Last Friday I sat at a table in a law office writing my lovely full name more times than I think humanly reasonable. Like most home buyers the remorse of laying a down payment of all my savings on the table hurt. Goodness, this whole process has been emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting. But I made it through- and perhaps, on a sunny day ahead, I'll look back with joy. There were a few things I could have done better throughout the process and I'd like to share a few of those with you, to help you. Ya know- in a "I wasn't the wiser, but let me help you be the wiser," kind of way.
1. Shop around for goodness sake. If you're living in a small town there is a good chance the shiny bank on the hill that has been there in the community forever, locally owned and operated and much different from major chain banking companies. These are the people you know, and their interest rate may be higher than the chain banks, but the conversation, the treatment, the entire loan will be handled differently.
2. Decide your bottom dollar amount you want to purchase the home for. This needs to include closing costs and at least two thousand dollars in wiggle room because closing on a house is like going to the grocery for your mom, you know exactly what you're paying for until you're ready to check out- then the phone rings. Banks, loan officers, appraisers, inspectors, they are all human and they forget things and this is the only thing you can tell yourself because if you accept any other truth you'll crumble. Stay strong- remind yourself of their humanity and yours too.
3. Find a retired banker or family friend in finances who hasn't just been around the block, but who worked the corner and knows the peak times. Head out of the gutter, an experienced banker who is on the outside can aid you in your closing process immensely. They know the hiccups and the mistakes that most often find their way into your billfold and they have the years on them to help you steer clear. A family friend helped me through the entire process and probably ended up saving me a few thousand just by giving steady, weighted advice.
4. Go visit the prim rib. The home of your dreams that is way out of your budget has the ability to give you the best kind of motivation in the home buying process. The property brothers, silly as they may be, are pretty smart to show buyers the top end homes before displaying the homes the buyer can actually afford. Perspective is worth every minute it takes to view homes you have no interest in looking at. Viewing the higher value homes makes it is easier to identify big ticket items that are important to note in your home renovation process.
5. Worst house, best block. This principle saves you money down the road, when the laundry room that was small in your 20's is now criminally small in your parenthood stage of life. The worst house on the block, when fixed up and lived in, has the ability to increase it's value giving you the opportunity to build equity and move to a bigger house with front loaders and room for the 30 pair of shoes that seem to live at your back door. If you're purchasing a great house on a not so great lot, chances are, you'll be happy to break even.
6. Buy that thing. You know the one thing you finally have the cash-flow for and haven't bought yet? Get it. The buyers remorse is real, don't let it destroy the one thing. My one thing was my puppy. Worth every penny she costs, I still would not have had the gumption or the money to buy her if I waited until after I bought a house. I guess this point is kind of like the "If you wait until you're financially stable enough to have kids, you'll never have them," quote, especially tailored to single college graduates. But the dog, get the T.V., and try not to go crazy. A home is a lot of work and adding something else into the equation after grasping the immense project list is not the easiest.
7. If you're buying a fixer-upper, take the much needed time to quote all improvements you plan to make on the property. You don't wanna end up with no money for improvements after closing day and it is good to put everything into true perspective. True as in not the words you're grandmother says when you mention subway tile but the numbers your calculator spits out after adding all the supplies.
8. Closing = Hazing. A friend of mine compared the home closing process to that of a sorority or fraternity's hazing process. In other words, they're trying to see how much you can take. It's the hardest part of buying a home, I mean writing a check for the closing costs hurts less. Just be prepared to spend every waking day doing something for the home. Waiting, calling, emailing, or corresponding with someone somewhere about disclosures and deadlines and appraisals and addendum, it's a lot. Chances are if you're doing this much, you averted the headache of working with a realtor and somebody is saving money. That person is probably not you, and as a buyer you're probably in a tailspin but it will be over soon. I pledge so.
9. Handy-Who? You've got to have someone, anyone, who is able and knowledgeable to help renovate your home. Feminism is cute and all until your great with numbers and not the best with a jackhammer. You'll need a handy-person. Somebody around town who is trustworthy and able to charge you a fair price. If you're doing it all yourself, a plan of events is vital to the home renovation process, without direction you're just a bunch of Joanna Gaines wanna-be's. Just know your stuff or know someone who does.
10. Accept humility at the beginning of the process. My first time buying a house was incredibly frustrating. I was just about through with every hand who had any part in the process. I ended up spending more money than I budgeted for at closing and I know standing here there will many more dollars to fly happily into the abbes known as home-ownership. BUT- goodness, I own a home! I live in a country where it is possible to work hard and convince banks to purchase homes for you knowing you'll pay them back..or else.
This season after my undergraduate years of college is so much different than promised. It is lonely, hard, and almost dreadful to navigate but tomorrow is coming and with it new mercies and dreams and chances to begin again. So 10 lessons I have for you with many more to learn, not just concerning home closing.
Here's to living in this season, learning from it while growing to love it. What a blessing it is to live it.
Goals:
"Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,"
1 Thessalonians 4:9-11