Crazy Numbers In A Real Estate World

Crazy Numbers In A Real Estate World!  When looking at numbers across the industry, it is daunting to see the difference in positive and negative using just simple numbers.  In thinking about this, I found the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  It is an interesting industry to be a part of for sure.

The Good. 

A million dollars can buy you a fantastic dream house or you could buy between a dozen and 20 homes if you are an investor with a million dollars to invest.  What else could you do with a million dollars if you are not an investor?  You could spend it on one modest house and a decent car and have a good time.  You could give to charity and still have a nice house.  You could give to charity and invest.  Or you could still have that dream home and start a business.   Be a “champagne Charlie” and treat your friends and family. 

The Bad.

Washington Federal investigators recently charged 530 people for defrauding more than 70,000 desperate homeowners all over America who fell behind on mortgage payments, con artists offering to help them avoid foreclosure.  While some people who work this business or indeed legitimately offering help, too many are not and sadly, some fall victim.  Attorney General Eric Holder and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan estimated that the homeowners lost more than $1 billion in various fraud schemes.  This is not good for anyone.

The Ugly.

In less than four years since President Obama came to power, the USA national debt has increased 51% to $16 trillion dollars by some estimations.  Wow!  How do we get our heads around these huge numbers?  Okay, one million is not so difficult and I could probably count up to one million in less than two weeks if I don’t go to sleep.  Or more simply, in 12 days we have one million seconds so I can just about get my head around what a million means.  But a billion?  A billion seconds is 34 years which is just about half a lifetime for many people.  But, how about a trillion???  A trillion second is 34,000 years!  Just some perspective on how these numbers get tossed around but one must wonder how much thought through and regard is given to promises about how to handle these numbers. 

How to get to grips with these huge numbers?  And how is uncle Sam gonna repay all these?  There are no magic answers but the numbers in this business give you something to think about.

Good thing we still got Fort Knox.