Be Our Guest

If you’ve had a daughter within the last 25 years, you probably have this song nearly memorized like I do. Be Our Guest is one of the popular melodies from the classic Disney movie Beauty and the Beast and as I was listening to it the other day for the 1,000^th time it made me think about how I feel when one of our rehab properties has just been completed and our property manager is showing it to potential tenants. Just imagine your property manager singing this song to your future renter (click on link above if you want to sing along):

“Ma chere Mademoiselle, it is with deepest pride
And greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight
And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair
As the dining room proudly presents
Your dinner!”

Be our guest, be our guest
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin ’round your neck, cherie
And we’ll provide the rest
Soup du jour, hot hors d’oeuvres
Why, we only live to serve
Try the grey stuff, it’s delicious
Don’t believe me, ask the dishes

They can sing, they can dance
After all, miss, this is France
And a dinner here is never second best
Go on, unfold your menu
Take a glance and then you’ll
Be our guest oui, our guest
Be our guest”

I write this because I think it is important to understand that real estate investing is not just about making money and building wealth, but it is also about serving the people that live in the property that you own. You are providing a roof over a family’s head and a safe place that a family can be proud to call their home. Think about how much goes on within a home and how you can serve that family by providing a nice place to live. If you just rehabbed the property, think about how you just took a nasty dilapidated property that nobody would step foot in, and you created a haven for parents to raise their children in. Think about a family sitting around the dinner table at night, talking about their day, and how you provide a safe resting place for them to enjoy a family meal together. Think about the markings on a closet door where a mom marked the height of a young boy over the years to show how he has grown. Think about the times where a dad would drink tea and have cookies with his daughter in her bedroom.

This is the stuff that excites me about real estate!

Real estate investors should think more like Lumiere (the candle stick in the movie). “Why, we only live to serve” he sings. “Be our guest”.

I challenge all real estate investors to take a step back and look past the idea of building wealth for themselves and their family and instead look at how they are serving their community and how their investments impact the people they interact with. Think about how you can serve more people through your real estate investing business and I guarantee you that it will be so much more fulfilling of a venture. Don’t just think about the bottom line, think about how your decisions will impact the present and future tenant (or buyer).

Oh, and if you start singing Be our Guest the next time you are showing a property to a buyer or renter, that may just be the trick to convince them that this is the house for them.

“Please, be our guest”.

Written by Stuart Grazier