I’d hesitate to make a list
of all the countless opportunities missed.
Bonanzas that were in my grip
I watched them through my fingers slip.
The windfalls which I should have bought
were lost because I over thought.
I thought if this, I thought of that
I could have sworn I smelled a rat.
And while I thought things over twice
another grabbed them at that price.
It seems I always hesitate,
and make my mind up much too late.
A very cautious man am I
and that is why I never buy.
When others culled those sprawling farms
and welcomed contracts with open arms
A corner here, ten acres there,
compounding value year by year,
I chose to think and while I thought
they bought the deals I could have got!
The golden chances I had then
are lost and will not come again!
Today I cannot be enticed
for everything’s so overpriced!
The opportunities of yesteryear are dead
the market’s soft and so’s my head.
At times a teardrop drowns my eye
for opportunities I had, but did not buy.
And now life’s saddest words I pen…
If only I’d invested then!
Reprint from Illinois Realtor Magazine — December 1975 (yes, 1975)
Emphasis mine. Think about it…
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
That was a GREAT post. It really puts everything in perspective for anyone doubting our current market.
Thanks for sharing that!
Chris – you’re quite welcome. It’s not exactly Longfellowish poetry, but it certainly sends a message. 1975, 2006, whenever. Heck it’ll probably still fit in 2075….
It was written by a dude named Donald M. Weill. He has a book that he’d like to sell on Amazon.
Well aren’t you just a wealth of knowledge!
I did find this version on the internet. Quite similar, yet different. The version I posted is hanging in our office men’s room (I know, that’s weird), and our broker cut it out of the Illinois Realtor Magazine in 1975. There’s no attribution on that copy.
One of the things that I see happen, a lot, is people get trapped in the “what if” mode – especially when looking at investment real estate. They’re not sure how to succeed at commercial real estate.
For starters, it makes sense to gather as much information as you can and analyze this information before doing anything – no question about that. As a matter of fact there are many people that DO NOT do enough of this.
However, after some have the required information to make a decision – they still pull the “what if” card – to their detriment.
What if the ecomony goes to hell?
What if the tenant trashes the place?
What if interest rates go up?
What if the owner is lying about…..?
Etc.
You have got to have the energy to get beyond these kinds of what ifs. If you do not and, Yes, stick you neck out there, you will look back on what you did not do with more regret that what you probably did do.
Especially when it comes to investment real estate.
If I had a dollar for everytime I heard “Should have bought that property” I would be Bill Gates neighbor on the Forbes 400 list.
Don’t get too analytical. Too anal. This will hold your wealth back almost more than anything else.
Best.
Darin Garman, CCIM
Apartment And Investment Property Specialist
P.S. If you have not taken advantage of my special limited time 2 month complimentary “test drive” of the Commercial Investment Property Owners Association, here is another opportunity to see what you have been missing…
http://www.garmanupdate.com