Preditory lenders qualified unqualified buyers who had low credit scores and who became home owners with little or no money down and shared little or none of the risk. 

On the commercial and investment side, the 1031 Tax Exchange most often proved to benefit only the brokers.  Investors, again, many times dismissing the economics, along with the math, were lured into thinking that they were trading up, only to see their cash equity evaporate as rental rates plumitted and vacancy rates sored.  Instead of overcoming the stigma of paying the tax on the gain and keeping the balance of cash liquid, investors instead saw tax bills jump, cash flow diminish and realized after the fact much lessor cap rates on their acquisitions.

During the buying bubble, I found it difficult to represent clients in investments where I knew I was going to be the only one making any money.  At the time, investors heard only wanted to hear and NOT what they needed to hear.  They took on the investment strategy of "keeping up with the Jones'."  Now investors are stuck in a holding pattern with no comfortable feeling of landing safely anytime soon.

Four years ago I had the opportunity to work on another project which took me back and forth from St. Louis to New York and New Jersey, working with a national retail group to find and build retail stores.  Projects included stores in downtown Brooklyn, right next to Macy's, Long Island, Queens, and several other locations throughout New York and New Jersey.  I decided it was time to stay home and rebuild CRMC and provide St. Louis investors with another option when choosing their management company.     

When choosing a management company to represent your real estate investments and assets, it's important not only to be represented with knowledge and experience, but also with honesty, integrity and accountability.