Knock! Knock!
Knock!Knock!
Back in my day ...
When I was your age ...
Start a conversation with old sayings like that, and you'll lose a young person's attention quickly. I know that's how I reacted when I heard them years ago.
And I understand. Everyone has to learn their own life lessons. Again, I know I did my fair share of learning the hard way. Trial and error. Life's hard knocks. But still ... there are those times in my past that I wish I had learned a little differently. Some way a bit less painful perhaps ...
Yesterday, I wrote a blog entitled, "Answer This Home Buying Question. Are YOUR Personal Ducks in a Row?". In a nutshell, my blog talked of a young client of mine that had prepared herself successfully for buying a home. She had gotten her "ducks in a row" and is now prepared financially, credit-wise, and mentally to become a new homeowner. All as she will enjoy a large savings in monthly payment ($200/month) in comparison to what she would have paid 2 years ago at the onset of her journey to home ownership.
Obviously, all great news for my client, but I couldn't help but think, this happy ending could be playing-out so many more times than we are presently seeing. And that fact that it's not kinda saddens me.
Young, first-time buyers have an opportunity presently before them that comes around very rarely. Historically speaking, maybe NEVER! The stars are aligned. Interest rates are unbelievably low. Housing prices have tumbled way down. There's also a large number of homes on the market from which to choose. Perfect trifecta!
When I was their age ... Back in my day ...
Warning! Now comes the obligatory story ...
When I bought my first home at 21, the house my wife and I chose had some "issues". (I'm being kind) The house had no central heating. The walls were covered with 8 layers of wallpaper. There were no kitchen cabinets, save the sink ... and it had a hole in it for where the pump used to be.
The front porch of the house had a horse hitch on it. (no kidding!) The lot the house sat on was determined to be too big in ratio to the size of the house (a whopping 640 sq. ft. of rompin' stompin' castle!) that had been built in 1857. Conventional mortgages were definitely out.
We had purchased a fridge to hold drinks and food while we worked on the home prior to moving in ... and when it kicked-on the whole house went dark. (20 amp service just doesn't light-up a home like you think it would!) But I think you get my drift and understand why I say the house had some "issues" to overcome.
But we had determined that it had good "bones". It was structurally sound. So we had worked through all the issues regarding the mortgage financing and the fact that it was an estate sale and purchased it. Our parents thought we had lost our minds.
Eight years later (and two babies), we sold the place. We had more than doubled the size, re-wired, added new plumbing, a deck, a garage (and a driveway, as I guess horses didn't need one), added new kitchen cabinets we stained ourselves, split-off much of the land into another lot, and had sold that lot to pay for much of the remodeling of our home.
Buying that house? It was the best financial decision we ever made. It allowed us entrance into a housing market in a town that we never would have been able to purchase in otherwise. It got us started. Thankfully we weren't afraid of hard work and we didn't decide to pass on the opportunity.
Obligatory story over! And yes. That was "when I was young". That was "back in my day". But I guess what I'm saying is this. There's a lesson to be learned from my story and others. And that's ... Opportunity is knocking for many right now. Are you overlooking it?
I'm talking about that perfect trifecta mentioned above contributing to and delivering those opportunities. Interest rates,housing prices, and greater variety of home from which to choose ... then add valuable professional assistance being offered in huge quantities to boot. Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!
Don't let this great opportunity slip by you because you didn't take action or because something was less than perfect. If that means confronting your finances now, do it. If that means getting a grips on your credit, let's get started. And if that means taking a wider, more open-minded view of homes on the market ... consider it.
These opportunities before you right now are so very rare. Find out what they are, or can be, for you personally. Pick-up the phone! Email your questions! Text for information! Click to get connected! Do what it takes so you can personally benefit from these opportunities!
If you ever hope to buy a home ... now is the time to start working towards that goal ...
