Every real estate investor has one, and they are hammering in the morning, and they’re hammering in the evening, all over this land. The problem is that the real estate issue at hand is, so to speak, a loose screw, or a broken tile, or even the elephant tracks left by over-aggressive hammering. A hammer is not always the right tool for the job. So why do investors and their professional advisors insist on swinging a hammer, no matter what?
Probably because they’ve gotten away with having no specialized tools for the past ten years. When the market was so hot that property turned a profit regardless of hidden conditions (and even despite obvious ones) in the property itself, or in its numbers, or in the configuration of stakeholders, what did it matter if you used an appropriate tool—or any tool at all—to fix them?
Now, though, the margin for error is thin. Far from covering up latent defects in property, information, or structure, the market is exposing them. Finally, investors are pulling out their rusty toolboxes to fix the obvious problems, but they’re finding only hammers. Seized by panic, they start swinging because they don’t know what else to do.
While the real estate industry was wheeling and dealing, the financial, legal, and relational structures supporting it became increasingly complex. Unbeknownst to most investors, their once-simple projects became knit together in a convoluted web of partners, tenants, lenders, vendors, governments, and other real estate investors. Then, the economic bottom dropped out. Blindly swinging a hammer at this point may deal a blow that causes the whole house to collapse.
If you are in this situation, don’t panic. Realize that you are not the only investor in this predicament. We see it everyday. Some have greater problems, some have lesser, but all have problems with one or more aspects of their real estate. Those that think they don’t are deceiving themselves.
Addressing the issues skillfully requires a full toolbox. It also takes the expertise to use each tool. And it takes self-awareness to realize when you don’t have the tool or the expertise necessary.
If you need a handyman, call us. Elyton Solutions serves real estate investors in a way that you probably have not seen before. We’d love to tell you about the results we’ve been able to help our clients achieve.