It appears as though the United States economy is in recession, it is not the first time and it will not be the last. To compound this, inflation across all sectors is rising by the day which is making affordability for first time home buyers more and more challenging.
I am Terry, the Kabinet CPA (Certified Public Accountant) with decades of experience in business affairs, personal finance, real estate investing and advising. In these unprecedented times my advice is simple, buy the place where you live. Whether you choose a co-op, condo, townhouse or free standing home, buy it and buy it NOW.
In all my decades of financial life I have seen prices of housing rise and fall quite a bit. I have seen interest rates on mortgages at 14% and 3%. In all this time I say unequivocally the best time to buy the place that you will live in is now. Be it 14% or 3%, be it prices rising or falling the best time is now.
I have so many people who are waiting for prices to come down or interest rates to drop. I have seen so many people miss the boat. What I have NEVER seen is someone who has purchased their home regret it regardless of the level the market was at.
In the 1950’s my parents bought my boyhood home at $20,000 and were petrified how they were going to make the mortgage payments. My mom lived there for almost 50 years and sold it for almost $600,000. Of course, some months were more difficult than others to make the payments but she never once missed a payment.
I purchased my home at a bargain interest rate of 10.5%, it was a bargain because rates had been at 14% just a short while before. As the situation in the late 1980’s changed I was able to refinance the mortgage so the artificially high rate did not cost me nearly as much as you would think. If I waited for a lower rate, I would have paid at least $50,000 more for my house which would have been much worse than buying that specific year at 10.5%.
Owning a home cannot be beat. Whether it is the tax benefits, asset appreciation, ability to refinance or borrow against the home, the joy of ownership, the pride in maintaining your property or the nest egg for retirement – it can’t be beat.
The risk of buying a home is never too great. It’s true prices might fluctuate and interest rates might change, however it is impossible to time the markets. Owning real estate provides you many financial options even in times of distress which is why it has been the most popular asset class since the beginning of time. Take the leap now on buying your first home, if you wait for the perfect time, it might never come and that would be a tragedy.
Remember Kabinet is the best digital home management and organization solution to track all your home expenditures down to the penny. It is the most valuable tool to control your home expenses, track costs for the IRS and home sale purposes. Kabinet gives you peace of mind in managing your home and allows you to save a fortune over the years you own your first home and all the subsequent homes I guarantee you will be buying.
