to have in his head. (I think he’s claiming 2000…)  Certainly, the opportunities in housing have to exist.  I know what and where they are in my area and I’m sure if you work hard enough, you’ll find them in your area too.  

Anyway,  Cramer was on his show yesterday and mentioned that with the rate cuts, he thinks it could be a good time to buy a house again.   Funny part is that, during the time between his first public denunciation of real estate and his recent reprieve, not much has changed in Denver or anywhere else.  Just the Fed’s interest rates.  Mortgage rates will eventually follow but truth is they weren’t bad three months ago.  Some of the outlying areas of Denver will have some issues with the foreclosures, that hasn’t changed.  Maybe the only thing that changed is the fact that media feels it needs to put a new twist on the news.  

 For the most part, the new urbanism movement in Northwest and Southeast Denver has helped those areas of the city through most of the slump.  In fact, I pity the people that passed on the home they wanted in these areas based on news that they should be waiting for a better deal.   Most buyers are looking for the 20% price reduction that will never come.   It’s their loss.  I’ve said it before.  The rest of the country’s problem isn’t necessarily Denver’s problem.   We are not immune from the problems but all the factors that contribute to a strong local economy are still in place.   So don’t get worked up when you hear incredibly outlandish statements saying to ‘do this’ or ’don’t do that’.   There are always opportunities if you know where to look.  I’m sure a sane Jim Cramer would admit to that.

 …have you ever noticed Mona Lisa’s wandering eye?  Maybe she spotted a deal over the artist’s shoulder.