Zen in Homeownership 

Becoming a homeowner is the the biggest American Dream there is. Homeownership has great benefits. Homeownership also comes with certain responsibilities.

We are in a time that people became too hasty and rushed in the home buyers market without thinking ahead of the percussions.

Yes it was great that there were more new homeowners in the past couple years than ever before but now that the dust has settled the numbers doubled to people losing their homes ever than before.

Just because rates are hot, the loan programs made it so that anybody with a decent Fico can qualify or even because the market now has the cheapest home-values ever before, before diving right in you must be prepared for your future responsibilities.

Just like in the movie "The Karate Kid" Mr. Miyagi taught Daniel LaRusso the necessary training to achieve balance in the mind and heart, not in the hands.

Paint The Fence, Wax The cars, and Sand The Floor

Mr. Miyagi made Daniel paint the fence front and back and eventually the house, another chore is to sand the floor and finally wax the cars.

These tedious chores were designed for payment to Mr. Miyagi for the training he is receiving.

Daniel eventually becomes frustrated with doing all the chores and confronts Mr. Miyagi with despair from lack of teachings.

Mr. Miyagi reveals that Daniel has unknowingly been learning defensive blocks, through muscle memory learned by doing the chores.

You may not realize it but you have been training all along with your rent.

The Training

Training for Homeownership is in the same way, we been training ourselves all along with Rental History and having a steady reliable income as we prepare for home ownership. We have achieved success in doing so and are looking for a change.

1.) Payment Shock - This is a term used to express how much of a difference will be higher than our accustomed housing expense now. 

Keep this in mind, Finding a great home but with a much higher payment is something we need to consider. 

The house may be great, but is it within your means and are you ready for these future expenses.  A future budget is a great plan to have.

2.) Credit History - You built a good history so far and have to realize now unlike rental payments, your mortgage is now being recorded on your credit report. Have you been on and off making late payments? 

If so you may want to stabilize a good 12 month history pattern to stabilize your new payment obligations. 

Once you become a home owner its more than imperative to keep your payments on time.

3.) Debt Management - You have been training with your current debts and stabilized so far, when applying for a mortgage your overall debt to income ratio is looked at with your new payment. 

Are you debts workable? If not try to consolidate or liquidate your debts as much as possible, there is no bigger debt than your mortgage.

Balance:  Training the Spirit and Body

Through the training of practicing karate on a boat and a tree stump on the beach learning the "Crane", Daniel learns not only karate, but also important life lessons, such as the importance of balance, reflected by the belief that martial arts training is as much about training the spirit as the body.

Balance holds true with Your mortgage, the mortgage is not the only expense you need to consider. Homeownership comes with other potential budget items such as home repairs, maintenance, taxes, Insurance and landscaping.

Once you fully understand your current situation, your future plans, and the big picture in terms of homeownership, it’s important to look at the pros and cons of homeownership to make the best decision for you and your family.