I end up talking a lot about real estate these days. A lot of my coaching clients have homes they either want to buy or sell, or can’t rent, or are in foreclosure, you get the idea.

And a question I get a lot from our friends here in Colorado is, “Do you STILL own your home in Texas? Didn’t you ever sell it?” It’s a well-meaning question, but a loaded one, reminding me that yes, we never sold that beautiful home that I still love, and that we continue to pay a little more for each month than what the rent brings in.

But why look at it that way? A wealthy person would be proud of having such a great investment property, and the very nature of an investment is that you have to INVEST in it, i.e. put money into it.

We have been blessed for almost two years now with wonderful tenants who care for it as if it was their own. And while we couldn’t sell it today for a profit, we’re not upside down on it, either. Considering that some homes in that neighborhood are now selling for about 25% less than what they sold for three years ago, we’re very blessed.

My friends, we have to do like Dave Ramsey says and THINK LIKE RICH PEOPLE. Our house in Keller, Texas is NOT “our house that still hasn’t sold.”  First of all, it is God’s house, and He put us in it for a season and now he has charged us with managing it. Second, it’s a great long-term investment.

When God is ready for it to sell, it will sell. For now, it’s still under our management, and I’m going to start seeing that as a tremendous blessing, and not a burden.

My friends if you’re struggling with poverty attitudes regarding a home you haven’t sold please read “The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner” by David Bach. It’s a wonderful book about one of the best ways to easily build wealth in America.

We have to ditch the thinking that we’re condemned financially and that every minor hurdle is a catastrophe waiting to happen. God takes care of His own. He meets our needs. He never fails.
Things may look rocky for a season, but God can use every circumstance to bless us and make us stronger.

I’m happy to manage this little house in Texas, right next to the fishing pond and the playground. And soon, I’ll be delighted to own another great house in Colorado, with a full view of Pike’s Peak and the front range of the Rocky Mountains. It’s all God’s, and I’m glad He is trusting us with more and more every year.

My friends, we have to stop freaking out about the housing market. And I don’t say that to make light of the situations that some of you are in, facing short sales and foreclosures. But lots of otherwise rationally minded folks are calling me in a panic because they’re upside down or can’t sell, but they don’t really HAVE to sell. So why worry?

Read Matthew 6. Take a deep breath. Ride out the storm. It’s going to be okay.