I’m someone who has invested in property over the last 5 years and I have some rental properties. I have always thought of my properties as being assets. I would never have admitted this, but I would also have subconsiously seen my tenants to have been liabilities. There are worries about how the tenants will treat the home and if the rent will be paid on time in full.
Over the last little while I’ve come to see in fact that it is the tenant who is the asset. Without a tenant the property itself becomes the liability. The tenant is the who pays the rent and provides the value to me - the property itself doesn’t do that. If there is no tenant, the property becomes an expense and a liability on my time and money.
Sometimes things we think are liabilities are assets – and in fact, most people and most things in society, if we look at them in the proper light are assets.
Asset Based Community Development
Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) is where we take a look at our community from the point of view of “what do we have that we can use together.” Its a positive way of anaylysing how we can use what we have and work together to achieve ends. Its a positive form of networking. When we look at our communities from this light, all sorts of things are seen as assets.
For example – many people are assets. Some people are elderly, have experienced many things and know many people. Because of their life experiences and position these people are assets. Connecting them with schools, churches or other community groups/projects enhances things tremendously.
Some people are “connectors” because they connect sections of a community together by being who they are, in their position and with their influence. In Mt Morgan these connectors are people like school Principals, church ministres, the matron of the hospital, certain business people, and believe it or not…. Ian Traynor, our postmaster. (he knows everything that goes on in town.)
Mt Morgan as a community does have needs, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics and The Australian Newspaper have had plenty to say about that… but nowhere have I read anywhere about the assets of our town. So allow me to list a few assets that fall into the category of organisations and associations:
- Norton Goldfields – local mining company
- Rockhampton Regional Council
- 2 Schools
- 5 Churches
- Several Sporting Clubs
- Mt Morgan Promotion & Development Group
- Footbridge Corner
- The HUB – Relationships Australia
- Learning Network Queensland
- Even 4 Pubs are an asset – Providing Cheap Accomodation
- 2 Caravan Parks
- And More…
Even in a small community of just a few thousand people – it’s amazing how many things we have which are assets. A bit of development of these resources and connecting their usefulness can results in tremendous things.
