Have you ever noticed????

So this morning I am having coffee with a group of Real Estate professionals...and as you can imagine the topic turns to the current economic crisis we are in.

Our group is made up of real estate agents, a broker or two, one man who owns multiple mortgage houses as well as two (full time)commercial and residential, real estate investors..of which I am one.

The vast majority were expressing concern over how the new loans will not be as user friendly to the investor...how the decline of credit will kill off a new generation of buyers etc etc...

Now being one of the older ones in this little coffee clutch, I sat back and just listened to the conversation of controlled panic.

Comments ranged from the waste of money on the "bailouts" to the impending doom of the increase in taxes.

When out of nowhere I hear Robert (the other full time investor) ask the big question:

"So instead of worrying about yourselves, what are you doing about your clients...both new and old???

The silence actually hurt your ears. He went on to talk about how the art of Real estate investing has seen these pitfalls before...and people still manage to invest.

But he wanted to know about how these RE "professionals" were helping the client bases they had already built. Had any of them called old clients to see if they could be of some help??? Could they look at doing a restructured loan for them??? Did the client need to list a property????

One of the younger members of the group made the comment about not wanting to be "yelled at by a client over the current market conditions"....to which the reply was..."At the time you first worked for them did you do the best for the client that you could have??? or did you do the best for your commission?"

Needless to say I left our monthly "meeting" with a very different feeling as when i went in.

I was reminded that we the real estate profession is a service based career...and it is our job to server our clients as best we can.