For most people, real estate will be the most valuable asset we ever own. Whether it is primary residence or a second or third or fourth or one hundred fifty-ninth home, real estate is wherein the bulk of our earnings end up being invested. And so, logically, the management of this largest of our investments really should be handled very prudently.
"Succession" is the technical term for when a tangible asset passes from one owner to the next. Most folks experience Succession through the process of Inheritance -- Mom and Dad pass away, and Suzy and Bobby Inherit the family property. Succession takes many other forms, but for most of us, Inheritance remains the method by which we experience Succession. All perfectly normal, legal and aboveboard.
I have literally lost count of how many GFA Members I have spoken to who have told me that they are going to have to sell their places. The currently sitting GFA board makes no such data available, so I cannot provide concrete numbers regarding the demographics of the GFA Membership-at-large. (In fact, when I proposed using the GFA FB page to voluntarily poll the GFA Members for input, my suggestion was vehemently opposed) But based on the conversations I have had with numerous GFA Members, a problem I did not anticipate has been revealed: FAR too many GFA Members have told me they have no one to give their camps to upon their passing. I have heard literally dozens of times words to the effect of. "My kids/grandkids don't want the place. They say it's not like it used to be." Beyond being emotionally devastating to hear, there is a very real economic impact to this cancerous mentality. GFA Membership is obviously greying. None of us are immortal. We are all going to pass away, whether we like it or not. The currently sitting GFA board is mostly composed of individuals "of a certain age", who do not seem at all interested in the problems this growing attitude of potential Inheritors actually not wanting to Inherit is creating. As the GFA Membership-at-large continues to age and pass away, without willing Inheritors present to assume their place in the naturally-presumed line of Succession, a large number of camps are going to end up on the re-sale market at roughly the same time, creating a glut in the market wherein the availability of camps will vastly outstrip the pool of interested buyers. This currently inevitable outcome is going to result in far longer times that camps will be on the market, as well as far lower sale prices being realized. Supply and Demand is an absolutely unavoidable factor in the reality of Succession.
If we do not start work immediately to alter the course and tone of the currently sitting GFA board, we are all going to suffer in a multitude of ways, including being the dubious owners of what will absolutely prove to be gigantic financial white elephants. The ongoing failure of the currently sitting GFA board to recognize the present reality of the GFA Membership-at-large, the new norms and attitudes inspired by relatively recent technological advancements, and its complete failure to even try to enact any sort of verifiable and comprehensive plan for the future of the GFA and its Members is absolutely a recipe for disaster, both familial and financial. The currently sitting GFA board simply must be awakened to both current reality and future likelihoods before every one of us suffers any more loss at their hands.
We really CAN do MUCH better.
Thank you very much for your DEEPLY appreciated support!! :-)
The 2019 Goodnow Flow Association Annual General Meeting will be held on August 31 at 09:00 in the Newcomb Central School auditorium. 𝙊𝙉𝙇𝙔 GFA Members who have paid an additional "initiation fee" (not just annual dues) and thereby 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 their right to vote, and who are able to 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘎𝘔 i̳n̳ ̳p̳e̳r̳s̳o̳n̳, will be allowed to vote on anything. Please attend.
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