Yes, You Can Afford A Home!
Burst Through The Brick Wall Of Fear
My son William was two, and I remember exactly how it felt, wondering if I would be able to make ends meet when I introduced a new mortgage payment into the bills. I knew some sacrifices would be in order so that I could own a home. However, the thought of that bill coming every month was petrifying.
The newspapers are running regular articles about mortgage crisis this and foreclosure that. They aren't exactly comforting. Headlines like 'Mortgage Crisis Hits New Low' and 'Foreclosures At An All Time High' are spine-chilling.
I only know of one way to get through that brick wall.
Put on your crash helmet and smash right through it.
When you get to the other side you will have turned those headlines on their head and added 'Foreclosure Risk Reduced To Nothing' and 'Mortgage Crisis Averted' to your own story.
For myself the key was in the preparation and understanding exactly what the worst that could happen was. I sat down and discussed with my wife the absolute worst case scenario. We came up with a short list of our fears and then another shorter list of how to conquer them.
In the end, it turned out that if we focused on just a few things, instead of fretting over every little detail, we would have saved a lot of money on Tums and Maalox.
I recently found that piece of paper buried away in one of my old notebooks. I decided that what we learned would be a valuable topic for an article, so I wrote one. It's a guide to mortgages and what I believe to be the most important things to do that will give you the biggest payoff.
You can read it over in the Knowledge Box. It's titled Mortgage Myths Exposed. Print it out and read it with a highliter in hand, or just bookmark the page if that makes it easier for you.
Mortgages are a tool for homeownership and when used responsibly you will have very little concern of ever losing your house to foreclosure.
When you are ready with your questions, contact me. I am always available to try to help you make sense of the seemingly bewildering path to home ownership.
