Being Home Owners

We purchased our first home in 1969 after getting married.  Since then, my wife (second wife) and I have purchased half a dozen more homes, including this last home where we downsized homes due to age and health concerns.  I have never not owned a home.

Owning homes can easily be accomplished if you are willing to buy a home that is within your capability to make the mortgage payments.

It does not matter where you live, a home is affordable, regardless of how high or low the cost to borrow money...  but not for those homes that are out of your price range, especially when you have a mortgage for 30 years.

I think the problem comes in because these people who are wanting homes that are above their capability to make payments are being denied by the bank.

NO ONE WANTS TO START SMALL AND BUILD UP...

Your first home cannot be a condo or a 5,000 square foot home in an exclusive neighborhood.  Anyone who thinks that is possible is not living in reality and will be turned down by the banks.

I have known people who purchased a $100,000 home that did not meet their immediate needs but they made do.  In 5 years they sold it for $125,000 and purchased a $150,000 home.  In 5 years they sold that home for $200,000 and purchased a $250,000 home. Twenty years later, they had a home in an exclusive neighborhood worth almost $500,000.

Young people have the same issue with homes as they have with vehicles and jobs.  They want to start out on top from the getgo...  and, when that does not happen, then society has been designed to suppress them.

With this attitude they will be disappointed for the rest of their lives.

BTW -  being a homeowner is not all that great because of all the time and money that must be spent to keep your house and yard looking good.  I believe if I had to do it all over again, I might have gone the condo route where there is minimal maintenance costs or just rented an apartment.  The only real advantage to home owning is waiting until you retire, sell your home and use the profits to help supplement your retirement income.  In that regard, home ownership is nothing more than an investment.

If you cannot own a home, there are other investments that you can afford...  like saving $2.50 each day...  if that money is put into a mutual fund each month and you do this for 40 years, you will have $500,000....  that is way easier than maintaining a home!