I made a post a few weeks ago how Money is Flowing out of Banks back in May 2016. Since then my lining situation has grown. Which means I have purchase a home. When obtaining a mortgage I was utterly shocked at the percentage rate I received, considering not too long ago we were in one of the illest financial times in recent history. I seriously had a WTF happy moment at the home closing. This should have been nothing new as I saw it coming after applying for a frequent flyer credit card for perks and was floored at the staggering amount of open credit I received. BTW, I cancelled the credit card because they had an annual fee of $99.00. That’s another story of which I blogged about recently.

I found a house suiting my needs.  Notice I said need instead of want. What was amazing to me was how easy the process was actually, considering I was in the financial danger zone a few years ago, but thanks to some diligent positive financial practices, and taking inventory of needs vs wants, the process of getting FICO back to good standing was rather quick.

Let me just say, I am not a fan of the banking system, since I have witnessed it do serious harm to the lives of people in the last 8 years. Nonetheless, I chose a bank that was local to the area, as we say promote and purchase local. For several reasons I almost lost the bid on the house because of the human factors and only communicating via email when changes happen of the bank needed something. It was not for being out bid , it was the initial contract was expiring. What ever happen to let your fingers do the walking and picking up the phone.

Anywho, I got the house, after getting pre-approved some two months earlier.

To those buying a house without some form of financial assistance it can be a daunting task even with the required deposit. Especially if you’re moving from the worry free world of apartment living.

• Inspection – $500.00
• Earnest money deposit – $1000.00
• Inspection – $495
• Appliances – $5000.00
• Final down payment – and closing cost $9k -$12K ( I finally was much lower than that but for some time I had no real clue to the exact amount.)
• Misc fees and charges – $1000.00
• Actual moving cost $500.00 (DIYer) on the hottest weekend of the year.

The hardest part was not spending any money for almost three months. So I could be prepared for the unexpected. I was a total miser and still racked up some debt. The last homestead I purchased was so much easier. The shocker for me was the 3.25% interest rate, which made me damn near jump out of my skin with blissful joy. My previous homestead was more than 2x that rate being conservative, It made me wonder. If the bank is loaning this money to me at this rate, then the FED is basically giving money away. Considering the last time I purchased a home my credit score was 50 plus point higher.

We I have the home and even though the company who remodeled everything did an awesome job, Home Depot has been my new Pimp. In the scheme of things it was not feasible to rent as the ratio of outgoing payments would have cost me at least $500 – $800 more per month with nothing to show for it years later.

Here is one of the important lessons I have learned about finances and home ownership:

• If it is not costing you money or a hazard use time to save the money you need to make changes. Yeah you may have a busted looking facility for a while but it saves you from going further into debt.
• Saving money is a trade-off as there are plenty of little projects to do once you have a house, no time for going out. Now you can invite friends over and have them crash on your comfy couch.
• There is nothing like cooking in your own kitchen.
• Nothing says family like a house you where you cut the grass.
• Every house has its own quiet noise when you wake up at night.
• If you don’t like your neighbors, too bad they are like family you’re stuck with them for a while.
• Just because the space is empty, you don’t have to fill it.
• If you do it correctly, you have an asset in the end.

If you have never purchased a home before, investigate your options and be as smart as possible. Look at paying off your home in less than 15-20 years. The one thing you have to expect is there will be out-of-pocket expense upfront which have nothing to do with down payment and closing cost, and they can be steep. take your time and do it safely.

Now go live the billionaire lifestyle.

Emmitt

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