REAL Real Estate. What allows the development and growth of sustainable shelter? Living 
in these times of rapidly rolling, historic headlines, I’ve been reflecting on my lifelong love of history, especially that of early America, trying to pinpoint what, exactly, attracts me to the stories. In retrospect, there can be lessons learned. The truth of the times becomes transparent and can reveal a perspective that is less processed, without additives like greed, disrespect, corruption and ignorance. Distance yields perspective and wisdom from the caged moments of time. A processed economy, much like processed foods, may LOOK good, but might not BE good for you. So how can we take a more organic approach to the growth of our economy and real estate developments.
Early investors in our land (The New World) left us some important lessons. Oliver and I recently had an opportunity to travel to Jamestown, Virginia, the very 1st colony in our land. The original group of English settlers, who anchored their ships about 50 miles north of Chesapeake Bay on The James River, came in search of opportunity and fortune. As they began to cultivate and develop the land, one of the first lessons they learned from their (native American) neighbors, was the importance of planting organic gardens, mainly consisting of corn, beans and squash. And there was a very specific way to do this. Instead of the established “row method” that they knew, the Indians taught them a way that involved a series of mounds. In each mound, they planted a seeds of corn, beans and squash. The corn was planted in the center of the mound, beans were planted at the base of the corn so they could climb up the stalk, and squash was planted on the edges of the mound so it could grow on the ground around the beans and corn. The corn, beans and squash were ALL compatible. Each was supported by the system that functioned as a whole. The system was logical, conserving energy and recycling resources.
The logic behind this planting method had been learned over years of trial. The “row method” required crops to be rotated from field to field every year, because of nitrogen depletion. The Indians learned they could plant in the same mound year after year. This was because as the corn and beans took nitrogen from the soil, the squash put the nitrogen back. These three crops sustained a system, naturally, organically.
It seems today's financial crisis is in need of a new planting system. Crap crop rotation isn’t what works anymore. An essential element is depleted, perhaps similar to the ‘colorless, tasteless, odorless’ element of nitrogen. Something (colorless, tasteless & odorless) is needed in our groundwork to get things growing again. Something needs to be put back, to put things back on the right track, a system that works, conserves and recycles.
It’s like we have a nitrogen Imbalance, an effect caused by an imbalance in the design of the system. It started with real estate and can, I believe, be corrected by the real estate system. Being a builder & developer as well as a Realtor, I have felt and observed this Imbalance for over 2 years. I remember very clearly on CSPAN, one year ago, when the Fed Chief and Secretary of Treasury were telling the world that things were okay, our economy was strong, and yes, real estate had a small problem, but the rest of the economy was doing well and was in balance.
Now the Fed Chief finally understands that the developer creates the subdivisions and lots; the builder constructs homes; the REALTOR sells the homes. The process is somewhat like this: the builder buys the 
lot, lumber, nails, concrete, roofing, wiring, pipe, HVAC, insulation, sheet rock, paint, appliances, light fixtures, tile, carpet, flooring, grass and all of the other things that go into a home. The builder keeps all categories of subcontractors working. Each category of materials bought has a special linage that keeps people working. For example, carpet is manufactured mainly in Dalton, Georgia. Warren Buffet can tell first hand that his carpet mills are standing idle. The nylon extruded fiber, manufactured for those carpet mills at another location, is not being made. The chemical pellets, sold to the nylon extrusion mill by another plant, are not being made. The workers that are in all of those plants are loosing their jobs. They do not have the money to buy things. Retailers, such as Circuit City, go out of business. Restaurants, like Ruby Tuesdays go out of business. Clothing retailers, furniture companies, jewelry stores, cruise lines etc. are all singing the blues.
The people that still have their jobs are holding onto their money and are either worried about holding onto their home or, if they do not have a home, are afraid to consider buying one. Making matters even worse are the very families that are having to foreclose, lose their homes or not getting to buy homes, are abandoning their pets and not adopting pets like OLIVER to help make a house a home!
A large part of the nitrogen imbalance in our economy can be attributed to the inorganic planting of real estate into the mortgage industry. We all have a role to play in the re-arranging and the re-balancing, but also it is most important that the President, the Fed Chief and Secretary of Treasury understand the importance of proper planting, of designing a successful system of support. Like the corn, the beans and the squash, growing as an organic whole, proper support and stimulus for our real estate industry is essential as we work towards correcting the imbalance.
OLIVER and I are doing business as a Real Estate TEAM. Life is Good. And we are good at finding places, like homes.
If I can provide more information about Columbus, GA, Phenix City, AL, Fort Benning and surrounding areas, or the real estate market in general, or otherwise assist you in buying or selling a home, please contact me by phone or text at (706) 315-1024 or EMAIL ME.
© Copyright of content, 2009. Fred Peak, All Rights Reserved DISCLAIMER: The information contained in my posts deemed reliable but is not guaranteed, and the opinions expressed in these articles are mine. (Fred D Peak)
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