When I began my journey into Real Estate, there was a chance that I not only was to switch careers, but to change my living situation. Actually, that wasn't a chance, that was a necessity. At that time, the building I was living in, a very historic one at that, was being shut down by the city of Allentown. My natural reaction was to see if I could stand a chance of being able to buy a home. I just wanted a place to freaking live. It was peculiar really, my income was fine at the time, my credit was impeccable, and I had money in the bank....just in case. When I started with First Choice Equity Group Inc, one of my first initiatives was to pre-approve myself for a Mortgage, so I had a place to live. I was pre-approved in a jiffy, I was deemed a more than adequate borrower. I never went through with it though, I had to move....and fast. Thus, my living arrangements became somewhat complicated over the next few years.
The jump was made from the Restaurant Industry into the Real Estate Industry. Then, the proverbial fudge hit the fan for little old me. Honestly, even though the industry was at a financial high, I was at a personal low. My income suffered, my credit tanked, my personal well being was in jeopardy at times. I was in a place I never was before....financial disarray.
It was around that time that I suddenly became encompassed with money, wanting to make it one less worry in life. I guess when you get collection calls on your cell phone at closings, reality sinks in. I had a goal. I was so far away from buying a house at that point....but I wanted to make sure I was back at that point sooner rather than later. I won't go into the details of my existence, but I will tell you how I got there (To Be Able To Buy A Home All Over Again).
Common sense in life, and Real Estate, is key. I worked on 3 factors and 3 factors alone.
- My income. In my industry, the commission-based one, you make money by closing loans. If you don't close loans, you don't make money. It was a no-brainer, I had to close loans....so I did. I worked my pale white behind off to do so.
- I had to establish stability, in my own eyes and the lenders. I had just entered an industry where the turn-over rate is rather large, so I had to make sure my job & income were stable for me. The lender/bank wants to know that as well, that there is stability in your capitalistic life. Over 2 years later, I proved myself to me and eventually them.
- I had to wrestle the demons, cure the ills of my credit's past. I paid off things, I paid things up to date, and I paid my rent by check on-time all the time.
These simple steps helped, yet weren't the be all-end all. There was one more thing I needed to make sure I was to become not only a homeowner, but a quality one. I needed money in the freaking bank. After all, say what you want and will about these 0 Money Out of Pocket deals, once you own it, you freaking own it. If anything goes wrong, you are the one paying for it. So, in case of an emergency of any sorts, I wanted to make sure I had money in the bank to deal with whatever situation Murphy's Law presented.
For would be or current homeowners out there, there is one key to home ownership beyond not being Mortgage Poor or Equity lacking, it's called reserves. Have money in the bank, you never do know.
Uh-Oh, I almost forgot, silly freaking me, I've been accused of being knocked around via the skull but perhaps I should just explain. I almost forgot where I am, where I came from, and the very music Bob Carney would appreciate. Click Me Now!
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