Home Buying: Next Stage

Where are you in your life stages right now?? I didn’t even really think that was a thing, for me especially, until recently. I realized the other day that my husbands friends are all getting engaged and married. It didn’t hit me until his brother got engaged. Then I realized how many weddings we have been invited to recently. He married me when he was just out of college, so I guess that is earlier than many people are ready to make life-time commitments!

Those young, newlyweds are now willing to commit to a lifetime with one person and, usually, a 30 year mortgage. Yay! Homeownsership is one of the ways you build lifetime wealth. The sooner you buy real estate the sooner you can start building wealth. There is no reason to invest in other things if you are still throwing your largest payment per month out the window and into someone elses pocket. Paying rent is just making someone else wealthy. I hope these newlyweds will make that move next! One of my favorite options for first-time-home-buyers is new construction. There are still a few builders that are doing things the right way!

• True Homes (these folks have a great Build-on-Your-Lot option)
• DR Horton
• Meritage

At the same time, I am helping my mother move to her next stage of life. She will retire at the end of this year and has areed to be my assistant for a while (until he gets tired of me). The home that she is in is the house in Charlotte I grew up in, as did all of my brothers and sisters. But the upkeep and work on an older home with almost a full acre of land is just too much for her anymore. She is ready for a little less in life. We have been looking at tiny homes to put on our farm property. Our biggest concern originally was that it had to be 1 story, with her double knee replacement looming, if I can ever get her to schedule it. Most tiny homes take advantage of a loft space for sleeping with storage under the stairs. I was afraid a single story did not exist, but they do! We are a long away from making any decisions, but I am learning about so many options for that demographic of client that is ready to downsize, whether it is because of age or just a desire to live with a smaller footprint.

On the other side of the spectrum, there are those clients who are busting at the seams in their current home. In some instances it the blessing of children, and in some it is the addition of parents or siblings requiring a different type or size of house to make living space comfortable for everyone. I recently closed on a house with some clients that needed 2 masters, essentially, so they could live with parents and not have to spend all their time together. Those clients offer a particular challenge because we have to buy and sell. I have learned sooooo many tricks in the last few years from cash offers from local investors and national corporations to financing loopholes that create non-contingent offers. But the problem facing most buyers right now is the low inventory and competitive bid market. I have TONS of tricks for that as well! The folks I mentioned earlier…we got our very first offer accepted at just $5000 over list price.

If you are heading into a new stage of life, staging up or down, I think there are a few common things to consider when it comes to finding the perfect home.

Location: City vs. Suburb vs. Rural

Acreage: .5 or less vs. 1 or more

Square Footage: Tiny vs Extra

My last huge life stage change was shortly after my divorce, so it doesn’t always happen on any “normal” guidelines. That was the moment I knew I wanted to homestead and live on some type of farm. It was an investment/business decision as much as a housing decision. Prior to that, I was living in a third floor condo (that I loved) and I knew that was not the life for me. I included my current hubby in the decision, though we weren’t married or even engaged at the time. It was something I wanted, even if it was on my own. He agreed, thankfully! Sometimes I think he regrets that agreement!

I always encourage clients, especially buyers, to decide what is most important. Take all of the criteria that you use to choose a home and pick the 4 or 5 things that you absolutely have to have! It’s a strategy called the 80% House. If I can find you 80% of what you want in a new home, and 100% of what you need, will you be ready to buy? There are so many people that get frustrated in this market because they cannot find what they want because they have not thought about what that truly is. We must walk down that path first! It’s a big decision and it can be scary, but with the right help, it is totally worth it. My mission is to HELP…that’s my word that guides every decision we make in this business.