A “Red-Letter Day”

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone,” is a quote by Neale Donald Walsch that has not only inspired me but reminded me that often I need to stretch myself and reach just beyond my capabilities.

Such as the case five years ago when I committed to writing a bi-weekly column in the Napa Valley Register as well as my blog, burtpolson.com.

I have enjoyed researching relevant topics, receiving valuable feedback all while honing my writing skills.

I have received a plethora of questions from you over the past five years, and I answer every one of them. I can always tell when a topic resonated with my readers both in the newspaper and online.

My top three articles based on the number of hits online are When is a Personal Guaranty Not Needed in a Commercial Lease?, Corporate retreat or luxury vacation home and my most recent series Shaking up real estate values with the new fault maps.

I love your comments. Partly because it reassures me that someone is reading my articles, but it also gives me a chance to expand a bit on the topic. Being limited to 500 words surprisingly proves to be difficult. Most of the time I have to pare down what I would like to express, but sometimes I end up with a multi-part article.

I remember a comment I received from my article, Irreconcilable differences - sell, because life is too short where the reader was in a stressful situation with her siblings. The mother had passed away, and the reader wanted to move on with her life by selling their childhood home. Her siblings would not sell but wanted to hold on to the house and rent it out to avoid paying taxes. My article gave her the courage to do additional research, talk with me and a lawyer where she discovered her siblings were incorrect in their thinking and was able to take a step forward in selling.

Retirement, taxes and warm fuzzies saved another reader from paying thousands of dollars in the sale of their small commercial office building. They were not aware of the ability they had to perform a 1031 tax-deferred exchange into another property to where they were relocating.

Another memorable comment was from a reader of the article It's an "if-then" proposition - Don't be married to a bum deal which discusses contingencies of a contract. The reader was purchasing a restaurant business and building from an owner who had his attorney write the purchase agreement. The purchase agreement was a bad deal for the buyer giving them no contingencies and no way out of the contract if they discovered something during the initial phase of the transaction.

I am thankful I was able to help these readers and the many others. Stretching oneself just outside of your comfort zone may just open doors you would never have realized if you only stayed with the familiar.

I welcome your suggestions for new topics as well as your comments and questions for the next five years.

Burt M. Polson, CCIM, is an active commercial real estate broker. Reach him at 707-254-8000, or burt@acresinfo.com. Sign up for his email newsletter at BurtPolson.com.