That’s right, take ownership for your decisions. Residential property owners, commercial property owners … quit pointing a finger at others and admit it. You are responsible for the position you are in.
Residential property owners, we’ve all heard your story. Who couldn’t, it’s been all over the news. Let’s see … you bought a house bigger than you needed and more expensive than you could afford, took out an ARM loan to finance it borrowing 120% of its value, maxed out your credit cards on clothes, dining out and exotic vacations. Oh, let’s not forget the fancy cars. Then the economy started to slow and you could not longer pay the bills. Did you accept responsibility for those decisions? No, you pointed your finger at the real estate broker, the lender and the federal government. Didn’t anybody ever tell you the story about the ant and the grasshopper as a kid? Didn’t anybody ever tell you to save some money for a rainy day? I’m sure they did. So why don’t you quit whining and take ownership for your decisions.
Commercial property owners, you aren’t much better … but you certainly should know much better. You are supposed to be “sophisticated” investors. Whatever happened to due diligence? What ever happened to “drilling down” into the numbers to determine the property’s real value? Have you ever heard of a forensic engineer?
I know it sounds strange, but I’ve encountered commercial property owners from outside the state who have never seen their investment property … they relied upon the word of the selling real estate broker or investment partners. They ended up paying above market prices for a below market property.
I’ve met owners from within the state who walked the property they intended to buy but wouldn’t spend the money for a forensic engineer to inspect the property. One bought an office building that had its sewer draining into the crawl space. Another, getting heating complaints from tenants shortly after the closing, discovered that the previous owner had removed fan coil units when they failed and never bothered to replace them.
Commercial property owners … take ownership for your decisions. Better yet be responsible with your decisions and hire the professional help you need to conduct a through due diligence of a property you are considering to purchase. Hire a buyer broker, CPA and forensic engineer. Consider getting the advise of a real estate consultant and attorney. Have the knowledge of the property you are buying and it will be easy to take ownership of your decision, because there will be no reason to blame anybody.
