TIME TO GROW UP!
by Real Estate Sales Agent, Monica Wright
It's time we grow up and really read the handwriting on the wall. NO MORE HANDOUTS! Mind you, I don't consider handouts a bad thing.
Everyone who does business in the USA and reaps huge profits depends on
handouts or corporate welfare. Handouts are what took my single parent
household of 6, out of poverty and landed us squarely in the
middle class. I am all for handouts but sadly our world is changing
and safety nets are no longer available to the poor and mentally middle
class.
We have become a nation that no longer recognizes there are poor,
disenfranchised and that an under class still exists. Today we are all
"mentally middle class". We all feel the American dream is right within
our grasp. It is our fault if we can't achieve it.
This fact was the elephant in the room when I sat down with two
impressive young women who consulted me, seeking an answer to "How
can we buy our own home?".
Aged 25 and 28 years old, sisters Mya and Anne Marie (not their real
names), presented as the type of women who will one day be great
mothers, they were definitely the type of women who I'd love to
deal with in any business encounter. They were educated, kind,
displaying a sisterly unity we all wish we had in our families, both
were dressed modestly and well appointed. And yet one sister was
surviving on an income of less than $1,000 a month, choosing to work
instead of collecting full disability for a severe physical handicap.
The other sister was currently unemployed.
Both women looked earnestly through clear brown eyes and bright
enthusiastic faces and asked, if there was any way they can put things
in motion now that would help them one day qualify to own their home.
There are three classic requirements every lender wants a candidate for
a mortgage to meet. You must have a positive credit report. One that
makes a lender feel that giving you money so you can own your own home
is a good investment. You must understand that your housing budget
will be determined by your yearly income. Historically, the amount you
could borrow to buy a home was equal to 2.5 times your yearly income.
So if you make $12,000 a year, you can borrow $30,000. If you make
$100,000 a year, you can qualify to buy a $250,000 home.
I challenge everyone to Google the difference between a $30,000 home
and a $250,000, reality check.
A lender also wants to see that you have been gainfully employed for at
least two years continuously. You do not have to be at the same job
for two years but any type of leave of absence or period of
unemployment in the past two years will count against you.
My advice to the sisters was to get a copy of their credit reports.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the ONLY authorized source for a free
Annual credit report. The Fair Credit Reporting Act guarantees you
access to your credit report for free from each of the
three nationwide credit reporting companies — Experian, Equifax, and
TransUnion — every 12 months.
The site is extremely easy to use and if you have good knowledge of your
financial history, you can answer a couple questions and view your three
reports online instantly and for FREE!
Next I queried the two women to tell me about their dream home. Their
main concern was safety and they immediately ruled out North
Philadelphia, to which I cringed. Sadly we still suffer from an
ignorance of current housing trends and bias against things that used
to be solidly ours. Many North Philadelphia neighborhoods were where
our grand parents and great grand parents realized the pride of home
ownership, most times for as little as a couple thousand dollars.
Today we still look in distain at our old neighborhoods, when in reality
they are close to Center City, have spacious and historic
attributes and are increasing in value exponentially. We've closed our
eyes and turned our backs while our grandmother's $10,000 house is now
a million dollar townhome.
Not wanting to play the role of a dream killer, at one time dreams was
all I had. My dream was to never be homeless again. A dream born in a
Chevy Cavalier filled with dirty clothes that was home for my four children
and I, for 30 days in 1994. Today I own and control
4 properties in the city of Philadelphia worth over a quarter
million dollars. I was also able to sell my son his first home for $4,000.
My children and my grandchildren, with God's help, may never face the
struggles I did. I wanted these two women in front of me to never stop
pursuing the dream of home ownership.
All potential home owners must look realistically at what they can
afford, write down specific addresses. Then look at your
dream homes and think outside the box as to how you can get to where you want
to be.
The supports that helped me to get to where I am today have been
eroded to the bone. Fifteen years ago I had Section 8, when my rent was
$11 a month allowed me to save money for my first down payment on a house.
A willing landlord gave me a three year Option To Buy and honored it for
the 5 years it took me to find a mortgage lender. Programs sponsored by
the SBA enhanced my ability to start my own business. These are some of
the supports that are not as readily available as they were to me over 20
years ago.
The hardest part of my meeting with these two young women was having to
look them in the eye and tell them at this point in time they honestly would
not be able to qualify to buy anything, nothing, nada. However, where
there is a will, there is a way. Thinking outside of the box, They expressed
a desire to start their own business. Being in business is what American
success is about on. I instructed them to move forward, they have absolutely
nothing to lose.
I would also encourage every adult who dreams of one day not having to
worry about money or a roof over their head to take the online courses
that qualify you to sit for the state of Pennsylvania Real Estate Sales
person exam. Real estate is the key to accumulating wealth. Before
you surrender a dollar to some huckster with a midnight
infomercial, or pay some scam artist to repair your bad credit,
invest less than $500 and educate yourself. If you choose you can sit
for the state exam for less than $100. This is what I did over 20 years
ago and it opened up the world for me.
I looked across the table at the innocence in these young women's hearts
and wished that the safety net and supports I had access to was available
to them. I'll be the first to say that there is a deserving population.
Not everyone is the next Donald Trump, and some people will just be good
people, good neighbors, and raise good families. Our government needs to
recognize that we all have value.
