surprise007's Discussions

I have read what everyone's been saying and find a similar frustration in everyone.  From what I've seen over the years, whether you think it to be fortunate or unfortunate, this country runs on credit.  That means that it's the prime environment for those who have to "keep up with the Jones's" and like the lady that MPAL just described.  In America it seems that "bigger is better"..."size does matter"...etc.  That's all fine, as long as you can afford it, but even if you could there are some that walk a fine line between enjoying good things and enjoying good things just to show off.  It's difficult to try to brush some of those people aside sometimes but the truth is that we will never cease to see this type of behavior. To keep relevant, this all become all prevalent due to the real-estate bubble and I've seen many young people that started buying several properties, living in gated communities, buying fancy cars, and even continually described themselves and "investors" when many of them had just started.  Many of these people are now worse off than when they started.  Speculation is not a bad thing but I believe that of the one diseases that really hurts society the most is greed. To all of you have that have made money and were smart about it (i.e., saving for retirement, etc.) without having to be boastful, kudos to you!  Many greedy people have become everyone else's problem by this same type of behavior and mentality that we've seen recently.  There have been many unfortunate indirect consequences but I think the sheep mentality is just too much for some people to resist and we will never stop seeing this same thing happen.

I live in Florida and for a while now I've heard that a lot of people have moved to Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.  However, I have also heard talk about Mississippi being the next big place for construction jobs because the state offers incentives to homebuyers and the gulf area is being redeveloped.  I also heard the Donald Trump is building a billion dollar casino out there.  It also seems that Virginia and the areas outside of Washington D.C. are growing.  Has anyone heard of a growing RE market in North Carolina or any of these other places?  It just seems like everyone says things are pretty bad everywhere but then I hear about how Mississippi this or North Carolina that... Any word??

Well spoken JimSulli.  Couldn't have said it better myself.  I just hope that the rich aren't getting richer at the expense of people that get taken advantage of.

People will always say that business is business but I believe that good business should be transparent and obvious without having to screw somebody over.  The only reason I'm saying this is because I believe that much of the reason for the housing slump can be attributed to so many deals that never should have been done but went through anyways only because greed blinded many.  Would have there been more of a sense of reality and more consideration for the long-run instead of just short-term gains maybe things might not be so dire for most of the country.

It's interesting how some people still talk about the "next big investment" or the "next hot RE market" as if nothing ever happened to them or anyone.  Things will rebound and I hope nobody gets me wrong nor do I wish to give off the wrong impression but I do believe endurance through hard times is a golden attribute.  Many will make it through all of this and many won't.  Investing in RE is an awesome thing but it seems like many people can't distinguish between keen insight into business opportunities and the gold-rush mentality. "If I could just get this next property..".  Psychologically, it's the same thrill and rush that lures so many people to Vegas, for example.  It's a big sheepish gold-rush scenario.

Shalom!

Cathy, Thanks for that link.  It was very insightful! 

I would have to agree with both sides.  Any market and any time is a good time to conduct good business as long as the speculation doesn't lead to exuberance that helps cause another detrimental downturn like we just saw.  I believe it's all a fine line but business can be done if done correctly.

Why do you think it is that Texas is going through a boom right now?  Is it maybe because of oil prices? 

Although the Carolinas are known as the research triangle because of the many banking headquarters located there, as with anything else, if it gets overrun with people, the same thing that happened here in FL might happen over there too.  Not that I'm being pessimistic but I have become skeptical to follow "the crowd".  The real estate bubble was a perfect example of this, ESPECIALLY for FL.