Just start somewhere. When you decide you’re ready to buy your first home (and stop throwing money into the bottomless pit that is rent), you don’t have to get your dream home. You can buy a starter home, stay awhile, build some equity, sell it, then move up.
Why do we say that? Well, according to a recent survey 57% of buyers looking for their first home want it to be their “forever home”. Forever. Wow. As the purple one himself, Prince, said:
“Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
2 get through this thing called life.
Electric word life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here 2 tell U
There’s something else:
The afterworld.”
Too deep? What does a song lyric have to do with buying a home? Well, let’s focus on one sentence: forever’s a mighty long time. It really is. So final. Here’s the thing. No one knows where they’re going to be in 10-20 years with 100% certainty. 38% of millennials don’t expect to be with the same employer in 5 years.
If you are like most people, and you’re buying your first home, you simply don’t have the budget for that perfect “forever home” and if you did, the huge majority of homeowners buy 2-3 homes in their lives and move about, on average, 7-10 years after they buy their first home.
Odds are, you’re buying something, and moving in the next decade or two. Why not buy and make it your own?
Your money is better spent paying off your own mortgage, rather than someone else’s. The interest rate on rent is 100%.
Did you know that since 2012, low-income homeowners built $98,900 in home appreciation and upper-income households built $150,800? The NAR report also states that “middle income homeowners accumulated $122,100 in wealth as their homes appreciated by 68% in the last 10 years.”
“In the areas with the highest homeownership rates for low-income households, wealth gains were $140,000 on average.”
You don’t wait to buy. You buy, and wait, so when it’s time to sell and upgrade to a new place, you’ve got equity to use!
Not to mention some of the other benefits of home ownership:
Don’t let the internet, or the tv, fool you. Most of those influencers on social media are still renting, and pretending to be happy anyway. Perfect is rarely attainable without a selfie filter, and they don’t make those for home buying. It’s not only ok to buy a starter home, it’s better for you. It’s what your generations before you have done, and it’s how most “middle class” people in the last century have built their wealth. How about you think about getting started now?
Ready to take the first step as a homebuyer? Give us a call or text at (717) 371-0557 and we’ll get you on the path that’s best for you!
Your Friends in Real Estate, Jason Burkholder Team
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Jason Burkholder
Kelly Burkholder
Jaci Hoosier
717-371-0557 direct or text
Hometown Property Sales Group
717-207-8093 office
57 E Main St, Lititz, PA 17543
