Unless you’ve had your head in the sand all week, then you know that there’s talk of an economic bailout that should cost you and I about $10,000 a piece. It got me thinking about accountability .

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

As I finished my workout today I passed someone having a conversation about that very topic.  Apparently this person’s child had stolen something and didn’t think much of it.  The distressed parent did not know what to do.  Her ultimate method of "accountability" was to let the child know that if it happpened again and he got caught, then she would let the authorities deal with it.

What’s somewhat funny about this story is this is exactly what has happened to our economy.  Re-read that story above and let’s replace some words:

[Our Country's ] ultimate method of "accountability" was to let the [Industry ] know that if it happpened again and they got caught, then they would let the [Government ] deal with it.

Sorry, but that’s not really what I want.  I doubt you want the Government to take your money at gunpoint [TAXES] and bail out these financial districts either, when the solution is a simple, time tested word, ACCOUNTABILITY.

In Real Estate, there is no accountability.  There’s almost no barrier to entry for the mortgage industry or to be a real estate agent.  The public puts absolutely no weight in these professions.  Realtors are often compared to used car salesmen and when it comes to selling a home, most home owners would rather have a colonoscopy than think of paying a Realtor for their services….

Mortgage Broker and Real Estate Professionals are responsible for handling, for most, what is the biggest investment of their entire life. In the case of Real Estate Agents, in some states they have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for their client — this is the same responsibility that an attorney has! It’s hard to believe then that the state and the industry know the value of a Real Estate Agent but the public and the agent themselves don’t take the responsibility seriously… and WHY?  Because there is no accountability.

Mortgage Broker gives you a loan that on paper looks ridiculous but still clears underwriting.  What can you do?  At best, file bankruptcy.

An Realtor suggests a price to win your listing and is not honest about the market.  You are happy in the short term but in a declining market, you’ve just signed your foreclosure papers.

Now I’m done with my rant, but I’d much rather see accountability and standards added to the Real Estate industry as a whole than see these bailout plans.

Are you waiting till prices drop further?  I have two KEY questions for you.

1. When is the right time to buy?
2. When do you know where the bottom is?