Americans woke up to a distressing morning on Sunday after news filtered through that a car bomb attempt was foiled in one of New York City’s most famous landmarks. According to reports, the suspect, who has since been arrested, left an SUV filled with propane, gasoline, firecrackers, and homemade detonating devices at Times Square.

Death and significant property damage were averted after street vendors alerted the police of the smoke coming out of the SUV. The authorities acted swiftly on the case, which led to the arrest of the suspect less than 54 hours after the failed car bomb attempt was detected.

Real estate investors can learn one important thing from this incident: vigilance.

The country was spared from potentially another deadly terror attack because of the vigilance of two street vendors and two police officers who immediately ordered an evacuation in the area. Things could have gone a whole lot worse were it not for the quick thinking and smart decision-making of the vendors and police officers.

Real estate investors also need to be vigilant. I’m sure most of you have heard of stories about investors who made a fortune investing in real estate, only for them to blow it all away because they weren’t vigilant enough to notice that their business is failing, or that the market has changed, or that there system isn’t working anymore. One day they’re living the high life, the next day they’re struggling to scrape funds to finance a deal.

Even if you’re business is flourishing, always be on alert for things that could ruin your real estate investing career. That way, you could save yourself and your family from a possible hard life that befall investors who weren’t vigilant enough to protect their business.

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