Since I am in Real Estate, it should come as no surprise to you that I am a HUGE fan of the topic of getting you into shape for home ownership. I have known for quite some time, having done extensive work in the Public Health field prior to career jumping to RE, that home ownership is the ONE most significant factor in generational WEALTH.
That’s right.
If you own a home, you are more likely to provide for yourself and your future children a life that is prosperous.
But, if you are like a lot of folks our age, the idea of owning your own home may seem out of reach for you. Rent is high, home costs have risen, too, and cost of living is going nowhere but up. That’s all the bad news.
The good news is that there are more programs than ever that help first time buyers qualify for loans to purchase a house.
It’s a myth that you have to have excellent credit in order to qualify for a home loan.
Your credit doesn’t have to be great (though, it does help if you have a good score) to qualify for a home mortgage. Right now, there are lenders who will underwrite a loan for folks who have at least a 580 credit score! That’s a fair score, but a far cry from an excellent one, so, even if you have made some mistakes in the past, home-ownership is still possible.
It is also a myth that one must have 20% down to qualify for a home loan.
While this is true for certain types of conventional home loans, programs do exist for those people who don’t have, say, $40,000 in the bank to put towards a down payment on a $200,000 house. Some financing requires as little as ZERO money down! Others may ask for 3.5%. And while $7,000 is still a lot of money, it’s quite a bit less than 40k! There are many different options available.
If home ownership is a goal of yours, here’s my advice:
Before you decide that this is a pipe dream for you, go contact a local lender and answer some questions. Be honest about your situation. Do you have student loan debt? Credit cards? A less than stellar credit score? Are you still paying off your car? Do you have stocks, bonds, or a 401K? Whatever you have going for or against you, put the lender into the loop because they can help you!
They can help you by consolidating your credit card debt into one payment with a lower interest rate for it all. They can help you by refinancing your car loan to a lower rate. They can help you by telling you what your payoff focus should be for your debt. They can even help you qualify for that home loan, maybe without you having to do much more than say “I am ready to be a homeowner.” But before you can do that, you need to get real with yourself about what you’ve done well and what you can be doing better on, financially.
Talk to a lender and get some advice on what steps you can take to prepare to receive your dream.
The worst case scenario is that you are told “you don’t qualify right now.” But even if that is the news you receive, you’ll still be leaving in better shape than when you walked in because now you’ll have a realistic and holistic view of your financial health and will be in the position to make some changes to get you where you’d like to be. What do you have to lose?
Don’t Avoid the Mess
For those of you who are really struggling with your finances and hate to even look at them, I have been there. But, realistically, you only have two choices:
Get used to being broke or Boss Up.
I truly understand operating from a place of lack and avoidance, but things did not get better for me until I stopped avoiding the mess and just got to work cleaning it up. And once I did that, more doors opened up for me than you can imagine.
The stress that I was carrying all the time wondering how I was going to make my truck payment or if my debit card was going to be declined at the grocery store was debilitating. Once I got into the habit of just knowing my bank balance, checking it often, and planning for the bills I knew were upcoming, my stress level went from paralyzing to manageable and then from manageable to non-existent.
Without money stress, my mind was free to focus on other things, like creative endeavors, reading, and travel opportunities.
You should want to become a homeowner because to achieve such a goal will likely mean you’ve had to grow into the kind of person who could make that happen for themselves.
And that kind of growth doesn’t have a price tag, but it does have measurable benefits- for you and your blossoming family.
If you think you might be in the market for a new home, please contact me via email at [email protected] or on my cell at 251-278-9809. I’d love to help you on your journey!