Carmine Tutera

I guess we could all ask ourselves how bad the local economy can get. Here in Orlando we think sometimes we are immune to outside factors because we have the tourism business. But, even good ole Mickey Mouse is feeling the pinch. How so? Well Mickey Mouse just celebrated his 80^th birthday without so much as even a card. When Disney Officials were questioned they had no explanation for the oversight. (Orlando Business Journal, Nov. 21-27, 2008)

I guess things are pretty bad when poor Mickey does not even get a card huh? I'm getting ready to celebrate my birthday this week. I wonder how I am going to suffer with the economy and the meltdown we have experienced. But, wait a minute! The market has been up 900 points in the last 2 days on the great news of what? Who the economic team of the upcoming administration is going to be? It just goes to show you what kind of thin ice we are treading on in our market. It is very reminiscent of 99'-00' when the slightest of news events good or bad could send the world markets into big spins or vice versa.

How do these things affect us in our States, counties, or even our cities like Orlando? Well if you go by my Disney citation you would say to yourself, Not good...not good at all. But, for every Disney story you can find a positive story. At least about Orlando.

In the same publication, The Orlando Business Journal (Nov-21-27, 2008), a story ran about how Orlando was the 14th fastest growing Metro area in the Nation. That would not be the greatest stat if the survey was among 14 metros, but it was not. The survey was of 100 metro areas. Incidentally, Orlando was the 2^nd fastest in the state, only behind Fort Meyers.

Which leads to my conclusion. I think when it comes to real estate in Florida, Good News or Bad News; I think you are in good shape with your investment. Are we in some rough waters? Heck yeah. But, is it better to be homeless in Orlando Florida or Detroit Michigan? Maybe the analogy is a little drastic, but you get my drift. Central Florida was the place to be economically during the downturn of 00-03' and it is the place to be in the recession of 08'-?

Want to know more about Central Florida and Orlando commercial real estate? Go to www.streetwiseinvestmentsinc.com for all your commercial and single tenant NNN questions.

You would not operate on yourself now would you?

How many times have we heard this stupid cliché??? Why is it stupid? Because we would absolutely not operate on ourselves. But, comparing a medical procedure to educating ourselves and taking control of our own financial destinies are totally separate events or issues in our lives.

I would absolutely not represent myself in a court of law for a civil or criminal proceeding. But, I would read up on every piece of material there was if I was facing a law suit pertaining to contaminated property and owner rights and obligations. Without going into too many examples, the point I am trying to make is this, we have a duty to empower ourselves. We have to take personal responsibility for making sure we know what is going on with our personal wealth. Likewise, like many of us we have a duty to our customers to try and give them our most professional opinion regarding the real estate transaction.

Furthermore, we have to facilitate self empowerment to our customers. I think if we show that we care about our customers they will pick up on our sincerity. It's something you can't fake either. I, like many of you I am sure, have been burnt in this market. In the last 10 or 15 years we have been programmed to think that "the market" is going to provide this big retirement nest egg for all of us. How many prospectuses have we read that state "... if you had invested just $10,000.00 5 years ago you would have $80,000.00 today..." I know you have seen these marketing mutual fund tools time and time again.

Here is what we have to do in my humble opinion as real estate professionals. We have to show the consumer out there that real estate should be the MAIN asset in their IRA and 401K plans. Why? Because you can't insider trade real estate. You can't have a hostile takeover with real estate. How many times have you ever heard of a commercial strip center overstating earnings? Never. Because it is a HARD asset. You can't monkey with it. You can't be lied to about occupancy right? You can't be lied to as a landlord about rent rates right?

I would not operate on myself. I would recommend 100% of the time that a customer seek legal counsel regarding their contract to purchase, rent, or lease. But, I would also recommend that they study, study, study. So they know what is going on. After all, who has the biggest interest in our investment success? Right again! You can reach me at carmine@streetwiseinvestmentsinc.com and we can talk about single tenant NNN as a part of your investment strategy.