Recently there have been a number of blogs that want to place blame or reponsibility for the situations we find ourselves in on realtors, banks, builders, George Bush (after all he is to blame for everything negative isn't he?) etc. Personally I think this is somewhat in bad taste and feel that it is counter productive at the very least. I have been in the mortgage industry for nearly thirty years and have always been amazed by the fact that in many cases the housing industry is one where each segment that is critical to it's success finds ways not to get along with the others.
This country has gotten to a point where anything that happens is always someone elses fault. Instead of looking for solutions, for positive education out of the experiences we go through, and moving on to correct problems and things that haven't worked correctly, we want to be sure that we aren't blamed for anything and that someone else is. If fault can be identified I don't think we need to vilify the source or cause and automatically assume that it is evil. Mistakes are made. Yes, in some instances, greed and the desire to defraud or take advantage of situations is the cause of some of these issues. Rather than dwell on them, let's do everything that we can to avoid them in the future, try to be sure the bad apples don't get another opportunity, and move on to make things better.
The truth is, if you have a mind to, you can place blame for the current situation in many, many different areas. To say one area of the overall industry is either completely to blame or completely innocent is a bit naive. There are many, many reasons for where we are at. That includes the recent increase in gas prices, so let's blame OPEC for part of it too (oh wait, that's Bush's fault too). The climate was created where nearly eveyone could get a loan to buy a home if they could breath over a mirror and it could be determined that they were alive. And EVERYONE took advantage of that, including builders, mortgage lenders, realtors, title companies, attorneys, appraisers, home inspectors, and anyone else connected with housing. There was pressure on everyone, from everyone, to make the deal work.
We need to ALL be working together. Helping each other to stay abreast of the changes, keeping each other informed, staying in touch and letting others know what is working. Assist each other in marketing, trying to correct the public mind set that the media continues to depress, be positive, look for solutions, positives, and things that we can do to encourage each other.
I don't know about you, but I am tired of the blame game. Not only in our industry but in this country. I am positive...that today I will do everything that I can to help others, do everything that I can to continue to learn, and overall do whatever I can to make this day a better day for the housing industry.
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