Ask Better Questions...

Let's put things in perspective...
Real estate in Lake Chapala, Mexico
by Marie Dwyer-Bullock
www.focusonmexico.com

For my motivational reading this morning I returned to "Awaken the Giant Within" by Tony Robbins. Earlier I had watched the news about the Feds and Congress in the US proposing a massive 'bailout' in the financial sector.

As always, what I was reading gave me the exact answers I needed. We cannot control or change what is happening around us, but we can control how we react to it. How do we do that? The answer: "Ask better questions!"

Always remember "Ask and it is Given" is a Universal Law. We get what we ask for - whether we want it or not. So if you are sitting there worrying about the devastation of the US Economy and how terrible it is and wondering how it is going to affect your real estate sales in Lake Chapala, Mexico, then so it must be. If you are thinking, people simply cannot afford to buy 'now' or they can't sell their properties north of the border 'now', then so it must be. You will attract exactly those situations.

For just one moment, let's consider a new question. How about: "How can I use what is happening?"

First let me tell you a story from my past. It was 1980. I had bought an existing Real Estate company that I had been managing for some months. The future looked rosy. That is until the Alberta government, who had previously approved a large expansion in the Oil Industry, decided to cancel the expansion. At the time, it was devastating. When I purchased the company, I took over a five year rental lease on the building and a five year lease on all the equipment. I had made big commitments. What was going to happen?

Prices didn't go down immediately because we didn't have one sale for the next six months.

No sales meant real estate agents leaving the Industry. Listings were a dime a dozen but with no buyers, that just meant advertising costs with no revenue. So what to do?

I had to make a decision - to go with the flow and get out of dodge and maybe declare bankruptcy, or to find a way to turn it around.

I decided that failing wasn't an option for me. I called an emergency meeting of the remaining agents in my office. I told them to bring a lot of quarters (dinero) to the meeting. I placed a glass fish bowl in the middle of the table. I advised that this was a meeting to go forward, not one to cry in the soup and rehash what was happening around us. All negative comments would result in a quarter in the fish bowl.

Next I reminded everyone that in Fort McMurray the temperatures in the winter got to 30 and 40 below zero. People needed to live in houses. They couldn't live on the street. I reminded them that both Syncrude and Suncor Oil Plants were still operational and all those people that had jobs before still had jobs. What had really happened: the big expansion (boom) wasn't going to happen. That wasn't all bad.

Listing prices had come down. It was a perfect time for people to buy real estate and get into the market.


My company,NRS Dwyer Realty, put an ad in the local paper offering: "A great opportunity to get into the real estate market has been presented. Don't wait! NOW is the time to take advantage of price reductions. Stop by our office and enjoy Free Coffee and let us help you find your new home."

Then we went on to emphasize that the reversal of AlSands expansion was really a plus for Fort McMurray. “We were beneficiaries of an incredible amount of new infrastructure without the ‘boom’ that would have happened with AlSands. Many people had good paying jobs and now with the price reductions, they had a perfect window of opportunity to get into the market.” Then we threw in “some examples of great deals outlining what the monthly mortgage payment would be and how much a person would need to make to qualify.”

Because our agents changed their focus from devastation to solution and by putting things in perspective they were able to ask better questions and change how they 'felt' about what was happening around them. They were able to see opportunities for buyers instead of focusing on lack of sales and price reductions. This resulted in turning the market around, slowly but surely.

The market will always be up or down. You cannot change what happens around you. However, you can always control how you react to it.

It is in challenging times where we have to dig deeper and look for solutions, where we must use our creativity. Anyone can be an order taker in good times. But with adversity comes growth.

Ask yourself better questions and the solutions will always present themselves!
Now let’s compare what’s happening out there and the possible implications here on the lakeside.

Of course the US slowdown and the leveling off of prices in Canada will have an initial affect on this area. This is to be expected.

However, it is important to remember a few distinctions.

First: Lake Chapala enjoys three markets, not just one:

1. Baby Boomers from the US
2. Baby Boomers from Canada
3. People from Guadalajara buying weekend homes on the lakeside

This helps balance our local market. Although the local market will be affected by one or the other of the above markets, you have the other markets to draw on.

Second: Most people that own properties here are mortgage free, so therefore they don’t get squeezed into having to drop their price substantially to sell. Most can simply wait it out. Therefore, although our prices may adjust they will not fall into a hole.

Third: The Baby Boomers are going to continue to come to Mexico and Lake Chapala in particular, in big numbers. Many may even decide to leave north of the border sooner than previously planned for the very reason of what’s happening there. When people come on a Focus on Mexico program with plans to retire in a few years, most often they move that date forward once they find out the reduced cost of living here. In addition to the lower cost of living, they are enticed by the near-perfect climate, stress-free and laid back lifestyle, excellent health care, easy access with the airport a mere thirty minutes away and last and most important the wonderful Mexican people.

It is clear it will take some time to recover north of the border. Many people realize this and they are interested in getting on with their lives now so they are actively searching and wanting to make that move. They also realize the number of Boomers that will be coming here over time. They want to get into this market ahead of the herd, while the opportunities are still good.

Some people need to sell their home up north before they can buy here.

For our Focus on Mexico clients who have homes to sell north of the border, we decided to help them reach their goals. Read posted Blog "Help is here! Selling your home in a down market..." a series of emails back and forth between Focus and one of our clients.

With her permission we are able to share the story of one of our client's transformation in not only believing her home(s) there could sell, but her taking a proactive approach in the process. Whether you are a home seller or buyer here or north of the border, or a real estate agent lakeside, we hope you find this useful.

And remember, Ask yourself better questions!