Making every day a good day

“Every day may not be good, but there’s good in every day.” (Unknown) from Jack's Winning Words Blog. The daily challenge these days is to find that “good” in each day. Times are tough for all of us and especially so for those in the real estate profession. We are working as hard as ever, if not harder, and making a lot less than ever. Home prices are down and the bulk of the buyers who are in the market right now are looking at the low end of the foreclosed homes market – many at the extreme low end.

I can’t tell you how many cold, dark houses for under $50,000 I’ve shown lately. Can you imagine what a $35,000, three-bedroom, one-bath house must be like? Now imagine that someone has stripped it almost clean – no furnace, no hot water heater, no light fixtures and maybe even no toilets or fixtures in the bath and kitchen. It’s generally colder inside the house than outside, lately and if it is after about 6:30 PM it is hard to see anything, because the power is off or all of the light bulbs have been taken.

Now imagine that you’re trying to advise a young couple, who would be struggling to afford the payments on the $35,000 that this place is listed for, about what to do. They see a possible home that needs some work. I see a money pit that likely isn’t habitable unless they put another $10-20K into it (money which they don’t have) and for which they might not be able to get a mortgage (even the FHA home imporvement program wouldn't provide enough to bring some of these places back).

The good that I can see in that day is to be able to talk that young couple out of that particular home and continue to try to find them something that might work. Homes like the one that I just described are best left to investors – people who have the wherewithal to make the necessary repairs before they “flip” them for what will still be a decent price. I may not go home with a paycheck from a sale that night, but I can go home and sleep well, knowing that I did the right thing for my clients.

So for me, the “good” that may end up in any day is good that I make myself, but being honest with myself and my clients, and helping them with buying and selling decisions. If the house sucks and they shouldn’t buy it, I’ll tell give them my opinion. If the would be seller can’t get what he needs and doesn’t have an urgent reason to move, I’ll advise him not to; or, at least, I’ll tell him honestly what his loss Is likely to be. If the listing client won’t or can’t lower his/her price to what the market will bear, I’ll tell them to take it off the market. And for all buyers and sellers I’ll tell them of the foolishness of trying to wait out or time this market. Honesty is not only the best policy, it’s the only policy that makes sense in this market.

As I get older, I’m also reminded of a saying that I’ve heard many times from oldsters over the years – every day that I wake up is a good day. I guess that’s true and it’s up to each of us to make it the best day that it can be.