As a veteran downtown Philadelphia Realtor, I am sometimes accused of being indifferent to the mental trauma thrust upon buyers, especially first time buyers, as they drive down the fairway in life knowing as the home buying process. Questioning your decisions, is natural. Not anticipating the worst is unheard of, and taking your lumps is all in due course.
When you receive your home inspection report, you are going to probably be sorry you ever met me. How could my realtor allow me to buy such a piece of crap? When you discover the lengths you must go through to procure a mortgage, you might become guilt-ridden about the way you have lived your life (with no real financial plan. And when you see the total cost of your loan over a thirty (30) year period, you are going to ask yourself why many large banks need a federal bailout. And what the hell is transfer tax? You already live in the area, so why should you have to pay such a thing? Perhaps in the not so distant past, you were a bit insecure about that new haircut you sported out on a Saturday night. Buying a home can be a month of Sundays worth of insecurity. And what if your parents don’t approve of the place, let alone your friends. And did that ring around the bathroom tub come with the place? Oh, lucky you.
Buying a home sometimes takes a good look in the mirror, a sense of determination, and a strong mental constitution for the unexpected and the rare occurrences associated with home ownership. If only you could have taken a class in your undergraduate program called “Home Ownership 101”, oh how you would be better off. But like life, owning a home for the first time is no dress rehearsal. Your roof sometimes leaks, and the closet door is off it’s track. Such pains you will and should endure for the piece of mind that sitting in front of YOUR fireplace, on a nice snowy December evening, does indeed provide. Or the joy of owning your first BBQ grill, weed-whacker, or first step ladder. Such rites of passage can make us all a little more comfortable with our moves and decisions in life, and we all should be blessed to be able to enjoy such headaches and milestones in life.