Being a young(er) homeowner, I get the fears that a lot of millennials have. When I was 21 ( now very soon going to be 27) my husband brought up the idea of buying, right then. I thought he was insane! I was a waitress, rented, and thought there was no way we could afford a home! Here is the thing - I believed that because I never actually had any guidance or knowledge of what was out there. When we sat down with a lender ( and then was referred to an agent) everything was laid out for us, and explained what we could afford with what type of "product" (" what! there are actually different types of home ownership loans??")
In the end we ended up getting a cute 2 bedroom home in the mountains, with repairs included in our mortgage payment and only putting a 3.5% down payment. That is just MY story, there are SO many other options. There are down payment assistance programs, different types of loans, affordable housing, you name it. California WANTS you to own your home! Stop sitting around and allowing yourself to pay someone else's mortgage ( just so you know, that is what happens!). If you can afford to rent, chances are, you can probably afford to buy. At least with buying, you would have pride of ownership, freedom of expression and taste, privacy, hopefully gain some equity ( it doesn't matter when you buy, it matters when you SELL), and pay down your principle ( that's RIGHT, your monthly payments actually benefit you rather than the "man" charging you rent!).
According to the C.A.R's Millennial Survey results ( from 1,000 CA residents aged 18-34) 78% believed they weren't sure or didn't think they could obtain a mortgage, and 67% rent because they can't afford to buy. While 93%, yes - NINETY THREE percent, plan to buy a home. WHAT are you waiting for? You have NO idea. Talk to a lender, its FREE ( well, if its not for some reason at the lender you went to , it should be, and I can happily refer you to a better one) and will be the best financial decision of your life. TALK TO A LENDER! They can lay out for you either a) what you will need to do in order to purchase a home or b) what you can afford. Win-win.
This is the time to invest ( really, it was probably yesterday) your future arrives a lot quicker than you think. Once you get the approval out of the way, then the FUN and exciting part starts, finding YOUR place ( with my help of course) !
A great rescourse for information on the CALHFA downpayment assistance: calhfa.ca.gov. Visit my website for more valuable information regarding our real estate market and buyer resources : www.kaelinwagnermarsh.com or shoot me an email if you are in the SC County area and I would be happy to refer you to a great lender( if you are not in the area I can refer you to a great agent elsewhere to help you out as well. )
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