I think the folks at Walt Disney could learn a thing or two about roller coasters from the folks on Wall Street. What a week we had! Down 1,000 points, up 650 points (while still being down), down the next day. Now the International Masters of the Financial Universe have created yet another super-hyper-massive bailout with money that doesn’t exist. (That’s what central banks are doing these days … financial sleight of hand). Can any of you spell “inflation?” And I mean I-N-F-L-A-T-I-O-N! My history may be a little rusty, but didn’t Nero say something like “Give them Bread and Circuses” while Rome fell? Translate that to “Health Care and Pensions” today and you get my point. “I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart.” – e e cummings On the commercial real estate front we can rest somewhat more easily in that our transaction periods insulate us from such whipsaws in the equity markets (unless, of course, you own shares in a REIT). Rates actually benefit from these situations as investors flee to safety, bid up prices treasuries, and lower interest rates temporarily. Now all we need are more jobs and we will see a recovery in Retail and Office. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery.” – Charles Dickens Commercial Financing Tip Highlight Experience. Lenders of all stripes love to work with experienced borrowers. But what constitutes “experience” in the eyes of a lender in today’s credit restricted world? Realistically, ten or more years of commercial real Read the rest of this entry »