If you have been involved in real estate for any length of time, you’ve heard it said that the three most important things when it comes to real estate are “location, location, location.”I’ve heard nationally-recognized experts say that over and over on national media.I must politely but emphatically disagree.I believe the three most important things when it comes to real estate are "location, timing, and circ*mstances," and here’s why.
Just yesterday I drove past a location that I have been driving past for 40 years.Yes, 40 years.That location has not moved one wit on any GPS or map.Now, all these years later, massive construction is taking place in that spot.Why is this of interest?Because just a couple years ago, I was part of a group of investors who held an option for a year to buy that property.I was searching for a developer to bring in to put a truck stop there.Well, I was about two years too soon, because that is what is going in there now.Regrettably, my business colleagues and I do not have any piece of that action.
What changed?Timing and circ*mstances changed.For 40 years, it was vacant, overgrown, unfarmed farmland sitting at a freeway interchange in northeast Ohio.The location never changed, but the timing and circ*mstances changed significantly.One of the changed circ*mstances is that the other truck stop at that location is doing exceedingly above what was projected.They often have a line of cars and trucks waiting to get into it.Because of where it is geographically located, it is the first place for drivers to get gas that is more affordable after having driven at least 100 or more miles coming from Buffalo, New York and heading toward Cleveland, Ohio.
While location is a key factor, it took timing and circ*mstances (i.e. a growing, booming economy and the need for more services for people traveling on the interstate) to make it feasible to develop the property.That property had been for sale for at least 10 years before the team in which I was involved got an option to buy it.
Here’s another example.As a young child growing up in Colorado, there was a mega mall called Cinderella City that was a destination everyone looked forward to visiting.In the 40+ years since leaving Colorado, I’ve learned that Cinderella City became a struggling, declining mall that was eventually bulldozed to make way for low-income housing at that site.Once again, the location did not change, but timing and circ*mstances did.
What makes circ*mstances so important is that it includes demographics and economics.There is no better place than Florida to demonstrate how timing and circ*mstances can change the value of a location.
When you are looking at investing in real estate, think long-term as to what you project the future timing and circ*mstances to be regarding that property.
