This land is my land…
5 years ago this summer, Kia and I purchased a piece of property. We had come to a fork in the road, and we knew we needed to make a decision. We made a choice, and continued down the path. It took us somewhere we weren’t planning.
We originally looked at the land a year or two before we purchased it, and even had put an offer on it. The offer was declined (without a counter offer) and almost immediately taken off the market.
Fast forward about a year, and out of the blue, I received a call from our real estate agent. The owners had decided to put the property back up for sale (at the same asking price). He was giving me a heads-up before the land was listed. I had first dibs on the property.
Kia and I looked at the land again, and we still loved it. A creek ran on one side with a beautiful one lane wooden bridge. The land was half field and half wood with lots of room for our kids to explore. There were a few neighbors along the road, but acres stretched between us and them.
Within a few days we jumped. We put an offer on the land, simply what they were asking…no less. The offer was excepted, and arrangements were made finalizing the purchase.
5 years later.
So what has happened with that land after 5 years? Nothing.
We’ve gone out a few times over the years to hike and hang-out. We briefly considered building there, but quickly came to the conclusion it was both out of our budget, and it is 10 minutes further away from where our life revolves (activities, work, school, etc).
We’ve spent (and lost) thousands of dollars on land we don’t really need, want or can use to justify the price. Worst of all…we overpaid to begin with, so it’s unlikely we will get our money back when we sell.
A fork in the road.
Occasionally everyone comes to places that forks in our proverbial roads. Sometimes these forks are large. Sometimes these forks are small. The above example is a larger example of taking the wrong path at a fork in our road.
Why did we end up with such an albatross in our financial portfolio? Kia and I typically follow four steps when making decisions. We skipped most of them this time…we paid the price.
1. Ask yourself some questions.
Here are some questions I’ve learned to ask myself and talk with Kia and others when making decisions:
- Is it morally or ethically wrong?
- Is is best for me and my family?
- Does this make common sense?
There was nothing morally or ethically wrong with the purchase of the land, but it really wasn’t best for my family. Overall the decision to purchase without making a counter offer made no sense. We cheated ourselves out of the opportunity to save money.
2. Learn more.
Do research on your decision. What have other people done or paid? What would they do differently? There is so much information at our fingertips with a Google search.
3 years ago our daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy. While we learned the basics through our doctors, we gained so much more insight by reading about what others had learned and done in similar situations. We had a bigger picture of what path to take when it came to deciding what medication, diet and lifestyle to live.
3. Wait.
This is maybe the most important factor you can incorporate in making any decision. I am a process oriented person, so I’ve learned how important it is for me to come up with questions and thoughts I don’t think of initially.
One of Kia’s strengths is being an “activator” which means she wants to learn and do. While this is a great asset in many occasions, it can work against her when encountering forks in path.
I’ve found waiting a day, week or month usually leads to nothing but positive when making an important decision. If Kia and I would have waited another week or month on the purchase of the land what other options would we have seen?
4. Pray.
Wisdom ultimately comes from above. I’ve found prayer helps me sort out my thoughts, see insight I’ve not seen before, and gives me peace in making the final decision.
Life goes on.
While I regret the decision to buy land 5 years ago, my life continues to move forward. Not only has life gone on, but I’m the wiser for it. Mistakes like this has helped me come up with the above type rules when making a decision.
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