One of the great advantages to living in Kenosha, WI is how close you are to Milwaukee, Chicago and of course Chicago's playground for the wealthy, Lake Geneva, WI. It never ceases to amaze me how much wealth has been created as a result of Real Estate.
As I was taking a boat tour with my children, I remember coming across a mansion called Stone Manor. It was not the magnificence of the 18,000 sq' structure, but the story behind it that left an impression. In 1871 there was a little fire in the midwest known to most as The Great Chicago Fire. While every one was panicking and leaving the city of chicago in droves, a little known immigrant from Germany kept his cool and bought real estate along State Street with money he had saved while working hard as a street vendor and with almost no education.
There is a lesson here, those who save their money AND are willing to risk that hard earned money when everyone else is panicking will reap the rewards. While the current real estate downturn (and subprime market failure) pushes prices down, people will panic The media will tell everyone to stay away from real estate. But the smart investors are looking for the good deals now, and realize that the worse it gets, the better for them.
Ralph D. Nudi
Weichert, Realtors - Unum Properties
Great point. In fact the greatest opportunity to build wealth in real estate is in a down market. I know some will argue this is taking advantage of those who made poor decisions, or got caught in the downturn, etc.... This may sound glib....but who said life was fair? The next wave of press will undoubtedly be stories of the "poor consumer" who was taken advantage of and placed in loan programs that have now adjusted and doubled their mortgage payments. It's unfortunate that this is happening but if someone has the ability to get a $100K, $200k or $300k mortgage we have to assume they have at least some common sense and ability to make decisions for themselves. MY prediction is there will be an outcry for these poor "victims" as well as the "victims" being the sub prime lenders who charged HUGE fees during the heyday who'll now start crying about their losses and turn to the government and look for a bail out.
It's time we stop allowing anyone who makes poor decisions to not be responsible for them! I'm tired of the trend for the collective to pay and support the few.
Thanks for letting me rant.