For the past few months, the husband and I have been doing a great deal of reading and research on how to achieve the ultimate American dream: buying our first house. Traveling this path has been both exciting and stressful. In the interim, I had to learn a whole new language: The language of the American real estate. This language includes terms like PMI, seller contribution, closing costs, interest-only, buyer’s agent, open house, appraisal and others.
I have been so stressed out about the whole process that I woke up yesterday and found one single white hair on my head. The last time I had a single white hair was four years ago when I was preparing for my wedding, which was followed by a new job in a new country. It goes without saying that the white hair has made me even more stressed out. In addition to thinking about the best way to pursue the American dream, I’m now thinking about aging and the deterioration of my own body. Sigh! If only life could be less stressful.
Yes, this is a stressful step . The thing that made it less stressful for me when I first went through that path is simple. Think of the loan as a 5 year investment. I always had a panic from thinking that a 30 year commitment is so much on me. I never had a long term commitment in my life. Second, you are paying the money anyway for rent. A visit to a Real Estate lawyer gave me much more of what realtors always knew, told me or even didn’t tell me. Some tricks to pull out of a deal without loosing the ernest money are there should you decide to cancell the deal after you made an offer [ will tell you if u ask]. After paying the downpayment, make sure u still keep some money so as to avoid foreclosures should things do not work out well at jobs [ fear exists, but practically, it is just a fear]. Although market now is still unstable, but it is less likely houses will go down in prices by much if you decide to buy now.
Generally speaking, it is a good investment and you will start noticing the equity in your house as years go by [ 3 years and after].
As for the white hair, I have no advice !
Posted by jareer | November 11, 2007, 7:11 PMLife could be less stressful!
You could simply not buy a house. Or, if you insist, hire a lawyer to do it for you.
But you’re probably doing the more responsible thing by doing it yourself; that’s where stress lies… in responsibility. I avoid it like the plague.
Posted by Jonathan | November 11, 2007, 10:54 PMyou’re somewhat lucky; I lost my hair from stress.
Posted by Hareega | November 11, 2007, 11:00 PMExciting stuff, buying a house. It’s certainly a good time to buy with the market down and all. Time to get a deal. Negotiate everything (price, terms, occupancy, time frame, loan costs/fees). People are in the mood for it. Good luck. We bought and sold our second house FSBO. For Sale By Owner.
Regarding the gray hair – why fear it? You could always age with grace.
Posted by effendi | November 11, 2007, 11:50 PMHopefully this stressful, exciting time be rewarding in the end.
I bought my first house over 6 years ago. We lived in it for 2 1/2 years before moving overseas. When we sold it, we made over 12% on our investment. I hope your luck is as good as ours.
Posted by Dave | November 12, 2007, 1:00 AMI’m also trying to buy a house at the moment and I have several white hairs appearing.
Best of luck finding your dream home
Posted by Stephen | November 12, 2007, 2:01 AMIf you buy, make sure you live in it. We have two properties managed by someone else, and I’m not just going gray over it, but LOSING HAIR!
Posted by kinzi | November 12, 2007, 5:48 AMSince today is my birthday and my hair is disappearing quickly, I should be thinking about rapid aging. Instead, I’m just caught up in the job search process as I finish graduate school.
Posted by Brian Ulrich | November 12, 2007, 7:46 AMwhile you are planning to achieve your American Dream, we are busy trying to achieve our Jordanian Dream, cheap heating oil to last the winter
Posted by Azza | November 12, 2007, 7:53 AMWli, basita! Since I last saw you, I’ve grown a number of white hairs…but it was all worth it
Posted by amal | November 12, 2007, 9:16 AMI would say that you need to be doing plethora of more reading about it than you already been doing.The more you read the better you will feel. A lot of your anxiety ( by your own admission) is coming from the lack of cognizance about all of these terms associated with realestate purchase.Good luck to you and your family and enjoy furnishing and decorating your first home.
Posted by hatem abunimeh | November 12, 2007, 10:38 AMSo, what does an old man get when he is stressed. Is it a black hair?
Posted by jareer | November 12, 2007, 11:15 AMHello from Uruguy. I lived in Qatar for six months and i love your country!
Posted by Eugenia | November 14, 2007, 11:48 AMNatasha, I hope your luck is better than Dave’s. 12.5% return over a 2.5 year period is pretty bad nowadays. Doubt you’re only doing it for the investment tho.
Posted by Hamako | November 16, 2007, 3:29 PMDon’t stress out about the white hair. Black hair streaked touches of white and grey can be quite fetching.
Posted by Peter S | November 19, 2007, 11:18 AM