Few Real Estate Answers for Katrina

Redefining the Landscape... Tuesday's Dispatch, Hurricane Katrina's Unanswered Questions (Sep 13), produced few answers. Most readers raised even more questions. One simply responded, "It hurts my brain just to think about it!"

Ken Barry with CB Richard Ellis in Anaheim, CA, writes, "Most contracts have an 'Act of God' or 'Force Majure' provision that covers most circumstances [mentioned in the Dispatch]. ... Acts of social consciousness and social ethics are generally not written into the law or in contracts."

The Wall Street Journal points to "pockets of pain" facing investors in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market. "Banks that issue securities, credit-rating agencies and loan servicers have spent the past two weeks trying to gauge how generous insurers may be to commercial-property owners." ("Real-Estate Bonds Will Likely Take Hit in Wake of Katrina," Sep 14, 2005)

Jay Scott Brown with Grubb & Ellis | Levy Beffort in Oklahoma City sympathizes with real estate professionals facing a new landscape. "You now have nothing to sell or buyers who want to buy. Any income in your pipeline for buildings under contract is gone. It is very difficult to take your skills and change markets."

Ironically, all the reasons that make it difficult to outsource personal real estate services make it difficult to outsource yourself! Of course, a few real estate professionals have struck pay dirt. Yesterday's WSJ also featured a story about an entrepreneur in Luling, LA, (30 miles west of New Orleans) quickly leasing his dead K-mart, bought two years ago for $3 a square foot (this is not a typo).

Lee Arnold with Colliers Arnold in Tampa Bay, FL, pointed me to Katrina Solutions, which his company recently launched. "One person can’t do everything, but everyone can do something." Good advice.

-- Peter Pike