The headlines some days are filled with significant amounts anti-real estate investor rhetoric. Flippers, landlords and developers are at times derided and scorned. There are calls for legislation and regulation. The real estate investor is seen as someone who is merely greedy and even harmful to society.
These views are however misguided. Many people, perhaps even many investors, do not understand the valuable function that we investors have in the real estate market place and in the economy as a whole. They misunderstand and miss what it is exactly that we do.
Honestly, these misunderstandings can be easy to develop as it can be easy to miss the role investors have. This is because the work real estate investors do is perhaps not as visible as the work others do. It can in fact appear that we do not do anything at all. After all, many of us do not swing hammers, cut the grass or research the titles. It can therefore almost seem like all we do is just stand around while everyone else does the work. However, while the efforts we investors put forth may not at first be evident, it does not mean that those efforts are not valuable and necessary. Without the work that we investors do, the hammer swinging, grass cutting and title searching would be harder to come by as well.
Real estate investors use their knowledge and skills to take risks. It is taking those risks that create the need for much of the work that others do. We investors make the deal come together. We put our butts on the line in hopes that we will make a profit. That is risky but taking the risk creates work for others. How? By finding a property we create the need for attorneys and others to seal the deal. By borrowing money we create the need for bankers and lenders. We repair and replace creating the need for carpenters, roofers, plumbers and other skilled trades. We coordinate all of these pieces to create something better, something that we hope society wants and needs. Taking that risk can sometimes lead to ruin. But if we get it right, we get rewarded and have incentive to do it all again.
Risk taking therefore plays an important role in our society and economy that is often misunderstood and undervalued. Imagine if risks were never taken. How would housing be provided? How would that shopping center be developed? Going beyond real estate, how would those phones have gotten in our pockets or how would this blog have even been possible? Without risk takers we all would live in a very different, and I think, much less fascinating and favorable world. Learning how to take risks is the role of the real estate investor. For whatever reason, that role is not fully understood or valued. So spread the word about what you do. Help others understand. Then give yourself a pat on the back. It is hard work to be a risk taker.
