A YEAR OF CHANGE AHEAD – BOTH GOOD AND BAD
by Jan Bellamy at www.CentralFloridaExperts.com
Welcome to another year of adventure in the Real Estate business! There will be lots of changes and lots of opportunities, both good and bad changes and opportunities.
I have been selling Real Estate since 1984, that’s 25 years of experience with many changes in laws, technology and business practices, but 2008 to 2010 will easily bring two decades worth of changes in a couple of years.
Good News First! We live in Central Florida! We will survive and flourish again. Get ready to tighten your belt, trim the waste and cut the fat. Decreased spending and lower property values mean lower taxes and fewer services. The media will tell us how terrible it is, how deprived we are, and that it’s somebody else’s fault. THE DAYS OF ENTITLEMENT ARE OVER! We need to redefine basic necessities.
Welcome to another year of adventure in the Real Estate business! There will be lots of changes and lots of opportunities, both good and bad changes and opportunities.
I have been selling Real Estate since 1984, that’s 25 years of experience with many changes in laws, technology and business practices, but 2008 to 2010 will easily bring two decades worth of changes in a couple of years.
Good News First! We live in Central Florida! We will survive and flourish again. Get ready to tighten your belt, trim the waste and cut the fat. Decreased spending and lower property values mean lower taxes and fewer services. The media will tell us how terrible it is, how deprived we are, and that it’s somebody else’s fault. THE DAYS OF ENTITLEMENT ARE OVER! We need to redefine basic necessities.
A house is a place to raise your family. If you need to sell your current home and get back to basics, call me. There are plenty of affordable houses to buy or rent in Polk County in very desirable areas. This is the silver lining of the current crisis. You can get yourself out of debt!
My family won’t suffer if mail was only delivered to my house two times a week instead of six, and the garbage picked up once a week. If I need daily mail, I’ll rent a P.O. Box and pick it up myself. If I accumulate too much garbage I’ll drop it off at a designated dumpster in my area. The school system could implement a program to compensate seniors who need to work but don’t need benefits, in order to fill non-instructional positions. Since more people will need to work from 65 – 75 years of age, let’s make it a win-win for children and seniors. The seniors could ride the school buses to and from work, saving them travel expenses, and perform many functions at a savings to the School Board, and ultimately, the taxpayers.
Bad News! Like the Great Depression, this didn’t just happen. It’s the result of more than two decades of economic abuse during which time Americans speculated in the markets. Government borrowed to expand; businesses borrowed to expand; and consumers borrowed to expand. Now all three: government, businesses and citizens will have to change quickly, sacrifice together and hold each other accountable while coordinating their efforts to contain this disaster.
As Americans, we forgot that you don’t really “own” anything that has debt, whether it’s a house, a car, a business or a country.
Let’s not assume our leaders know how to deal with this situation. In fact, at least one local bank received the TARP funds, and has no intention of making loans, but is keeping the money in case their bank needs it to get through this. You went to work. You and the business you work for gave money to the government with no strings attached, and they gave your money to banks all over the country with no strings attached.
OOPS! Well, they had to react fast to this financial crisis that’s been coming for 20 years! Not to worry, we voted for them, we trusted them and now we the American taxpayers will be asked to pick up the tab. The average Polk County family understands the basic economic principles and discipline of spending better than our elected officials and government employees.
In a meeting with Adam Putnam in October, I asked him to appoint a task force/think tank, including government officials, business owners and concerned citizens, to educate each other and the public on the issues, and propose solutions that will benefit us all, especially at our local level. There will be cuts in programs and services, at the national, state and local levels. With our input, they can be the least destructive to our community and its citizens.
As we learn to live on less, wouldn’t you like to “choose your less” rather than be told you’ll pay for something you don’t want or need, and you’ll lose something else you do really need? After all, it’s your money, taken on every purchase, taken out of your paycheck, paid in property taxes, sales taxes, income taxes and all with no strings attached. If you have input, contact your city, county, district and state officials. Get involved or be a willing victim, your choice. If you put your input on our blog at: realinput.blogspot.com we’ll send your message to the right people.
Jan Bellamy is broker/owner of RE/MAX Experts
Coming soon - Short Sale FAQ's (frequently asked questions)
I agree we have gotten ourselves into a mess and it is not going to be easy to get out anytime soon. I feel we MUST stay focused on the local level since we can only truly impact what is happening in our community through how we act, interact with others, serve others and then see the fruits of our labor. Yes real estate is a global/national concern but when it is your home in X community being caught up in this "why did it happen to me complex" we must focus, as you said, on what we can do about it--People in trouble in real estate often got that way through making poor decisons/choices and are suffering the consquences. Like the old saying--When we are over run with alligators we often forget that our inital mission was to drain the swamp... so we must identify, focus and act upon what we wanted to do in the first place. Glad to have a place to express my thoughts--
ReplyDeletePretty Cool. One expert told me there are 2 things that would get our economy moving again: (1) end the mark to market accounting rule (2) expand FHA loan availability/eligibility.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this blog entry! Great insight and discussion points!
ReplyDeleteThis economic down turn has been a valuable lesson for many individuals and businesses. Too many thought the good times would last forever and leveraged everything, not considering the consequences of a slow down in income, credit availability or no cash flow. It is a very valuable lesson to live within our means in our personal lives and in our businesses. When business seems to be expanding too fast and needed debt to keep up with the pace or satisfy the potential opportunities, all to many business owners didn’t consider those opportunities stopping. They just kept borrowing to buy more equipment or people or supplies.
The overriding lesson seems to be to live within our means and borrow only as needed (versus wanted) on tangible appreciating assets (not vacations, not meals at restaurant, not “toys”, etc). PAY DOWN DEBT! Keep a cash reserve of 6 months of your personal or business core expenses. If trouble seems to be lurking ahead and you are using your cash reserves, start cutting immediately! Don’t wait till it is to late to reduce expenses, reduce employees, reduce overhead. Without debt or with calculated risk debt, it is much easier to ride out the slow times and tread water on your reserves while waiting on the next up cycle.