I remember when I purchased my first home. I could never understand why it seemed like I was jumping through fire to get approved. So many documents in what seemed like so little time. From pay-stubs to rent receipts to a nice sit down on why there was a medical bill reported on my credit. There were a lot of factors in purchasing my first home. My salary was scrutinized for the most part and overtime not even calculated. I remember argueing that I worked it, I earned it. However, in a Mortgage Lenders eyes it was not permanent. His job was to simply make sure I could ALWAYS afford the home I wanted to purchase. They didn't just look at what I could afford today. There was a much bigger picture.

Today, purchasing my first home reminds me of the lessons my grandparents taught me while growing up. The importance of balancing your checkbook EVERY month, paying ALL of your bills or at the very least making payment arrangements in the event something happened and you couldn't meet a certain monthly obligation. Saving money for a rainy day - you never know when that tire will blow out or your water heater takes a dive sort of thing. I was taught since I could add and subtract the importance of " living within your means". My grandmother was the type of person for example : she knew when her billing cycle started and stopped with her credit cards. If she needed to make a purchase she would wait if her billing cycle was coming to a close. She did this because it gave her a month to save on the balance she would be charging rather than it charging on the current month and owing the balance in as little as a few days when the bill came in the mail. These teachings have stuck with me now into my adult life and it has helped me tremendously in saving for a rainy day, it has helped me to simply, well, " live within my means ".

Today, history repeats itself. It repeats in that today as I sit with my clients I find myself offering tips and advice on what " grandma" and "grandpa" taught me. I can sit and assure a buyer that their Mortgage Lender is not trying to get or make things personal. He is simply making sure they will ALWAYSbe able to afford their new home in the event a " rainy day does come ". He is simply reminding some that " everyone starts somewhere ". That small is the new big, conservative is a smart choice ! Do you remember your first car ? Chances are it was the hand me down clunker purchase for 500 or 800 dollars. You know the one where the side mirror was hanging off and looked as if it came from a battle ground. In the end we were okay with that. We were okay with that because it was nothing that a screw and a bolt wouldn't fix and who really cared about the dents anyway. We were driving, we got to tote our friends around and show off those dents...it was ours ! Bought and payed for and in the end that is all that mattered.

Purchasing your home is sort of the same example. You start small and work your way up. It's the memories within the walls of your new home that matter. Not the fancy chandeliers that hang or the 12 foot cathedral ceilings that increase your electric bill. Its the fact that you can sit and say with every coat of paint...It's mine and it's paid for. It's the fact that when that water heater takes a dive you can afford to pay for both the water heater and your mortgage. It's about saving for the rainy day, starting small with the beat up hand me down and working your way up to something bigger.

It's funny how history repeats itself. It's funny that I now sit back as a Realtor and listen to the same questions, answers and demands once placed upon myself to purchase a home. In a time where white out didn't exist on those W2's and documentation of your whole life would give you the keys to your home not "pretend play house" where overtime was calculated but never shown. I am happy that history is repeating itself. I am happy because I know you will now be able to ALWAYS afford your home. I am happy because one day when you want a little more I will be able to be there as you mark yet another milestone in your life. And when you sell the home that you worked hard for and built so many memories in ....I will be happy to sit back and watch you hand over the keys to someone who was once just like you. Making memories out of nothing at all.

Brought to you by, Melissa Grant, Crossville TN Real Estate. Affiliate Broker serving Cumberland Cove, Fairfield Glade, Lake Tansi and the Cumberland Plateau. Bringing buyers and sellers together in Crossville TN.

Wishing you and yours a very Safe and Happy Holiday Season.

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• Melissa Grant , REALTOR®
• 931-210-8277 Direct
• www.crossvilletnrealestateforsale.com
• lissalgrant@yahoo.com      

Crossville TN Real Estate