Sometimes, things just go your way. Often times though, when it comes to anything real estate, it can be a battle. At any one time over the last several years, I have been involved in multiple real estate transitions at once. These transactions can be for a property I own, one that is listed for sale, or one I’m representing a client for. The longest and the hardest transactions are the ones that drag on for months (or even years!). A friend of mine once used the term “deal fatigue”. Both sides in the transaction get wary and the battle itself is winning, and not party. For me, a win is the closing. You know it if you purchased your own home: that moment when the mountain of paperwork is signed and someone hands you a key. Glorious.
Funny thing is, when a transaction closes, both side win. But you would never know it sometimes when you’re in the middle of the “battle”. For some in real estate, developers are the bad guys. Let me tell you, developers should be applauded! They are the firms that withstand endless delays, conflicts and opposition seemingly the whole way through a project. But once something is built, most people are amazed at how awesome it turned out. Even something as simple as a new grocery store once finished can be beautiful. Makes you wonder why it took so long. In my book “Radical Housing Solutions” I share a chart shaped like a funnel. It’s an example of building something as simple as a single residence. See below.
We all know people have a right to be heard. But we also know we are facing a national crisis of affordable housing. In battle, they call it a declaration. When sometimes something is so threatening, that all other matters take a backseat. Friends, we have reached that point. Do we need to look further than the recent stories about San Francisco’s poop problem? I know, it’s even too disguising to write, so I’ll just link the story for you:
https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-human-poop-problem-2019-4
Here is my point: It’s time we looked for ways to soften the battle. Building a place for someone to live affordability should not be questioned at every corner. ADU’s; alternative housing types; and fresh thinking should be allowed to flourish in our cities. Radical Housing Solutions asks we put a face to the many people struggling to pay rent. Maybe then, we can put the battle amour down and all figure this out together. After all, we all can agree that food clothing and shelter are the basic things we all need, can’t we?