Brand new homeowners!
I thought I would give a little excerpt from my new book that is still being edited; soon to be distributed. Keep an eye for it as I hope to use this book to assist in educating the first time homebuyers about the process of buying a home. One of the earlier chapters centers around the question, “Am I ready to be a homeowner?” This is a very little asked question as most first time homebuyers only consider the financial qualifying when it comes to being “ready” to purchase a home, but this is just one issue that must be considered.
Please read the excerpt below as it will make you consider other issues with homeownership. Remember, this is still in the editing phase and is certain to be modified before the book is released. Hopefully, it will be released in Jan or Feb of 2012.
Personal story: I have a listing client as I
am writing this book who purchased her first home because everyone told her
that she needed to be a homeowner. She has currently been in her home for 10+
years, and has finally reached the decision that she does not want to be a
homeowner. She would rather have the care-free lifestyle of a renter where the
landlord does the repairs and she can easily move at will. Now, she is having
difficulty selling as the economy has failed her when she needs it the most.
Make sure you really want to be a homeowner. She would probably have been
happier renting instead of buying!
A first time homebuyer needs to ask
themselves several questions before they make the decision to purchase a home.
Nearly everyone has heard the questions of whether it is better to buy or rent
and we will cover that later in this chapter, but the first thing that most
first timers fail to ask, is whether they are ready for homeownership. It is
not all that it is cracked up to be and all of the benefits and challenges must
be considered before taking the plunge. I equate the decision to buy a home to
the decision to have children. Neither one is the most fiscally sound decision
you can make, but you do it because you have the desire and dream to be one.
There
are several questions that must be answered before you make the decision to be
a homeowner. The ones we are usually hear center around financial ones, but
this is typically the easiest one to answer as a lender can tell you if you
qualify in a matter of minutes. The other questions are the time commitment and energy commitment; not to mention,
future plans must be taken into account. This is one issue I wish my first
agent had covered with me as I found myself tied down to that home as a twenty
year old. Many agents fail to consider these topics when they are talking to
first time purchasers and it is a disservice to them.
Time commitment must be considered at
this can be substantial to the homeowner, especially with single family homes.
Are you ready to paint rooms, mow grass, weed the yard, paint the exterior, and
the list goes on and on. Some of these items are weekly items, some are daily.
Are you prepared to be a handyman as you are bound to have some items break
while you own a home? It is the natural progression for objects to deteriorate
over time and you cannot simply call the landlord to fix it. You will have to
be the handyman or find someone you trust to pay to do these things. And of
course, if you pay a handyman you have to make sure it is within your budget. Do not be taken in by the home
improvement stores and television shows, do it yourself projects are never as
easy as they make it out to be. Remember, they have more experience with handy
projects than you do.
The financial commitment goes without
saying, but is not limited to the mortgage payment. You have to be comfortable
with the payment to ensure that you can also be prepared to replace the roof if
needed without having to rob a bank.I suggest to my first time homebuyers that
they buy less than the maximum amount the bank says they can afford because you
never know what will expire such as your HVAC unit. What would you do if the
refrigerator that came with the house breaks a month after closing? You have to
be prepared for anything that may happen. Again, my first agent never brought
these potential issues to my attention and my HVAC had to be repaired before I
moved into the home and subsequently, had to be replaced a few years later. I
had the benefit at the time that my father was very knowledgeable with home
repairs, but he did not live in the same city as I did, so there was still some
inconvenience with repairs. Do you have a plan if this happens? Technically, it
is not your agent’s responsibility to bring this to your attention, but a good
agent, will make sure you understand that no matter how much due diligence you
do on a home, you are not protected from an unforeseen expenses.
Energy commitment is something that is
more intangible, but I am explaining it as having the energy for all of the
home maintenance that your home may require. As an avid golfer, I could spend
every weekend playing golf, but as a homeowner, I often have to spend the
weekends working around the home. My client at the beginning of this section
does not have the energy commitment to be a homeowner, thus, she is looking to
sell and begin renting again.
I hope you have enjoyed this small portion of my book and remember to look for it when it comes out soon.
