I have worked in some form of real estate for well over fifteen years and one thinks after all that time they have seen all that is possible to see.  Yep, I am old enough to remember the 80's recession, and the 90's Savings & Loan debacle, but nothing could have possibly prepared me for the $700B "bailout" that fell upon us these last couple of weeks.  True, I was one of those Realtors who had a burning suspicion two years ago that the swing in the market would ultimately be our demise and as time wore on I was sad to see my beliefs come to fruition...thank you accounting and finance background for that, I guess, but what shocks me beyond all I can reason is that no one saw it, as well?  These lenders and brokers really had zero idea that all of these loans were impossible to pay back with ridiculous interest rate increases, high pre-paid penalties, which I would argue should be illegal, and DTI so high that it is not reasonable to think anyone making a decent salary could afford their adjusted payments?  Ugh. I digress...there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Interestingly, I have received approximately ten calls since Friday from past and current clients wondering if real estate was a better investment and if I could recommend a good lender, someone they can trust. Ultimately, I do not know if anything will come out of these calls, but who would have thought a financial crisis as terrible as our lending collapse would have been such a great way to connect with my database.  Live and learn.  Lesson learned.

The truth is, it will always be something that challenges our way of knowing and doing and it is our ability to go with the flow and release our "know it all" behavior that will allow us to succeed. A very dear friend of mine reminded me of that today when we spoke over lunch about how us entrepreneurs sometimes forget that there is more to success than following a set plan, that success comes from knowing what your client needs and rushing to bring it to them.  Thank you, Kate, for reminding me that today is a different day and we can make it whatever we want! You, my friend, are a keeper.