A Brief Reminder of How Fast Things Change

This is a slight change in topic, but provides a context for the present, including what HOAs such as BLMH are currently dealing with.

The following is an excerpt from an article by analyst Morgan Housel over at Fool.com. I suggest the reader of this blog click on the link at the end of this post and read the entire article, which contains three very useful suggestions, and several serious questions we should each be asking ourselves. Quoting Mr. Housel:

"If there's one lesson of the past decade, it's that things change -- fast. A good example: Read what President Bill Clinton had to say in the 2000 State of the Union address:

We are fortunate to be alive at this moment in history. Never before has our nation enjoyed, at once, so much prosperity and social progress with so little internal crisis and so few external threats. Never before have we had such a blessed opportunity -- and, therefore, such a profound obligation -- to build the more perfect union of our founders' dreams. We begin the new century with over 20 million new jobs; the fastest economic growth in more than 30 years; the lowest unemployment rates in 30 years; the lowest poverty rates in 20 years; the lowest African-American and Hispanic unemployment rates on record; the first back-to-back budget surpluses in 42 years. And next month, America will achieve the longest period of economic growth in our entire history. We have built a new economy. And our economic revolution has been matched by a revival of the American spirit: crime down by 20%, to its lowest level in 25 years; teen births down seven years in a row; adoptions up by 30%; welfare rolls cut in half to their lowest levels in 30 years. My fellow Americans, the state of our union is the strongest it has ever been. 

And then compare it to President Barack Obama's remarks during the 2010 State of the Union:

One year ago, I took office amid two wars, an economy rocked by a severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt. Experts from across the political spectrum warned that if we did not act, we might face a second depression. ... One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. And for those who'd already known poverty, life has become that much harder. This recession has also compounded the burdens that America's families have been dealing with for decades -- the burden of working harder and longer for less; of being unable to save enough to retire or help kids with college."


For the entire article, please click on this link:

Click to go to Morgan Housel on Fast Change

Notes:

1. Mr. Housel writes articles on Finance and Economics at Fool.com. These are usually published twice weekly. I highly recommend them. 
2. I've had discussion with various board members over the past several years. The points in Mr. Housel's article is exactly what some have been concerned about. We've all seen rapid change, or been present to it. Running a HOA in today's economic situation is not easy. I am of the opinion that the best boards are ever watchful and ever mindful. They read the work orders, check the bills, track cash flows, monitor the payments of fees, track delinquencies, units that are rented, foreclosures, and even rules violations. They ask hard questions, and look for the hard answers. 
3. Today, just about everyone I know is asking the question "When will things improve?" The truth is, we really don't know. We don't know when unemployment will fall to 6%, we don't know when home values will return to normal annual increases. We don't know when interest rates on savings accounts will again reach 4%.  All of this is so because we simply don't know when this economy will return to what we would all like to call "normal."  We don't know the future nor can we predict it. But we can prepare. 
4. Until that day when the economy is again what most of us would call "normal" and one in which we will be comfortable with our situation in life, everyone will continue to be a bit nervous. That includes owners, tenants and of course, the members of the board.