A few times each year my wife and I head to Biloxi three hours to the west. It’s an easy drive. We have time to catch up on family, biz, and stuff. Gambling is our entertainment. We love the sights, sounds, and atmosphere. And the spa and pool of course! It’s fun.

Real estate can be like gambling. Here’s why. No strategy, no research, no trusted advisor, equals bad decisions. Let me explain. My game is baccarat. Before playing live, I studied and researched the game so I could make good decisions. A cool thing about casinos is that the dealer is happy to act as your advisor. Dealers have no skin in the game but they want you to have fun. And winning is fun. So they’ll help you. And I usually win more than I lose.

Thanks to information abundance combined with better search and sharing technology, product information is now ubiquitous. And today’s buyers, sellers, and investors are increasingly self-directed when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

Primarily because you have broad access to resources and proactively gather information across a number of digital channels. You often develop real perceptions before you ever interact directly with a brand.

But no so much with real estate.

Because it’s a big money purchase. And because you don’t really know the area and don’t have the time to seriously research, study, digest and interpret the data. Lots of unknowns. And you only buy and sell a few homes in your lifetime. It’s not buying a vehicle, groceries or children’s items.

That’s why you need a trusted advisor. As appraisers, Jennifer and I have seriously researched over 25,000 MLS sheets. An agent may have 10-20 listings per year and might sell 12 to 20 properties per year. There’s no comparison relative to education, experience, knowledge, and competency.

Don’t gamble with real estate decisions. Do your own internet research. Write down your questions. Narrow down your choices the best you can. Then contact Mims for trusted advice.

Real estate is an emotional decision. But less than the stock market which dropped 300 points Friday. Ugh. You have no control of the stock market. But you do with real estate decisions.

Go ahead and be emotional. We don’t. That’s why you can count on Mims for trusted advice.

BBQ:

BLT: Viva Las Vegas by Elvis