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The New Homeowner Success Purchase Plan

First Question: Is Owning A Home A Want or A Need?

If you've ever listened to a financial advice talk one thing they will talk about quite frequently is the difference between a want and a need.  

We need food, clothing, shelter, education, and technology to do our work and contribute to our community.  

The question then becomes, do you need to buy a house, or do you want to buy a house.  The Dream of Home ownership certainly creates a strong emotional pull towards it being a need, but the truth is the need, shelter, can be obtained by renting a house or apartment, living with friends and family, or pitching a tent in the woods.    

So why do you want to buy a house?  Before the housing boom, home buying was viewed as the foundation for building wealth, a place to grow roots and memories, and build community.  The mortgage interest tax deduction was certainly a benefit to households enjoying steadily increasing income, and many tax advisers wisely told clients to use the tax savings to build up emergency savings, build up 401ks, and achieve other wealth building goals.  

In other words, housing was a long term investment with some tax benefits that helped provide the foundation for smart savings habits and at the end of the term, to have a shelter with no liens on it paid off on a standard 30 year or shorter term fixed payment schedule. 

 

Second Question: Do You Know The Difference Between "Speculation" and "Investing?"

Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases most of us make.  Before you begin looking at that dream home, ask yourself: 

Do I have enough money to buy this house without mortgage financing?

 If the answer is no, then it's time to become educated about what mortgage is right for you.  At Heartland Mortgage, Inc, we take the time to talk about not just rates and fees, but what your future plans are.   Why? Because the last few years have shown us that getting the WRONG mortgage can turn anyone's dream of homeownership into a nightmare.  

Most companies will simply "prequalify" you--they will TELL you the maximum you can afford based on an automated computer underwriting system. 

At Heartland Mortgage we will SHOW you what you can afford based on how much you take home each paycheck, how much savings you have, and how much you can expect for the "unexpected" house expenses like electric, water, maintenance and so on. 

This simple philosophy has enabled 15 years worth of our clients to not only buy their home, but actually comfortably afford their home. 

In addition, we believe in a full preapproval, not a prequalification.  Underwriting guidelines are constantly changing, and a "prequalification" today might not lead to a preapproval in a day, week or month with the constantly changing mortgage guidelines.

House hunting can be exciting and disappointing at the same time. Some people find the perfect home in three days, for others, it can take months.

But imagine finding the perfect home, only to find out that the financing guidelines have changed, and since you weren't preapproved under the old guidelines, you can't qualify at all!

A review of our Loan Programs appears on this website. Call or e-mail us and we'll talk about how we can tailor a mortgage to make sure you are a homeowner success story.

 

An Educated Homeowner is an Empowered Homeowner

Imagine if buyers in 2005 had known their houses were overpriced by thousands of dollars.  Imagine if someone had sounded the alarm about "liar loans" and adjustable rate mortgages for borrowers who could have easily qualified for fixed rate mortgages.  Imagine if someone had been an advocate against "pick a payment" loans that made loans bigger with every "minimum" payment made, all the while house values were plummeting. 

At Heartland Mortgage, we envision a future where borrowers are educated to make sound mortgage financing decisions, informed and protected against predatory lenders, and provided with data that will help them evaluate whether they are 'buying low', or whether it's time to 'sell high'.

Copyright 2011 Dennis Frank Ceizyk Jr

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 Did your real estate agent or mortgage person show you this chart when you bought or refinanced a house?  If not, how do you know if you're "buying low" or whether it's time "sell high?"