We all know real estate is cyclical. It always has been. It always will be.

So why does everyone seem so surprised that the market is down? And why are we so quick to forget the old adage "If we don't learn from history, then history is bound to repeat itself"?  This may be the first time you've experienced real estate-related negatives, but it's definitely not the first time it's happened. And unless you've been living in a cave, you knew that.

But this post is not about the real estate and mortgage market problems. This post is about finger-pointers, whiners and complainers. (All my favorite personality traits... NOT!)

How do I feel about the finger-pointers, you ask? Well I'll be happy to tell you. I place them in the same category as politicians. They're bottom feeders... the lowest of the low. Since when does finger pointing and trying to assign blame ever solve anything? (Try telling that to the politicians.) What purpose does it serve, other than to stir the pot? I would blame the media too, but they're only reporting what sells. If there weren't so many bottom feeders, the media would have to report differently. But apparently  the majority likes to point fingers, gossip, place blame, and make excuses for their actions. For everyone except the unfortunate buyers who bought at the wrong time or experienced unpreventable happenstance, how about just a modicum of responsibility for your own actions? We all make mistakes. (I've made plenty!) That's life. People with enough character to say "I made a mistake" are the ones who have my respect.

And here's a reality check. Gossip is a sin! Oops. Did I just step on another fragile ego? You weren't going to try to rationalize and make excuses for that one were you? Don't believe me? Look it up. Romans 1:28-30.

I'd like to hear less complaining and more solutionizing (new word!). I just want to say "ENOUGH ALREADY!" "Grow up!"

When I was in management I had a rule. When my agents came to me with a complaint, they also had to present a possible solution. I may not have used their solution, but it forced them to think all the way through the situation, instead of just dumping it on me, then blaming me if they didn't like the outcome of the problem THEY helped to create! It nipped the whining in the bud! As a matter of fact, that one rule cut down on a whole lot of stupid decisions in the first place. It placed the accountability squarely on their own shoulders. And it made them better agents!

As for the crappy real estate market, I'm on board with those who say we should let the real estate and mortgage markets correct themselves... (Janet Guilbault, Here's a Concept: Let's Do Nothing About the Mortgage Crisis) It has always corrected itself in the past. Yes, some people are going to lose their homes and have to rent for a while. Aside from that, credit can be re-built. Money can be re-saved. We're only a few days past Thanksgiving. Have we already forgotten why we should be thankful? Or did many people never leave their shallow prisons they call their lives, to count their blessings in the first place? We can always choose to be thankful for what we have, instead of focusing on what we don't have. But that goes against the image that U.S. corporations want us to buy into...IE: If we don't have the best name brands, the most expensive cars, the fanciest houses, the highest incomes, etc., then we must be inadequate. Come on! They've brainwashed us into debt!

If you really want to point fingers, you need to go further back. Go back before the subprime mortgage glut. Go back before the teaser ARMS. Go back before the interest-only loans. Start at the point when you first started believing what you saw on TV; when you started competing with your friends and neighbors; when you started believing the surface glitz of Hollywood. THAT is the starting point of this mess we call the U.S. And that is what led us so far down this path in the first place.

Now the question is, are we going to learn from our mistakes? Or are we going to keep repeating them?

(I think I'm reading too many posts by Evil Rich. I'll try to bring friendly Lisa back tomorrow.) 

*Hand photo- Public domain by www.LogoDesignWeb.com