My dad was a math teacher for more than thirty years. I always thought it would be a terrible job trying to create new and interesting subject material each day from a basic foundation that really doesn't change. He was a great teacher, but I think he got a little bored near the end of his career.
There were a lot of other teachers I knew who also seemed like they had lost interest in new ideas as the years wore on them. Some would not even let their students have copies of the tests that they took, because they would surely get passed around and it would be extra work to think up new questions for the following year.
It certainly isn't just teachers that go through these stages during their tenure, but it may be easier to recognize since they tend to focus on a single main subject...from the time they enter their profession until the end of it.
Sadly, many of those intelligent people - who were very motivated when they began their careers - got tired. And that is pretty much the same thing that happens to any of us in time, unless we change our focus now and then.
As much as I enjoy writing about my experiences with lake property and the real estate market in general, the writing style becomes a little stale after awhile. Once that happens, I become less interested in providing new information, and you have less interest in reading it.
You may have already noticed that a lot of my earlier articles provided a reasonable amount of experiential knowledge on what types of things to keep an eye out for when buying or selling lake property. If you haven't read them already, you can easily look back at those jottings to get some insight into my two decades of work in this niche. Several people have mentioned to me how valuable some of that information was to them, and it made them think differently on how to approach the market either as a seller or a buyer.
However, as the 2008 market wained, it got a bit repetitious to think of new ways to talk about a limited bucket of items, like the difference in values between sandy shoreline or the mucky variety. So I started spewing my personal thoughts on several things tied to the economic doldrums. After all, I think blogs should be a direct flow of one's own beliefs from the brain to the keyboard...even if it is off the subject a bit.
Now, as we turn to the last page of the current calendar, I'm also getting tired of this subject. I've seen enough news reports on deflation and bailouts to sicken me for quite some time. So, I'm searching for a new slant to this blog! I'll happily accept recommendations, so if you have some ideas just throw them my way.
But until I get zapped with enthusiasm from some type of turnaround - or at least a teeny little glow at the end of the tunnel - I'm going to look around for subject matter from a few of my colleagues across the country. Maybe with less of a focus entirely on waterfront property, but ideas and successes that seem to be working for people in other areas who are attempting to play the real estate game during in this dreary climate.
So let's quit focusing on the bad news (like the Dow dropping almost 700 points today), and instead turn to all the positive things going on in the world of real estate. If nothing else, it will keep me pretty busy trying to dig some up! And if it helps a few of my readers with their 2009 real estate plans, I did my job.
Dan
Friday, November 21, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Living In The Moment
They say that time passes us by if we don't "live in the moment." We miss out on all the beautiful things around us by always looking ahead. And later we look back on memories that we wish we would have spent more time enjoying when they were taking place.
Most all of us do it. We are excited to get on with the next stage of our lives, whether it is an upcoming wedding, a new car, a creative marketing campaign, or next month's vacation. But whatever that next big event is on our calendar or in our mind, we pass up opportunities to take advantage of the little things that can truly make us happy.
I believe there is also a variation of this "living in the moment" philosophy called "getting caught up in the moment," but not in the sense of just an isolated event. It could be that a great majority of the American public is now caught up in the moment of how bad the economy is...or seems to be. And this is pretty much just the opposite of its cousin: "living in the moment," because it won't let people move ahead - or even think about moving ahead.
It is no doubt true that there is a wide array of financial difficulties tied to this economic downturn. Financing is more difficult, and equity has been eaten up rather quickly. But there is still a lot of capital available, and we are seeing more cash sales than we used to.
No matter what situation we are in, there is always a group of people that look beyond the news stations and the barrage of negative reports, and just charge ahead. They don't do it carelessly or haphazardly, but there seems to be another driving force of self confidence involved that gives them comfort in making forward-thinking decisions that others wouldn't risk.
Everyone knows these types of people. Nothing bad really ever seems to stick to them, and they tend to be genuinely happy. Whereas, those who constantly worry about the terrible things that might happen today or next week - or the fact that their 401K has lost 27% of its value and may never come back - cannot pull themselves out this self-perpetuating rut of scarry thinking.
Obviously, real estate has become a large part of this worry. Those who can't seem to sell their homes are worried that the real estate value they perceived as rock solid may never come back, and they don't have enough equity left to even move on with their lives. These are real worries, and there are no great answers to that problem currently. Sellers in this position need to use every resource possible to figure out how to get the best exposure for their properties, and to make them as appealing as they can.
On the other end of the rope are the buyers that would never think of venturing into this imaginary vortex called the real estate market, where they might get swept away in a whirlwind of shrinking values. It's true that something like that might happen, but it's also true that I might get home tonight and find Martians have taken over my house and made "Ollie the Dog" their leader. We just don't know what the future holds, and that is what makes life so interesting.
If we are too petrified to take chances and are unable to consider what types of positive experiences may await us if we do, then we are simply "caught up in the moment." And we will pass by those opportunities, leaving others to take advantage of them instead. Only to later say, "Boy, were they lucky to buy that when they did! I can't believe the price they got that for!...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"
That is what is happening with real estate sales right now. Home prices in many areas are similar to prices from 2004, and some buyers who are peering into the future are seeing happy times at their new lake cabin or the enjoyment of an upgraded home they could never have afforded in the past. For many of them, the crystal ball is showing visions of instant equity as soon as this market turns around. They know that buying anything at the bottom is a matter of luck, and they are convinced that we are close enough.
Since most people purchase waterfront properties for reasonably long-term enjoyment, buyers in this category are assuming a little bit of risk while increasing their "utils of satisfaction." They don't need immediate gratification from all ends; instead they look to a steadily increasing level of enjoyment - both in new experiences with family and friends...and most likely in real estate value in the not too distant future.
To make this even more exciting for waterfront and recreational buyers, prices and availability for lake properties and large parcels of raw land are pretty impressive. In the two decades I've been in this business, I don't think I've seen such a wide selection of good vacation properties for sale. Not only are values low compared to construction costs, but there are plenty of choice properties that you would never have seen hit the open market in past years.
So try not to get too caught up in all the bad news. If the Dow keeps going down 400 points each day, we only have about 20 of them to go anyway. You probably won't even be able to close before then!
And if it doesn't keeping dropping, you'll have plenty of time to "live in the moment" at your new lake home.
Dan
Most all of us do it. We are excited to get on with the next stage of our lives, whether it is an upcoming wedding, a new car, a creative marketing campaign, or next month's vacation. But whatever that next big event is on our calendar or in our mind, we pass up opportunities to take advantage of the little things that can truly make us happy.
I believe there is also a variation of this "living in the moment" philosophy called "getting caught up in the moment," but not in the sense of just an isolated event. It could be that a great majority of the American public is now caught up in the moment of how bad the economy is...or seems to be. And this is pretty much just the opposite of its cousin: "living in the moment," because it won't let people move ahead - or even think about moving ahead.
It is no doubt true that there is a wide array of financial difficulties tied to this economic downturn. Financing is more difficult, and equity has been eaten up rather quickly. But there is still a lot of capital available, and we are seeing more cash sales than we used to.
No matter what situation we are in, there is always a group of people that look beyond the news stations and the barrage of negative reports, and just charge ahead. They don't do it carelessly or haphazardly, but there seems to be another driving force of self confidence involved that gives them comfort in making forward-thinking decisions that others wouldn't risk.
Everyone knows these types of people. Nothing bad really ever seems to stick to them, and they tend to be genuinely happy. Whereas, those who constantly worry about the terrible things that might happen today or next week - or the fact that their 401K has lost 27% of its value and may never come back - cannot pull themselves out this self-perpetuating rut of scarry thinking.
Obviously, real estate has become a large part of this worry. Those who can't seem to sell their homes are worried that the real estate value they perceived as rock solid may never come back, and they don't have enough equity left to even move on with their lives. These are real worries, and there are no great answers to that problem currently. Sellers in this position need to use every resource possible to figure out how to get the best exposure for their properties, and to make them as appealing as they can.
On the other end of the rope are the buyers that would never think of venturing into this imaginary vortex called the real estate market, where they might get swept away in a whirlwind of shrinking values. It's true that something like that might happen, but it's also true that I might get home tonight and find Martians have taken over my house and made "Ollie the Dog" their leader. We just don't know what the future holds, and that is what makes life so interesting.
If we are too petrified to take chances and are unable to consider what types of positive experiences may await us if we do, then we are simply "caught up in the moment." And we will pass by those opportunities, leaving others to take advantage of them instead. Only to later say, "Boy, were they lucky to buy that when they did! I can't believe the price they got that for!...blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!"
That is what is happening with real estate sales right now. Home prices in many areas are similar to prices from 2004, and some buyers who are peering into the future are seeing happy times at their new lake cabin or the enjoyment of an upgraded home they could never have afforded in the past. For many of them, the crystal ball is showing visions of instant equity as soon as this market turns around. They know that buying anything at the bottom is a matter of luck, and they are convinced that we are close enough.
Since most people purchase waterfront properties for reasonably long-term enjoyment, buyers in this category are assuming a little bit of risk while increasing their "utils of satisfaction." They don't need immediate gratification from all ends; instead they look to a steadily increasing level of enjoyment - both in new experiences with family and friends...and most likely in real estate value in the not too distant future.
To make this even more exciting for waterfront and recreational buyers, prices and availability for lake properties and large parcels of raw land are pretty impressive. In the two decades I've been in this business, I don't think I've seen such a wide selection of good vacation properties for sale. Not only are values low compared to construction costs, but there are plenty of choice properties that you would never have seen hit the open market in past years.
So try not to get too caught up in all the bad news. If the Dow keeps going down 400 points each day, we only have about 20 of them to go anyway. You probably won't even be able to close before then!
And if it doesn't keeping dropping, you'll have plenty of time to "live in the moment" at your new lake home.
Dan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
