International Reverbations for the Financial Markets...

I just returned from a trip home to Ireland to find the financial landscape is as uncertain here as it was there. It is a small world and indeed people wondered if the US encountered a downturn how/if that would impact world markets, and unfortunately now we can see that it definitely does. The financial markets are fragile worldwide - Ireland and England (and other European countries) have enjoyed tremendous growth for the last several years, and now things have come to a grinding halt.

The proposed bailout by the US government is about to be unveiled later this week, the first draft of which was rejected. As investors we need to monitor things closely and not get caught up in the predominant emotion which is fear. As author and philosopher:

Jim Rohn says "we all experience winters (financial, personal, social), they always come after a harvest. Some are short, others long...learn to think negatively when things are positive; learn to think positively when thing are negative. You'll be in better shape to survive your next winter."

This is the time to really stay close to the market to determine how you as a savvy investor can participate. Nearly three years ago now, we sold all of our properties in CA and that was the right move, we thought it at the time but there is always an element of doubt. In retrospect, it was perfect timing and all because we were privy to expert information that assisted us with making those decisions.

There is a strong contrarian element to real estate investing, and fear is the dominant emotion currently in the market place. When the bloom is off the rose professional investors pay serious attention. We have taken action ourselves by purchasing two houses recently, and are looking to find more deals that make sense. In November, we will host one of my favorite CA experts at the SJREI Association to here what he sees ahead for the market. Bruce is one of the people who predicted the downturn and warned us in advance of this crisis. Keep an eye on our website to hear Bruce at http://www.sjrei.net/ and hold on for the ride, and be prepared to act when something really makes sense financially...