InFluential_Magazine_May_June_2017

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nal 30-year mortgage — can offer
greater flexibility and control to the
home buyer. It allows you to cut the
time needed to save for a down payment
in half, lower your monthly payments
and avoid mortgage insurance,
or increase your purchasing power so
you can buy the home you want.
4Wanting the dream
house right away
Everyone has a picture in their minds
of what their first home will look like.
Whether you envisioned a craftsman
bungalow near all your favorite bars
and restaurants or a classic ranchstyle
home with tons of land and no
neighbors, chances are you’re going
to have to trade up to that dream
home from your first starter home.
“If you really like the house, you
probably can’t afford it. If you think
the house is just kind of below what
you want it’s probably right in your
price range. Get in the market rather
than wait to get the dream house,”
Carr says. Carr advises those in the
hunt for their dream home to focus
on becoming homeowners now
and to wait on their dream home
until they have built up equity and
have higher incomes in the future.
The median tenure of a homeowner
in 2017 is about 10 years, but for
the 20-year period before that it was
only six. Believing that this won’t
be your last house can take a bit of
pressure off the home being perfectly
suited for you.
5Not having your
own representation
Another mistake a first-time
homebuyer can make is not having
their own representation (meaning
that they use the seller’s agent as their
own buyer’s agent). While this is not
always a bad situation, Carr cautions
buyers to be careful that they have
selected a good and trustworthy
real estate agent that is looking after
their best interests. In other words,
you don’t want to pay an unfair price
because someone is looking after
their own best interest.
To learn more about the Unison
HomeBuyer program and how it
could help you, visit www.unison.
com/homebuyer. (BPT) l
MAY / JUNE 2017
FLUENTIAL 77