It's time to post a lookout. These are turbulent times.
If the government can force GM and Chrysler to eliminate almost 2,000 automobile dealerships - some profitable, some not, and especially those with multiple lines - without any compensation, think about what could be next. Us!
Entrepreneurs and franchisees who have invested their life savings in a dealership - some of them for more than one generation - and who have employed dozens of people per location are now just expendable. Lives upset, fortunes ruined, communities impacted, unemployment rolls swelled, commercial real estate instantly vacant, brand new automobiles in inventory virtually worthless, and property taken or denied without compensation - or worse yet given to someone else.
What's to keep the same thing from happening to realty offices? Can't you see the thinking - there's too many Realtors or too many offices in an area, would-be Realtors are being denied opportunities to compete or enter the market, too many poorly performing Realtors have been forced to leave the business because they couldn't support themselves, too many foreclosures, too many short sales, too many underperforming loans, too many homes on the market for too long, too many of the same franchise brand in an area?
If it can happen to a mainstay industry like the major automakers, why couldn't it happen to a mainstay industry like housing? And I'm not talking about mismanagement or the possibility of business failure - businesses come and go. I'm talking strictly about government interference and intervention and someone from Washington deciding how business should be run on Main Street, USA. Ironically, most of the federal bureaucrats perpetrating these injustices have never had anything but a government job so they have no idea of what it means to run a business.
Post the sentries. Watch out for the feds.
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For more information on my coaching and educational programs and services, visit my website stevehoffacker.com or go to my other blog homesalesinsights.com for additional sales tips, insights, and commentary. You can also listen to my free podcast messages at Steve Hoffacker's Happenings. © Steve Hoffacker, 2009. All Rights Reserved.
