Gary Wuestenberg's Blog

Are you nervous in this market? We are flooded these days with so many opinions from so many different directions that it not only causes us to be nervous but also to be confused. And I feel that confusion is where the nervousness comes from. We have prognosticators and naysayers, people that are saying that things are going to get worse. And then we have the more “upbeat”, positive people. It really is a case of  – is your glass half full or half empty?

Let’s talk about the media. First of all good news does not sell as well as bad news so the majority of what you read, whether it is in the newspaper or on the internet, is going to be negative. It just sells better and after all the companies that write and produce these messages are not in the business to inform as much as they are in the business to make money. When there are so much “negative” messages is it any wonder we are in a downward spiral? I am not saying it is the media’s fault that the economy is in the shape it’s in. I am just saying that what you focus on is what you get. If we continue to focus on the negative our chances are pretty good that is what we are going to get.

There is no crystal ball when it comes to real estate or the economy, but I think if you allow yourself to step back from your own circumstance and take a good look at it you will find calm and vision. First take a look at your long and short term goals. Are they the same goals you started out with? Goals can change and it is good to do an inventory of where you are and where you want to go. So if the goals you created 5 years, 1 year or 6 months ago don’t necessarily fit where you want to go now don’t be afraid to change them. But most importantly, we need to check our progress occasionally to make sure we are headed in the direction we want to be. By checking in on ourselves and being realistic about our own circumstances we can get “grounded”. When we are grounded we become calmer and see things more clearly and in the end lose that nervousness.

I will leave you with a few things to keep in mind about real estate that I hope will help. First of all be responsible with your money. Money is really cheap right now with interest rates hovering around 5%. It’s a great time to buy. But just because it’s a great time to buy doesn’t mean you should. If you are buying or considering buying make sure you know what your goals are and that you are comfortable with the payments (debt) you are getting into. In other words – don’t get in over your head.  My mother, who grew up in the depression always said “It’s not really a bargain unless you need it”.

Feel free to leave any comments. Thanks for reading!