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T HE T RUMP T OUCH

work. Essentially, it’s a philosophy that distinguishes good signs
from bad signs, and teaches methods of design that are in harmony
with nature and the surrounding area. The Asian populace embraces
it. They will not buy into any building if the principles of feng shui
have been violated. The feng shui experts’ analysis of this site told
Trump that certain aspects of the building did not comply with the
laws of feng shui. Relying on their opinion, Trump redesigned the lo-
cation of the building entrance so that it would be in harmony with
the surrounding area. Trump even had the building blessed in a spe-
cial ceremony conducted by feng shui experts and, of course, he made
sure there was a lot of publicity about it which found its way into the
Asian media. The fact that Trump showed his concern for Asian
culture, and spent a lot of money and time to do it, attracted Asian
people to the building. The owner’s sensitivity to their special re-
quirements was a major inducement.

KNOW WHAT YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL PAY EXTRA
FOR AND WHAT THEY WON’T

The probability of attention-getting “extras” paying off strictly de-
pends on the location and type of real estate project you are invest-
ing in. For example, if you’re refurbishing a four-unit residential
building, you should canvass other comparable buildings in the area
to find out what they offer as “building standard” and what typical
rental rates have been achieved. For this type of project, the items to
be considered in building standard would be carpeting; painting;
kitchen appliances and cabinets; air conditioning units; television
access by means of an antenna, cable, or satellite; and lighting fix-
tures to name a few. Unless you’re certain that your tenants would
pay a higher rental for a building standard that includes items that
would normally be “extras,” I suggest that you offer the tenant

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