Economic Meltdown Causes Fear In East Bay Real Estate Community!

No matter how positive and resilient one is, we are in stormy economic times! However, opportunities abound in the midst of economic hurricane!

I was chatting with my friend, Bob Waun - president of Vacation Finance which headquartered in Michigan, as we talked about the financial meltdown going on in the credit markets and the stock markets. He asked if I was afraid for what is next for our real estate businesses in the Bay Area and the Caribbean. I told him, “Nah…we are still having the time of our life!” The mantra of a sailor is…, “Do not be fearful!” And, the definition of FEAR is False Evidence Appearing Real! If you didn’t know, my favorite condition in sailing is with the gunnels ( side rails on each side of the boat ) in the water and salt water spraying all over me. You can’t imagine the big grin on my face while I am sailing in those conditions. However, it is not the time for the faint of heart if you are sailor in stormy seas. It is the time when experience shows up.

Both our Bay Area and Caribbean real estate businesses are thriving…however it is taking all hands on deck to pull it off. We are blessed with a great team who only look at the glass half full, and are committed to creating a GREAT experience for our customers. Many of our competitors are running down to Starbucks talking about how the sky is falling. The vacuum they are leaving within our real estate community is amazing, and whoever fills that void today will have a larger market share when the market shifts again - which it will. In order to make it through these financial times we all need to work together, side by side, realizing storms don’t last forever. At the end of Bob’s and my conversation he left me with these thoughts.

Faith, beliefs and conviction can be fickle friends when they are tested by panicked masses. “The end is near!”, seems to be the chant of the crowd across the world today. But what of substance has changed within our global economy. Did a world of Fathers change their commitment to feed and clothe their children? Did Mothers decide that the generic brand cereal would be fine in mass? Did we stop wanting nice things and suddenly over the weekend decide to settle for less? What is the shift that causes such a panicked response? What fundamental changes are causing us to doubt the future? Purely fear of what “MIGHT” change. Does that sound rational to you?

Historians and economists can attest that humans don’t always act rationally in mass, but as individuals we can still choose to be rational - to act out of faith and conviction not panic. ”Looking back on it, I was a trader in the pits of the S&P in 1987. It was the most exciting and profitable stock market opportunity of my lifetime.”, a friend told me today… Did he notice it at the time? No. He said he was scared to death, but he kept at his work of trading stocks in the best way he could. Life is clearer in the rear view mirror. Regret is more painful than overcoming fear….

In a storm, it is not time for people to jump ship and swim to safety. A storm is the time for experienced sailors to do their work and sail through it. It doesn’t mean we are not afraid. However, it does require us to not panic - which could cause our ship to go down. I promise we will all will make it through this economic mess. We may get wet and a bit wind blown, but working together, we will get to a safe harbor, and live to see another day when we will look back and tell the stories of how we made it through the storms of 2008 and 2009. Contact me today if you would like some help through your storm. Until next time…fair winds!!!

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