What are you thinking???

I recently read a blog called "Maybe Now Is Not The Time To Buy" and read about the risks involved, the uncertain economic climate, the comparable expenses (electric and so on). He talked about the home prices coming down further over the past year.

Some of this is accurate, there are risks. There are risks with everything you do. Getting up in the morning can present a risk depending on your perspective. However, most people who are buying a home are not looking to put it back on the market in 6 months. The average time you live in your home when you are in your 20s is 7 years. I'm confident the entire market will look a lot different in 7 years and if it doesn't, home ownership will be the least of our worries.

This blogger failed to show any of the rewards. It is true that it's harder to purchase a home due to tighter financial stipulations. In central New England, 0% loans are still relatively common, and FHA 3% homes are still the norm. However, the rules and guidelines to be approved for financing shouldn't turn you away from home ownership but make you feel more secure. You may wind up paying more in utility bills for a single family home and there are other potential expenses such as roof repairs, heating system failures, or a jumbo jet falling out of the sky into your garage. Truth is anything can happen. But you keep paying rent, which really means you're paying someone else's mortgage. If you're paying $1000 a month rent, that's $12000 a year, after 10 years you've spent $120000 and what do you have to show for it? No equity, no investment. Your landlord is quite content, I can assure you.

There are risks and rewards in everything you do. There is still a very high inventory of all kinds of houses in a plethora of price ranges and situations. You may buy and the price falls a little more, but while you're paying rent, someone is building equity so when prices turn around (and trust me, they'll never be giving houses out for free), that person will sell their home for a profit and leverage that into a bigger home with a much higher rate of return. Who knows, maybe they'll buy a multi-family and give you a good deal on the rent.

Everything Happening, Nothing Happening

We have entered a very strange time in real estate. With the passing of the tax credit deadline, financial reform on the horizon, we in the business have entered the twilight zone of real estate. In my short career, I'm busier than I've ever been, showing properties, listing appointments, negotiating, doing it all, everyday, all the time. Nothing is happening with any of it. Deals falling apart for no other reason than a change in the breeze, buyers going away, sellers chasing the market so low that people question what is wrong with the property. It's strange out there.

What to do? I'm a bit of a sports fan, other than being a musician, I am an avid red sox fan and the off season the red sox boasted about run prevention. Our pitching line-up was so amazing that we would win, by not allowing the other team to score. It hasn't worked very well mostly because one bad inning blows the whole strategy to waste. Our biggest bats aren't hitting so nothing is happening. But we keep Big Papi out there, just in case. So in real estate, what should we do??? Same thing, put Big Papi out there, hit for the fences and keep your head up. The only one who can defeat you is you.

Open House May 8th