Sometimes love just ain’t enough!
Buyer Beware!!
Buying a home in San Pedro California~
This post is for EVERYONE who is considering buying a home ANYWHERE! There is so much thought that should go into buying a home. You should really sit down and consider what things are important to you in a home. You can have a dream list that illustrates all the bells and whistles you would love to have. But you better have a reality list that gives you a clear cut picture of what you must have and will accept.
Now I know you are thinking that NO ONE should tell you what type of home to buy. I agree NO ONE should! It is up to you but I want to illustrate a point for you. I knew a young couple who felt like they had paid their dues. They had begun with a starter home with small square footage and a tiny back yard. They had lived there for 7 years before they had enough equity to buy their second home. This one had another 700 square feet of living space, another bedroom, an indoor laundry room, a larger kitchen, a formal living room and a great room that doubled as dining! This place even had a much nicer back yard with a covered patio and beautiful landscaping! It was everything they said they wanted in the first home and could not afford!
Well, you’d think that they would have lived happily ever after, not! They found out that a new master planned community was coming to their town. They were excited and thought they could now afford to buy their dream home. After all, they had double the equity in just 3 short years in this home as apposed to the last one. What if they really could get everything they wanted? Well, they had to try…
They ended up with a 3200 square foot home on a ¼ acre lot with a pool and lush tropical landscaping! They had custom upgrades in this home to the tune of $100k! That amount was just under the price of their first home!! They had flush mount surround sound speakers in the ceiling through out the house! They had granite and hard wood galore! They had 5 bedrooms and a massive game room! They had mosaic tile inlay floors in their master bath! They had three storage closets in the home that could have doubled for small bedrooms not to mention the three car garage completely finished inside! It was a palace with 24 foot ceilings at the entry it was quite an elegant feeling when you stepped inside!
Well they also ended up with a $3600 payment each month, which at the time stretched them but they could do it. But then the market tanked, their marriage ended (probably due to many factors) however, I am sure the financial pressures didn’t help. In the end they lost their dream home along with their credit and most likely their sanity! It was a sad situation at best. They only got to enjoy that home for 4 short years and now it will be a while before they can start fresh and be most likely back in a home like the first starter they bought.
Take a look at this mortgage calculator and think about your current finances and how much you truly can afford;
http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/mortgages/mortgage-calculator.aspx
Don’t let your dreams take over your life! Live in reality and buy the type of home you can comfortably afford. If you get to the point where you can buy up and not pay out a ton more, then consider it! But please remember this story and stay within your comfort zone when it comes to payments. It is just not worth it to go the other way!
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