There are some Reasons Why You Should Not Buy a House
I hope you’re not thrown off by the title but buying a house is probably the biggest decision of your life. So why would anyone who has been successful in his or her own business want to discourage anyone from taking that step? Before buying a house, you should think about the consequences first. In this blog, we will look at three of them and explain why you should not buy a house in the current market.
The old adage of real estate as a long-term investment still holds true which brings me to my first reason.
1. Planning your own 1-2 years tops
If you’re planning to own real estate for one or maybe two years tops, it might not be a good idea for you to buy real estate today. With all the uncertainty that’s happening around the world, around the country, and here locally, the market could go down or it could go up now.
In the short term, it may seem risky, but with the long-term horizon, that will definitely minimize the risk. It will soften the ups or downs that you might experience now with the 1 to 2 years in the market. It could easily go up and down and you might be forced to sell at a loss. So if you want options, you want to have a long-term outlook where it will create more options for you.
Way back in 2006, I purchased the property in Millbury. And if you can remember that was actually just before the financial crisis that we all experienced in 2008. It was an absolute scary time back then, however, I always looked at the property as a long-term investment and always had plans to keep it in the long term. If I had actually sold the property within the first few years, I would have absolutely lost a shirt on my back. What I did was I held on and then a few years later, the value actually started going up, and then as you all know, the rest is history.
The lesson that I learned is that real estate is great. If you keep it for the long term and if you have a long-term horizon, the value will always go up.
2. High Debt Ratio
The second reason why I think you should not buy a house is if you have a high debt-to-income ratio, meaning if you’ve got a lot of debt and you’ve got a high spending habit, you might want to hold off on buying a house until you cut your spending habit. Perhaps reduce some of your bills, pay off some debt and take the time to stabilize your financial ecosystem.
You can always say that owning property is looked at as a forced saving. Obviously, it benefits people who have a hard time saving because it will force them to make payments on the property, which is great. But you have to keep in mind that owning a house comes with responsibilities. You need to fix things when they break – a broken toilet, a leaky faucet, or a broken furnace, all that costs money. So it won’t be a good idea for you to be spending on a $300 bar tab or a $500 pair of shoes when you have a lot of debt and a new mortgage that you’ve got to pay for every month.
It’s probably a good idea to hold off on buying a house and pay off your debt first and then get your head above the water and also at the same time get mentally fit, get into the right mental frame of mind for owning real estate because it’s a responsibility to own a home.
3. Little or No Job Security
If you have very little to no job security, you probably want to hold off from buying a house because buying a home is a long-term relationship.
Did you know that an average first-time homeowner these days actually stays in their home from 7 to 10 years? You don’t want to get yourself in a situation where you’re out of a job with very little to no savings and then have to face foreclosure. Once you get a loan, you have to remember that the clock keeps on ticking and ticking constantly and it’s usually up to 30 years. You want to be in an ideal situation where you have job security and or the ability to find another job immediately if you were to leave or if you were to get laid off.
I remember when I first started working after college, I was an engineer at Oracle and after a few years, I wanted to leave and go to a young startup company. I remember it was nerve-wracking because it’s the instability of such a young company, I had a mortgage and bills and I had responsibilities.
If you’re thinking about moving to a different company or a smaller young startup company, just keep in mind that you have to have job security and or the ability to find another job afterward. In my particular case, I actually did eventually leave Oracle and I went to a young startup company, which eventually did lay me off because they closed down.
Real estate when viewed with a long-term outlook will always give you options and possibilities. And if you have a high debt-to-income ratio, it doesn’t matter how good of a deal you’re getting or how perfect of a home is. Maybe you might not be ready to own just yet. And if you don’t have any job security, you might want to just wait until you build up more skills and experience.
These are my opinions as to why you should not buy a home today. However, you may be a person that performs well when your back is up against the wall. At the end of the day, you have to make decisions to see if buying is right for you.
If you want to know things before buying a home in 2022 you can read our blog here.
https://gwenrealty.com/top-3-things-to-know-before-buying-a-home-in-2022/
I hope you learned something from this blog. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at gchua@intero.com or 650-255-1511.
Additionally,
if you would like to see what homes are available for sale in the area or want to schedule an appointment, please feel free to contact me anytime!