I’m in the middle of reading Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, in which he lays out a clear common sense approach for getting back to basics when it comes to food and eating.   He argues that all the scientific research has confused everyone to the point that nobody knows what to eat anymore, and sums up his findings for healthy and enjoyable eating with the following words:  “Eat Food.   Not Too Much.  Mostly Plants.”

The parallels with real estate are obvious (aren’t they?).  What was once a fairly simple investment or home purchase had become muddled with the advent of the ever-improving structured finance vehicles coming out of Wall Street.  Many buyers didn’t really understand the whole system, but just a small part of it.  Every real estate purchase was based on the newest “science” coming from the financial “scientists.”  At the end of the day, however, it’s clear that Pollan’s back to basics approach holds true for real estate as well:   “Buy Real Estate.  Good Property.  Don’t Overleverage.”