When the Coronavirus hit, as with most things, I had jokes... I posted on FB the question of if this might be the Zombie Apocalypse virus or maybe the Planet of the Apes virus - and what should be my primary weapon of choice in either case. For instance, should I go with a crossbow or the shotgun to take out the resulting Zombies or talking Apes.
Jokes aside, while this is not that level of crisis, it is a challenging time none the less - and we could be on the verge of an economic recession of epic proportions. And while I certainly do not intent to make lite of being prepared with food and other items for the household - it occurs to me that while some people are rushing to the stores to buy toilet paper (among other things), others are buying the discounted assets (or preparing to do so) - that result from apparent crisis situations like this.
So hence the title and topic of this 51st episode of the... and Landlord Podcast - "The Rich Buy Assets, While the Poor Buy Toilet Paper". Fortunes are often made when there's fear, panic or even blood in the streets. And there is a quote that says "Observe the masses, and do the opposite." - well the masses appear to be focused on buying things like toilet paper. When they should be looking to buy the discounted assets that are certain to result from an economic downturn or recession.
The Stock Market is down big-time - but another way of looking at it, is that the Stock Market is having a sale. Real Estate is also likely to be on sale soon, as all-time low interest rates will increase purchasing power. We may also enter another round of short-sales and foreclosures as another economic downturn (or full on recession) causes financial stress for millions.
So I recorded this episode just to get you thinking - that while you certainly need toilet paper and other household items to get through the sort of thing we're experiencing now with this virus - you also need to be thinking about how you're going to come out the other side better off. Because the rich are buying assets while the poor (and middle class) are buying toilet paper.
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