Fascinating lessons learned, and how you have arranged your life!

I always joke that I can only truly afford a *door* in the DC market, not a full house, haha… It’s amazing what people are okay paying for!

I love how passionate you are! It sounds like your organization helps out a lot of people, and I could have greatly benefited from it myself all those years ago :)

I’ll agree it’s a “perfect world” to check off all the items on this list, but you def. can’t go wrong necessarily checking off at least a bulk of them. I think what matters most is that you’re *consciously* going through the different variables and making the decision for yourself whether home ownership is right for you (and esp at that given time in your life). It seems like a lot of people have blindly came out of it okay from the comments here – unlike myself, hah! – but ultimately the more prepared you can be the better. And I’ll agree – not many can check off all those items at least in their youth :)

This is so fascinating (and helpful!) to read! I had noooo idea bout subdivisions until reading this, nor did I ever think about one-level homes and disabilities/etc (or snowmobile paths for that matter, haha….) Such great insight, thx for taking the time to brain dump on us :) And really just glad that it all ended up working out for you guys. Congrats on getting it paid off so fast! I’d be surprised if these days there IS a prepayment penalty, but with banks you never know so good reminder to double check on that for sure. Thx for stopping by!

Of course, we’re also in the DC metro area, so J Money already knows all about the COST issue as well. ;) I honestly don’t know how so many of our friends are affording to buy townhouses and houses in this area. But even if we felt like we had plenty of money to make that decision ourselves, we still wouldn’t want the responsibility.

Before I began working for HomeFree-USA (www.homefreeusa.org) I was a member, so I received hands on guidance about whether it’s the right time to buy a home, what I was looking for, my affordability, etc. Plus, I was double fortunate that my dad knew the local real estate well, and pointed me towards a neighborhood that he felt was going to explode in value (he was so right). Value increase was not my primary reason for buying this particular house though, I just wanted to be in this neighborhood and could afford it.

Regarding the Business Insider article, as someone whose organization primarily focuses on developing successful, sustainable homeowners, I actually don’t agree with all of their points. It’s great if you have 20% to put down, but that’s not a determining factor in whether you can afford a home (personally, I didn’t put anything down. I don’t recommend that for everyone, but I’m using myself as one of many examples of people who put little to no money down and have still been able to successfully maintain a home). Few to none of HomeFree-USA’s clients have enough money saved for a 20% downpayment, however we’ve been in business for 21 years and have a 0 foreclosure rate. That’s telling.

2) Having a full emergency fund is wonderful (and extremely important) but again, should not be considered a homeownership deal breaker.

And finally, the credit question is slightly misleading. We regularly work with people with credit scores below 650, however they would be able to afford their mortgage and be a sustainable homeowner (there are a myriad of reasons that their credit report doesn’t accurately reflect their ability to repay). The problem is, even if we can prove to a mortgage underwriter that the borrower will be able to repay the loan, the products that many banks are offering require a minimum credit score of 680 (they’d prefer to see in the mid-700’s, which is practically unreasonable for many Americans). The mid-600’s question is misleading because, even if you do have that score and answer yes to all of the above questions, many lenders would still not loan you the money. FHA allows for credit scores as low as 580, but many lenders won’t offer it to their customers.

Nonprofit homeownership education and financial organizations like HomeFree-USA are key to determining if someone is truly ready for homeownership (because again, many people are not. To flip it, there are people who will answer correctly on all of BI’s questions and still not be mentally ready for homeownership). We are mortgage industry experts who regularly talk to lenders, the GSEs and regulators, and explain to them what’s really going on with potential homebuyers. Likewise, we meet with clients every day and break down why now may or may not be the time to buy. We do not benefit financially by the size of the house someone buys as lenders or realtors do, we win by delivering mortgage ready, sustainable homebuyers.

Sorry for the long response, but as you can see I’m very passionate about this topic:)

Yeah, if you have the luxury of waiting (and/or patience) then that’s def. another one to consider. Though just like the stock market you never really know when things will blow up in either direction :(

Agreed! Esp in these early phases of businesses… Just wait a few years when you hit the millions and can pick one up in all cash ;)