Special offer

It doesn't matter whose fault it is!!

By
Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty, LA Harbor DRE#01311750

Lately I have been reading so many posts and articles about whose fault it was that bubble popped! There are cycles in our market that are beginning to facilitate change.  We are turning the corner and slowly but surely we are on the way to the recovery we have been wishing, hoping and praying for!  But yet there is a new wave of innuendo about who should shoulder the blame for what has happened.  Then there are those who are throwing out things like, "We haven't learned anything!"  "It's just going to happen all over again!"  Well, there will always be bad guys out there to be sure.  Those savvy types that are out for a buck without caring who they hurt to earn it.  They can be found in the Mortgage lending industry, they can be found in Resale brokerages across the nation as well.  But there has been such a crack down on appraisers, that the buddy buddy pal aspect of Bad Realtor hooks up with Bad Lender hooks up with crooked appraiser, is OVER!

Also, if a person has lost a home and had ANY emotional tie to that property, they don't want to go through that again.  NOT NOW, NOT EVER!  Now, does that mean that some people won't get in over their heads or that financially things could change making them unable to pay their mortgages, sure.  Life goes through twists and turns of course.  The important thing to remember is that it will not be intentional on the buyers part.  That is critical!  Not to mention with lending guidelines tightening so much, lenders don't have all the loop holes they had to squeeze bad loans through. 

I have had the experience of working for new home builders in the past.  Right now I am personally aware of two major builders in the greater Los Angeles area who are gearing up to open new communities in the Spring. Builders know the market probably better than most Realtors out there.  They are the quintessential investor are they not?  If they believe now is the time to get started again, surely we have gotten through the worst of this!  The point I am making here is that media seems to sensationalize just about everything!  We need to remain positively optimistic about the future of the housing market.  It has driven our economy and it has also been a major cause of the recession.  Now with light at the end of the tunnel, lets not go back to harping on who did what to who and bringing more doubt and negativity into the minds of those considering a purchase. 

The market is a cycle but it ALWAYS bounces back!  Anyone who is in a position to purchase "within their means" would be silly not to.  People keep worrying about the market continuing to lose value.  Well all I can say is that if homes are selling with multiple bids above asking price everyday and that anything that hits the market that is priced right and in decent shape doesn't last a week the idea of the market conitnuing to go down isn't based in the reality of what is happening right now. Of course I am writing about LA County.  I know the market is different everywhere.  But here, we are seeing evidence of recovery now!

Fault finding isn't going to get us what we all want and need!  We need to focus on positive now and on our future.  Let's learn from what has happened and NEVER repeat our past mistakes!  But also let's be grateful that we have a chance to start over and to do things right this time around!

Posted by

 

 www.SellingLASouthBay.com

 SellingLASouthBay.com

Mark Brian
Silver Star Real Estate LLC - Anderson, SC
Anderson SC Realtor

Sadly it is human nature to try to blame others for our own mistakes sometimes.

Nov 30, 2009 04:26 AM
Jim Hale
ACTIONAGENTS.NET - Eugene, OR
Eugene Oregon's Best Home Search Website

Wendy -

When you say there is no reason for a qualified buyer NOT to buy now:  I couldn't AGREE with you more.

When you say we should stop caring and talking about who was at fault (and thereby give up on doing what we can to keep from repeating this history in the future), I could not DISAGREE with you more.

This real estate bust is only a tiny part of the Harm this recession has caused - not only in this country but around the world.  The harm has been financial but it has also been personal:  foreclosures, bankruptcy, unemployment, divorce, etc.  It has been terrible.

It also did not have to happen. 

It was preventable.

It was caused by bad actors in a number of spheres.

But it was also facilitated by a lack of governmental regulation.

It was caused by Senators and Members of Congress from both parties.

It was caused by two (not one) Presidential administrations.

They bludgeoned banks into lending policies that were well-intentioned but stupid.

The securities industry then took that stupidity and turned it into an immensely profitable art form.

We have paid dearly to bailout the world economy from these tragic errors.

Let me re-phrase that:  Our grandchildren will be paying dearly for these errors.

Our nation, already in trouble, has been brought almost to its economic knees.

Such stress imperils democracy.

The problem with your sunny prescription is:   many of the leaders who brought us to this point are still in place in the Congress (and other national institutions).

We will always have a business cycle, despite all that we might do as a society.

But we do not have to have foxes running the chicken house.

Our children cannot afford for us to simply engage in business as usual.

Nov 30, 2009 04:37 AM
Wendy Rich-Soto, Realtor/Broker Associate
Keller Williams Realty, LA Harbor - San Pedro, CA
Getting you to your next with a zero failure rate!

Jim,

Thank you so much for your comments.  I appreciate and value what you have said.  I think in so many ways you are CORRECT!  However, please let me restate what I was hoping to accomplish when I wrote the post.  Some very bad things happened and it created a whirlwind domino effect that will as you stated negatively impact future generations!  I know that to be true and I think it is a sad reality of what greed can do in today's society. 

I am not saying we should neatly sweep it under the carpet and forget it happened.  I think we need to value the education we have received from this.  I think we need to continue to educate ourselves and our clients on the matter.  I think we need to operate from a place of service to our client and want to tell them the truth even when they don't want to hear it, for example, "You really can't afford this home!

But with that being said and understood and knowing what politicians have said and done to make this nightmare a reality...I just am trying to get people to recognize one thing...

Negative press about what MIGHT happen next and rehashing what already has happened to scare people into not entering the real estate market is a mistake.   One that can perpetuate this down market and further exasperate our recessed economy. 

 

 

 

 

Nov 30, 2009 07:43 AM
Robert L. Brown
www.mrbrownsellsgr.com - Grand Rapids, MI
Grand Rapids Real Estate Bellabay Realty, West Mic

Lets move on from here and move forward. All the finger pointing in the world won't bring us back to where we were. I read the comments and in my opinion they are all true. My grandchildren will be (like Jim said) responsible to fix a mess they didn't create. I'm thinking on getting married but not before i take responsibility for my bills then move forward. No finger pointing here.

Nov 30, 2009 08:05 AM
Maureen Bray Portland OR Home Stager ~ Room Solutions Staging
Room Solutions Staging, Portland OR - Portland, OR
"Staging Consultations that Sell Portland Homes"

Wendy ~ You've made some excellent points in your post.  Let's just move forward ... those who dwell on the past are doomed to repeat it, right?  Pointing the finger just doesn't get us anywhere so thanks for your positive message!

Nov 30, 2009 12:36 PM
Sue Wettstein Brazzel & Dipper Wettstein
Howard County, MD - RE/MAX 100 - Columbia MD - Columbia, MD
"Fast, Efficient, Hassle-Free Service!"

Wendy,

Your market sounds a lot like ours in Howard County, Maryland ... price it right and it will sell - and sometimes with multiple offers!  Thanks for the optimistic post.

Sue

Dec 03, 2009 08:10 AM