When I first met Mr. Cailliau in my
furniture showroom in N. Carolina I knew
he had a special intellect. At that time
Mr. Cailliau was in the furniture
distribution business in Tampa but
unknown to me at the time, also in the
real estate business.
Most of the questions asked of me by the
other furniture distributors in the
country had no direction and no
substance pertaining to the import of
furniture. During this time period, it
was relatively new to bring in products
from other countries. Mr. Cailliau had
already figured out the intricate
procedures that were involved and I
found myself searching to answer his
questions.
Prior to meeting Mr. Cailliau on that
day, I had spent the previous 10 years
with my Chinese partner learning the
business. Mr. Cailliau, I learned later
had just started his direct furniture
program in the last few months! Fast
forward 10 years, I sold out to my
Chinese partner after working sometimes
up to 70-80 hours a week and months
without a day off! The payoff was very
nice but I had no idea how to invest my
own money. I tried the stock market with
several different stock brokers and
quickly learned that you could lose
money a lot faster than you could make
it.
I’ve always kept up with Mr. Cailliau
after the sale of my company and during
a phone conversation was complaining to
him about how hard it is to make money
with money. The important point was not
to touch the principal and to have a
good lifestyle on the interest!
Mr. Cailliau offered to put me in some
first mortgages with a 50-60% loan to
value ratio and a 10% return on my
money. This has been a blessing to me
not only for the return on money but the
security of a first position mortgage
that Mr. Cailliau, himself, takes the
time to investigate each deal. I now
understand that Mr. Cailliau is offering
this service outside of his circle of
friends. He is an honest business man
with substance and to the point! The
only thing this man has been wrong about
in my dealings with him is his
persistence in telling me that you can’t
train small dogs to use the bathroom
outside. Better stick to business my
friend!
Wes Cornette