Imagine you’re dying of cancer – would you be willing to do almost anything to win back good health? In a battle for life and death, what would you do to win?
There are 3 traps that snare many home buyers – here they are, and you won’t hear this anywhere else!
1 – The ‘getting advice from family and friends’ trap!
This is when you go to your friends for approval of what you’re keen to do, only to find out they aren’t that enthusiastic about your plans to succeed and do well. Let’s call it what it is: Status anxiety and tall poppy syndrome mixed with a tinge of entitlement. And you’re keen on their input?
What about your parents? Here’s what I think: The desire of your parents to see you succeed is not as strong as their desire for you not to fail. That being said, what kind of advice comes from this? Faith-filled, optimistic advice, or conservative and cautious advice?
2 – The ‘focus on the wrong thing’ trap!
We all want to buy low and sell high right? Well, most times the ‘buying low’ force moves in the opposite direction of ‘buying smart’. Often purchasing smart involves paying more than what you’re happy to pay. If you focus on getting the purchase price low on your next home, or keeping the mortgage amount below a certain figure, you’re stuck in this trap already. The only way out is to focus on what really matters – the loan repayment. Heck, this is all you’re actually left with after-all right? If you’ve done the numbers and you know the income will be there to make the payments, why not push the boat out a little? Every extra $10k you borrow is only about $10/week in repayments.
3 – The ‘don’t push things too far’ trap!
Sure, we want to be comfortable but here’s the headline, this is a battle for wealth! The world will not give you wealth voluntarily – you’re going to have to fight for it and yes, it will be uncomfortable. Perhaps you can afford things now but not when your spouse is off work? What would it look like then if you held back some of your deposit to help with payments during this time? Pretty irresponsible advice I know, but if want a slice of the action, you’re going to need to think outside the square like this. Push yourself – what would tomorrow’s property cost if you bought it today? Imagine if you could avoid the need to renovate, sell/buy again, because you stretched a bit further than you had to today?
Here’s my observation of those who I’ve helped over the years – those that have built good levels of wealth through homeownership didn’t get stuck in the above traps. They scared their parents, they inspired jealousy with their friends, they modelled affordability based on their budget, and they took a risk!
None of this is financial advice, as it may just lead to failure, so that’s how I know you’re not going to get this anywhere else. I’d rather you succeed though – you game for it?
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