The past month has seen some pretty dramatic gyrations in the equity and mortgage markets evidenced by near panic on Wall Street and, no doubt, in some homes. If you’re thinking about becoming an innkeeper, we always say that you need to take stock of your assets. They may be less today than a few months ago if the majority of your net worth is in your home, but those assets are still there and will recover.

In the meantime, the basic principles still apply: know what you have, save what you can, keep your total debt levels low and credit scores high, keep learning about the wonderful world of innkeeping, and keep looking for quality bed and breakfasts and inns that make money. That is, if you need to pay the mortgage from the business.

But why is this an opportunity? Well, even though some mortgage money is tighter today than even a month ago, there’s another positive benefit for prospective buyers: with the flood of inns for sale and higher interest rates, prices should be coming down. If you find a good property but the price doesn’t seem right, don’t despair. Study it. Figure out what it’s really worth based on what it can honestly support. And then make an appropriate, fair offer. You might be surprised that you’ll be able to buy a bed & breakfast for less today than last year.

The truth is that markets always balance themselves out. And, for innkeepers wanting to sell now, you might need to reconsider your price. Our hope at The B&B Team is that this market correction will restore some balance to the country inn marketplace and open the door to even more people becoming innkeepers and more innkeepers exiting gracefully.

Have you had an experience buying or selling recently? Did the outside world affect your transaction? Please share you experience by commenting here.

Peter