The Reclamation

From the Brink of Depression, Thru the worst of Recessions, has evolved our Reclamation; the disillusionment of the demos, compelled thru malfeasance and mismanagement to take hold of the wealth that lies within our own environment.

What am I talking about??

- Undisciplined Society-

Our recession has unveiled the intricate ways that our collective actions affect one another. The ramifications of our undisciplined decisions is what created our depressed economy. Collectively we borrowed money we knew we couldnt (easily or reasonably) pay back. We, as agents of these financial institutions, promoted and placed already borrowed money, into the hands of our fellow citizens.

Who could, or still can, say no to the opportunity of owning your own home when it is packaged in such a tantalizing way? No money Down! No Documentation Needed!! $30,000 in your pocket at closing!! If having money is a test, how many of us failed?

Even more, how many of us knew that we were going to fail, but were content with our commssions and our clients future debt? America was founded on the principle of unyielded ambition, boundless opportunity. Who in this world, who wasnt already rich, could resist??

Who could resist, as prices rose and opportunities shrank, the idea of refinancing your home to let yourself live more comfortably? Oh, you didnt know? Your house is actually worth $250,000, you have $70,000 in equity!! Real estate prices NEVER go down!!

As citizens we have been witness to the most egregious and precarious form of capitalism. In the most unscrupulous way, Banks and other financial institutions used their expertise, political weight, and the licentious business environment to present to us offers that we couldnt refuse.  Even more, these offers were presented to us by our fellow citizens, who themselves had been presented with offers (commissions) they could not reasonably refuse.

I am a proud, understanding agent of capitalism, and have come to understand that Capitalism can only thrive in a social context. Because, for whatever reason, and whoever it may be that the blame has been placed, we can always be sure of one thing: that person is a citizen. He, she, or they move only in the context of the society they abide. And if the moves they make negatively affect their place of abode, and the citizens they do business with, the vibrations will be felt throughout.

If our economic actions our based on our economic expectations, how many of us were mislead into a dry oasis- by a mirage of the ocean? Irrational Exuberance. But this is the miracle of capitalism. The market may be recessed; the market may even be depressed. But the market will never cease to exist. And in its struggle to necessarily exist, it must necessarily correct itself.

The fact is that the capitalist is the imperial agent of change within any market- and that that same capitalist, a citizen of somewhere, must be the agent for change within that markets societal context- an agent of change within the society. "The capitalist is responsible for society's progress.” The agent that plays the biggest role in the "mood" of the market is the capitalist.

Through its correction, our recession, we are being taught how to truly perpetuate a prosperous market; how to integrate our professional aspirations with our social necessities. In regards to the collective soul of the society, prosperity and salvation are synonymous.

As real estate inventory dwindled, and the increased demand compelled the building of countless new homes, prices rose. As more and more loans were handed out, for subsequently more money, and more and more money was borrowed over seas, overall prices rose. As more money was passed out, less and less investment was made into our home market with that money, creating a new global economic leader, and overall higher prices for a newly indebted global demos.

No preacher had to tell us that when self interest is unscrupulously prevalent, the demos suffer. The market herself told us.  She took her argument straight to the people; straight to our pockets. The institutions that made us stumble over ourselves, themselves stumbled, revealing their true benefactor- the citizen. The servant is now the master. We, an injured body already, were forced to carry the institutions through this journey. And though ultimately the correction of the market will prove to be a greater recompense, the current Reclamation must be its initial blessing.

Dont get me wrong, foreclosures are inevitable and are a cost of doing business. But failure on such a grand scale can only equal malice – one way or the other.

How can we save the bank, in neglect of the people, when the people are the bank.  How can the bank survive, and thrive even, while its heart and soul, the people, struggle. The underlying truth has been foolishly disguised as a paradox. But this is the Reclamation - this is the age of Disillusionment.

By reclamation I mean exactly what the word infers: a reclaiming. Face it, in the dawn of this new economic existence, we can look back at yesterday and confidently say that we failed. We the people gave away our wealth to impersonal, inanimate, beings that made calculated decisions in a tragically miscalculated way.

As we began to owe more and more through unfulfilled financial obligations, foreclosures allowed our environments and communities to be taken from us. How can a world full of such distinction, and a country full of such diversity, have main streets in its cities so devoid of character? Homes vacant, and the streets overflowing capacity?? Progress abated, because homes MUST be sold at artificially high prices, to compensate for malicious, artificially reasonable, mistakes. Still, if failure is the opportunity to start again more intelligently, let the new day commence.

The reclamation is the period in which we now reside; where our environment, and the primary source of wealth, is being reclaimed by the citizenry.

You see, capitalism thrives in a social context, but it never will rely on altruism. Miraculously, self interest is what has created, and what will be the primary motive to perpetuate our reclamation.

Self Interest is what has allowed saavy, seasoned investors and business men, to save themselves from unwise decisions. Local business men- the local capital and job creators- persevered patiently in the wake of an undisciplined world splurging on borrowed profits. They are like neighboring kings who watched and waited for our civil war to end. As we destroyed ourselves, they knew better, and preserved their own. Now they have the capital to buy property at 40% of market value.

Why?

Self Interest.  This is what allows talented and knowledgeable citizens to see their opportunity to negotiate short sale prices with banks. Lawyers and realtors who know that a shift in the market is imminent. They are the soldiers on the front lines of the reclamation (scary huh?), correcting inflated prices, thus initiating a correction of the entire market. Under shadow of the looming financial opportunity, is the altruistic act of subsequently saving their fellow citizens from the impersonal beast still breathing- foreclosure, bad credit, even bankruptcy is being avoided. Reputations, businesses, and families are being saved because fellow citizens see money in their eyes.

Self interest is what allows entrepreneurs like myself to take risk, connect resources, and find use for properties that have been rendered useless by futile efforts. Contractors and landlords who will buy back these properties and restore them to their full use. We are the ones who now have the opportunity to transform our communities by taking cautious, careful steps in restoring the character and personality into our environments. We can now, ourselves as a society, without any official government mandate, clean up areas we deem to need it. Improve depressed communities and invest our ambitions into where we live. As well, because of correcting market values, available financing, and an abundance of willing buyers, profit margins are enough for one property to feed many citizens financially- in addition to being a place of shelter for residing families, and a source of wealth and income for whosoever may subsequently own the property.  

As the market corrects itself, and our actions, excess is being trimmed. For example, automobile manufacturers have specialized and began making the vehicles that we actually ask for. Through market correction, all of a sudden, a 2 ton pick up can get 45 miles a gallon. Trust or morality isn't needed, its pure self interest and self preservation that tells these car companies that if they do not bow down to the sovereign consumer- most definitely a citizen- they will perish. Competition has allowed consumers to have choices, and ironically, the recent bubble gave us the cash to have options and the ability to act . The market punished irresponsible car companies for their arrogance by allowing consumers to deem them useless.

As more and more properties are being bought back at deep discounts, artificial prices are deflating. Rents are being reduced. Interest rates are going down. Jobs are being created. With a reduction in imperative operating cost, associated to real estate and financing, prices in general are declining. The Reclamation, in the end, will not only refer to our real estate, but the reverberations of our economic actions will cause correction to everything associated with real estate cost- which is everything. To witness the market go thru such strain and recession, only to placate and correct itself is almost a religious experience.

We are reclaiming our existence- placing one of the greatest fountains of wealth- one of the greatest fountains of capital- back into the hands of the people, who must know its best use. Through the self correction of the market, the capitalist has been placed back on their throne. Perhaps the greatest disillusionment has been that the true capitalist can never lose their throne, and the true capitalist must always be a citizen. Aware that any capital venture is an investment in society, and any scheme that hurts the citizens, must answer to the market.