In 1972 I decided to buy a new car. As I walked through an array of cars at a dealership, I took a long envious look at a vehicle that was loaded with options. Like the old gag, it had luxuries in places that I did not even know there were places in an automobile. I knew I would have to buy the standard model with no bells and whistles but the salesperson consoled me by saying; “Think about it, the more stuff you have in a car, the more likely something is going to go wrong.”

That was a great piece of advice. I ended up buying a basic car with no options but I made the mistake of buying a foreign car. It was great but back in 1972, foreign car parts were made in foreign countries, so even if one small thing went wrong, it ended up costing me an absurd amount of money to fix it. I didn’t think that good advice through. Keep it simple but use some common sense.

I confess I did the same thing when I first bought a house during the ʼ70s. I bought a simple house with an enormous lot, just beyond the city limits. I was a pretty smart guy back then. The city was growing in leaps and bounds and I figured it would not take long for developers to reach the area I had bought in and I would cash in.

The problem was that the 1980s came along and just at the time I had to renew the mortgage, interest rates went through the roof. The mortgage broker told me I should sign for 19 per cent now because rates would be going even higher. That was pretty good advice because rates hit 21 per cent right after I signed. I had to leave that place behind and I lost money. But I was right in my theory. Development did reach the area shortly after I left and people who still had property made a fortune. I bought my place with too little down and mortgaged it for far too much money. I had a simple plan. It was brilliant. I did not have a contingency plan for when the economy tanked, however and although I could argue the case, I should have used more common sense.

I should have learned from all these experiences but I confess I cannot shake my penchant to try a good idea without a net. For some reason I have a willingness to take a chance. I am not sorry I ended up doing what I am doing today, in fact I enjoy this publishing endeavour. I could not imagine working somewhere where some boss tells me to have a report on their desk in the morning or do this and that.

But I look longingly at colleagues I knew many years ago back at the Toronto Star where I started out working in my 20s. They are all long retired today with fat pensions and benefits that I can only dream about. I sure don’t make the money they did but it has been, and the Good Lord willing, it will continue to be a blast doing this.

With all that said, I think that is what endears me to the real estate community the most. I cannot say the people I have met in this business are in any way odd. They are quite the opposite. They are thoughtful, kind hearted, knowledgeable and extraordinarily wise. I know am making sweeping statements about thousands of people and of course there are exceptions but real estate people are my kind of people. The entire industry works without a net. These are people who will take a chance. They will look at all angles, thoroughly think an idea through, give all sides a good looking over and then take a chance. They will take their best shot and at the end of the day they know that’s all it is. A shot. You can take every measure of a chance but you have to remember that at the end of the day it is what it was to begin with; a chance. There are no sure things anywhere.

So as we head into the fall season, a time when sales traditionally are supposed to be a little better, I commend you all for taking the chance to be in this business. I am proud of you all. I am proud to be in this entire affair right along with you.

Heino Molls is publisher of REM. [email protected]