A skydiver from up the road in Gilbert, AZ lost his life last week while practicing for a world record diamond formation jump in Florida. He was experienced, with more than 5,000 jumps to his credit. He hadn’t experienced the one thing that would cost him his life–getting tangled up in something beyond his control.
A skydiver friend commented that skydiving is the ultimate in accountability: “From the moment I fall from the plane, I’m dead until I do something.” “If what I do is the wrong thing, it’s all over.”
The light bulb went on in my brain. It often does that when a story has an application to my lending business. The parallels to business are striking:
- The fallout in the lending business has killed off some of the most experienced companies. One moment, Tucson based First Magnus Financial Corporation was poised to expand by 35% in 2008. The next, it was bankrupt.
- Loan officers by the thousands this summer found themselves unemployed through no fault of their own. Still, they’re unemployed, aren’t they?
- Small mortgage brokers with strong realtor relationships are struggling to survive as Purchase business has dried up along with Refinance business.
As a real estate developer on one of New Jersey’s barrier reef islands in the late 1980’s, I employed 21 full time union carpenters and owned a dozen speculative properties. In 1986, the tax law changed my business. I wasn’t aware of the implications of the change. In 1987, the stock market crashed. I hadn’t experienced a market crash, and didn’t believe it would affect the second home market as drastically as it did.
I didn’t do anything. Property values in my local market fell by as much as 50%.
I went from being worth $4,000,000 at age 40, with a debt to equity ratio of 1:4, to standing in front of a judge at age 41 and hearing “You may keep $4,500, or your car, but not both. Your choice.” The gavel fell, and I left the courtroom. I kept the car and started over.
In this market, my friend, you’re dead until you do something. Experience is what we get when we don’t get what we wanted to get. I don’t want any more experience. How about you? What will you do this week to assure your survival?
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4 responses so far ↓
1 the Author: Mike in Tucson // Nov 26, 2007 at 6:52 am
Thanks for leaving a comment. For my take on government intervention, please see my post on Active Rain titled “Real Estate Correction: I Don’t Want Help From My Government.” Click or copy and paste this link: http://activerain.com/blogsview/285366/Real-Estate-Correction-I
2 John Morgan // Nov 26, 2007 at 9:05 am
Excellent post about personal responsibity. Too bad that we don’t see more of that in government on both sides of the aisle… clowns to the left, jokers to the right.
3 Columbus Real Estate // Nov 26, 2007 at 11:37 am
>>”Experience is what we get when we don’t get what we wanted to get. I don’t want any more experience.”
I like that quote. Great post Mike, personal and poignant and so darn true.
4 Paul // Nov 26, 2007 at 1:01 pm
Excellent analogy Mike!
Taking it a step further, the mortgage and real estate professionals of today are the pilots/builders of the Housing-Market-Airbus. In other words, it’s not just our lives at stake it’s the future of the housing market. Incidentally, I’m told airplane mechanics call the ‘airbus’ the ‘scare bus’ because they run solely electric and have no backup (i.e. hydraulic or manual). We need to build and pilot this thing and have a backup and I Don’t Want Help From My Government
either (Mike, great article and comments on your AR blog as well).
“What will you do this week to assure your survival?” and the survival of those who depend on all of us.
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