Buyers

This website is a work in progress. After seven years, we are migrating our website to a program which allows us to customize most every aspect of what you see, which will be, though is not quite yet, the final product.

Buyers in today’s real estate climate face a number of interesting and mostly unseen, though not non-normal, choices and decisions.

First and foremost, is the decision of whether to buy. As Hamlet is quoted, “that is the question”.

We suggest you look strongly at answering that question prior to undertaking the process of homeownership. If anything in the last two-three years has elucidated any already-known truths it is that of patience, determination, and perseverence.

Buying a home is not like purchasing and putting on a new pair of jeans or test-driving a new car. And while we all intellectually quote, un-quote “know” that, it remains to be salient to say it again, and again. Too often we see well-meaning people feel the pressure of purchasing a home to fit into ideals: Their ideals of what life should look like at “their age”; pressures, external or internal, to fit in with their friends and family who have purchased a home; the media; and the social normatives that permeate our American Culture.

Buying a home is not for everyone at every time. There are times were it is better to not own a home. And there are times where successful, intelligent, capable, and educated people should rent rather than own. Strange to hear a real estate website write such things? Well, it shouldn’t be so out of the norm. We all know it. Most all of us long to hear the sobering bottom line that is mostly lost, yet not yet gone, from our grandparents. The dedication of patience, discipline, and persevering through a goal is much more important than fitting in with social norms, or internal “I should haves”.

So, how do you “know” if you are ready? Well, here are some simple guidelines:

1. Do you carry a credit card balance from month to month? If yes, you are probably not ready to purchase a home.

2. Do you have a will or living trust, and an advance medical directive? If the answer is no, then you are probably not ready to purchase a home.

3. If you have a wage-earning job, meaning you receive a w-2 at the end of the year and you are not self-employed, do you have 3 months to 6 months of total living expenses (based upon your potential new house payment) in a liquid (not stock, in savings, conservatively invested) emergency fund? If you are self-employed, meaning you do not receive a w-2 at the end of the year, you are 1099, etc. et al., do you have 6 months to 8 months of total living expenses in an emergency fund? If the answer is no, then you are not ready to purchase a home.

4. If you are married, especially if you have children, do you have life insurance? Side note, they say term is the best, though we’re not insurance people, so check with one. If the answer is no on the life insurance, for both partners, then you are probably not ready to purchase a home.

5. If you are a non-married couple or friends purchasing a home, do you know in what form you are going to hold title to the property? If the answer is no, then you need to find this out and agree to this prior to buying a home. Also said, if you are dating and are looking to purchase a home together, what about if one of you decides to leave? Who will be responsible for the mortgage payment, taxes, property insurance et al? Who will be on title to the property? To the mortgage? These are things to figure out prior to purchasing a home.

6. If you are a first-time homebuyer, have you taken a first-time homebuyer class? If not, why not? Because you don’t have time? Are you going to have time when the pressure is on and you have to make multiple hundred thousand dollar decisions? Or when you have purchased a home and have to deal with an oversight that costs you thousands of dollars that may have been avoided had you taken the time to take a first-time homebuyer classs? If you are a first-time homebuyer, take the class. Not everything they say is perfect or may apply to you. This said, it is well worth your time. We have not had any first-time homebuyers say anything to the opposite.

7. Let’s say all the above questions are answered with a yes where a yes is due and a no in the same way… Are you paying all cash or are you getting a mortgage? If you are getting a mortgage, do you know what type of mortgage? How much are you putting down? 20%? Are you getting a mortgage with a 15-year fixed rate term? That is our recommendation. You’ll save thousands in interest payments, and most importantly, you do not “own” the home until the mortgage note and trust deed is reconveyed to you. Until then, stop making the payments, and you’ll see the bank move to foreclose on and take possession of your property.

While not all encompassing, these are some serious questions to ask yourself. Temper your actions with wisdom. If it takes a bit longer to save the emergency fund and pay of f those credit cards, it is time well spent. If it means changing your lifestyle or waiting, we’re all for it. If you find you are ready now, that’s great.

Either way, and no matter what your answer is to the questions above, we can help you get ready by referring you to the appropriate professionals. We are here working by referral and we want to see you successful. If you are not ready, we will work on a gameplan to help you get ready. And if you are ready, we’ll do our very best in serving you in your home purchase. Remember, purchasing a home is not like putting on a new pair of jeans or test driving a car. With the correct preparation and forethought, remembering our grandparents’ wisdom of patience, discipline, and perseverence, your homepurchasing and homeowning experience can be fulfilling and rewarding!