Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve

By Lance Kettler

Is there anything you wish you’d done, but didn’t?  What about right now?  Is there anything that you are doing that you think you might beat yourself up about in 20 years time?  I’m more interested in what you aren’t doing.  What aren’t you doing right now that is going to lead to a Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve moment in your future? 

Nobody can look into a crystal ball and tell the future, so I don’t even try. But what about looking back?  There are lots of lessons to be learned from the past.  Everyone seems to be talking about the recession these days, are we in a recession, are we not in a recession?  The funny thing about a recession is that by definition in can only be called a recession after the fact.  We can only see true recessions in the past never in the present.

What can we gain by looking at recessions in the past?  First the reassurance that recessions happen, they are survivable and they pass.  We can also see that recessions are the period of time before a period of growth.  It isn’t a coincidence that millionaires are made in recessions.  A smart investor who is willing to shop for bargains can certainly find them in times of economic strife.  Then when times improve the investor finds themselves holding property that is valued at significantly more than they paid for it.  This is how millionaires are made, its called buy low, sell high. 

As you’ve probably heard, prices are low now.  In the REO market they are even lower.  I have clients who are purchasing property for 20-30% below market value.  Even by today’s standards they have a valuable property and as the market rebounds their investment is going to grow.  You can make the same choice or sometime in the future you could be saying I Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve.  The choice is yours.