Hits: 10
Striving to separate the hard news from the search engine news (Charlie Sheen ad nauseum), what is popular to say or to hear is not always the most relevant news one can share. I just read an article that claimed that Willy Wonka was not an objective observer of the benefits of chocolate. Someone might also say that vultures are selective eaters, since only dead meat will suffice. Is that selective? Is Willy objective? My primary point, repeated in many versions over the last 36 months, is that you should trust the source of information in inverse proportion to how much they would benefit if you bought what they are selling. Do you purchase a whole new bedroom set because the salesperson you talk to says that today’s sale is over at closing time and prices will never be this low again? You actually believe that? When can you deliver that load of particle board, glue and wood veneer? When exactly is the best time to buy something, anyway? How about “when you have a need for it”? Regardless of what you are going to pay, you hopefully have other reasons to buy than just to brag that you talked the guy down 37%. Is there some human reason you are thinking of purchasing a home? Price should enter the conversation, but it is not the REASON you are thinking of buying, is it? “Because it is such a good deal” is why you want to buy it? That might work for blue jeans. Don’t you have to live somewhere? Garage your Audi somewhere? Sleep somewhere? Suggestion: buy a home to live in, not because you heard that now is the time to buy.
There is optimism and there is pessimism. Neither one has secured a seat at the table of facts and truth. They both visit frequently and they constantly try to influence the truth. It’s perfectly fine to be skeptical about what you heard or read, as it is also perfectly fine to selectively and proudly repeat the best news you heard today. Neither approach is right or wrong, but more typical of who you are and how you interact with others in your day to day life. As a Libran (who suspects he is being typecast), I look for balance – the middle ground between two extremes – while facing or moving forward. Harmony is not just a word when you are standing between extreme opposites, or mediating a loud disagreement. When I gather statistical facts and try to figure things out, I have to take off all the special hats I wear so the end result is not affected by how the results look while I am wearing any one of those hats. Does this real estate bubble make me look fat? Should my beliefs about abortion affect my real estate acumen? Who do I tell just what I truly believe? There is an app for that.
I cannot recall when I first noticed it, but the websites many of us see when we sign on to our computers are full of something trying to pass for news. All agree that Charlie Sheen has not yet made ANY news in his life, yet there he is in the headlines again. One excuse I have heard is that the younger demographic wants to hear about this sort of thing; and the separation between celebrity gossip and real news no longer exists. Can we all agree on that? Then there is that resemblance to all of the talk and chatter and sales pitches you might hear from those that are “in the know” about Santa Fe residential real estate. The more someone stands to gain if you follow their advice, the more you should be wary of that advice. If George tells you to buy a house and he would make $10,000 when and if you buy, then listen to Abe who has nothing to gain from your decisions or actions. Maybe Abe will say the same thing as George, but at least you know Abe does not wear a special hat that makes noise when you buy a house. I hate that noisy hat. How about a new rule for real estate bloggers? All Those Who Enter Here Shall Tell The Truth Even If You Are Trying To Influence Us Into Buying More Houses. No exceptions.
So are you an optimist? Maybe a pessimist? Does it matter? Not really. Somedays you feel great and other days you feel as if the problems are insurmountable. You can feel anyway you want to feel. Just please keep your special hat off when counseling others about what they should do with their life savings, OK? Refer to earlier column entitled “Give them a reason”…
