In the 1980's (yes, I am dating myself), there was baseball catcher, sportscaster and actor - Bob Uecker - who played George Owens on the sit-com "Mr. Belvedere." He had a line that I think fits many current real estate investors. Bob would always be saying: "You Snooze, You Lose!" I'm sure you've heard it before. But have you applied it to real estate...lately?

I think Bob's statement says a lot for where many real estate investors are relative to this market (hopefully not you). They are sitting on the sidelines...taking a nap, waiting for the market to "change," hoping that some of the perceived risk will be reduced by more stable credit and mortgage markets, and wishing that just one shred of positive news would filter out of the media before they would be willing to wake from their slumber and take action.

Well, guess what? It ain't going to happen that way. Not if you want to capture the market at the bottom, at least. Let me show you why...and how to avoid "staying sidelined," so you are in the right position to capture current opportunities.

Imagine for a moment that you are attempting to merge onto the interstate, where traffic is moving at 65 miles per hour.... Now picture yourself coming to a stop...

As scary as that may be, it's happened to every driver at one point or another.

So you already know, when you are in this position, at a standstill, how hard it is to find just the right opening between the rapidly moving cars. You know how hard it is to get your car to go from zero to 65 miles an hour in a very short distance without getting hit. Not easy.

Now, picture yourself in this same situation... only, this time, you continue moving down the on-ramp, and, once you find the right opening to merge, you join effortlessly into the onrushing traffic.

Simply put - it's hard to find an opening when you are standing still.  You know this - but did you know that this principle is not just a question of physics - it's a question of money and opportunity? And did you know that it applies to easily 80% of all real estate investors in the market today?

Movement creates opportunity. It invites new things to happen. Movement means you are alive, that you are responding and adapting.

What's the alternative? Hesitation. Stagnation. And we all know what happens in nature to stagnant water, or living organisms when they stop moving. They die. (And even start to smell. Yuck.)

In this market, you must resist the temptation to stagnate. To wait. To watch. To wonder. To let your attention drift. Pay attention! Watch what's happening, and look for your entry - your opportunity to jump in the game as soon as an exceptional Deal presents itself. If you are sitting on the sidelines, all you can do is watch. And assuming you do see a potential deal, by the time you get yourself geared up and "out on the field" to take it down... it will be gone. 

Many people hear of fellow real estate investors who take down a rental with incredible cashflow or pocket a $40,000+ rehab profit check. They say to themselves - "They just got lucky."

But for real estate investors to just get "lucky" is extremely rare. The more likely scenario: (1) they get into motion, (2) they get their financing lined up, (3) they find a great agent who welcomes their business and start to make offers, (4) They negotiate relentlessly, (5) and THEN they "get lucky," if you can call THAT "luck."

Or, put more accurately, these real estate investors REAP THE REWARDS OF TAKING ACTION. Of getting into motion. They were awake. They were moving at the "speed of opportunity," so when they pulled up next to the exceptional deal (as they "ran down the field"), they saw it for what it was and captured the opportunity.

I have often told my Club coaching members who may be hesitating about making an offer, "You can't steal in slow motion!" Just like you can't easily merge onto a highway from a dead stop... neither can you take down a deal in slow motion.

And if you are waiting for things to change - if you are frozen in fear by the news - if you are not making offers right now, in this market - you are in slow motion. You are about to be run over...by the market.

So...are you "snoozing?" Are you moving in "slow motion?" Or are you pulling up next to every opportunity, evaluating it, and, when it fits your criteria, taking it down? For people who are moving fast, this market is full of profits ripe for the picking. Drop me a line and let me know what you're doing to keep moving.

To your success,

Peter Giardini