Brodie was a businessman in a small town in North Carolina where I lived over 30 years ago. He worked at a successful business that did well. I patronized the business regularly as I have always felt that we should support local businesses. They are the lifeblood of the economic health of a community. One day, Brodie and I got to talking about change and he was quite adamant that he did not like change of any time. He did not like change in his family, home, or small town. He wanted everything to always be the same. I remember what I told Brodie and it was this: “You may not like change, but it happens. If you don’t believe me, go look in the mirror and see if the person you see in the mirror looks just like the person you saw there 20 years ago.
One of the constants in our lives and communities is change, and the same is true in real estate. I was reminded of that recently when I read the book Who Moved My Cheese? The real estate market today is not the same as the real estate market 6 months ago and the real estate market will be different 12 months from today. If you are like me, you have lamented the fact that you did not make a real estate investment in the past realizing how much the property increased in value or realizing what a good deal that property was compared to today’s prices.
What does the reality of change mean for the real estate and real estate note investor? First, it means that we need to continually being aware of what is happening in the real estate market. What signs do you see or wise persons see in how the market is changing. Do those changes mean that you need to change your investment strategies and ways to operate? Secondly, the changes in the real estate market mean that there are comes a time when we need to change.
Somewhere along the way, someone shared with me the seven last words of a dying business: “We have never done it that way before”. I have invested in real estate now for over 40 years. Before I was investing in real estate, my Grandfather Wall was a real estate broker being one of the first real estate agents in North Carolina. While real estate has and always will be a people business, there are some things that are different today because the market is different. If you want to not only survive but thrive in real estate investing, be prepared to change again and again. Best wishes in your real estate pursuits.- R.L. Wall