Homeownership is a goal many people aspire to achieve at some point in their lives. It's been called a corner stone of the American Dream. I set that goal in 2001 after living in San Francisco for 3 years and moving 3 times - each time was a struggle to find a decent place to live. The reason why was that everybody was renting. It was in 1998-2001 during the dot com boom in the Bay Area. People were pouring in for jobs and many people, like myself, saw it as a temporary gig. If there had been more of a balance between buying and renting, I imagine the rental market would not have been so tight. We were lead on many times by landlords, telling us the place was ours, only to meet them at the property with our cashier's checks to find 5 other suckers there and an in-person bidding war facilitated by a smug heartless landlord.
I was intimidated by buying a condo in the big expensive city and not doing so is one of the great regrets of my life. So, when I moved to Arlington, Virginia, I was determined to buy a place. I did not want a landlord responsible for fixing my house when it broke, having experienced first hand how difficult that can be when your landlord is a do-it-yourselfer and really has no skills. I also did not want to be forced to move when someone wanted me to. I wanted more control over my own living destiny, and home ownership was the way.
It was a struggle to buy our first place. We could not find what we wanted at first, so we lowered our expectations and upped our price range and thanks to an amazing duo of Realtors, got the perfect first home for that time in our lives. It is one of the smartest things I ever did and am so happy I was determined to buy at that point in my life. It not only got me a great house and a stepping stone to the next one, but lead me to my current career which I love.
I think of the real estate environment now, and how affordability is at all time highs, interest rates at historic lows* and yet people are scared to buy for the first time. It's more affordable to buy than to rent in many areas, even here in some parts of Metro DC, which is quite pricey. I have to ask people who are not buying -- do you plan to rent forever?
It's a sincere question. When do you think will be a good time to buy for you, personally? Maybe it's not something you've even thought about, but odds are you have if you are reading this blog. If you are actively looking for a new job out of the area, well then yes, maybe it's not a good time. If you have zero saving and loads of credit card debt, again, probably not a good idea. If you have some sweetheart of a below market low rent deal, with a benevolent land lord, again, might cost you more to buy. But if you have a good job, good credit and a little bit of money saved up, like the Arlington, VA/DC Metro area, and pay a nice chunk every month for rent -- what is holding you back? Just because the negative news media tells you so? What do you think will happen to the rental market as more and more people choose to rent over buying? I think the rental prices will rise and landlords will continue to do even less for their tenants. And you will pay monthly rents that will continue to rise and continue to live at someone else's terms and build their equity, not your own.
If you are thinking of buying but afraid now is not the right time, contact me for a personal consultation. I will give you an honest assessment of whether the factors look favorable for you to rent vs buy. Don't want to talk yet? Then just set yourself up for property alerts and see what's out there
*I am not a licensed mortgage professional, and this is not a guarantee of a low rate. Please contact me if you'd like an actual quote from a mortgage lender and I would be happy to give you referrals.
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