To my first time buyers

I thought about sending an e-mail out to my first time buyers, but hopefully you'll find my comments worth the post.

Young people, good for you, you are looking at right now as a a chance to buy a house.
You are going against the flow, the fear and the uncertainty of the generations that are older than you. CNN, MSMBC, etc all declare what a housing crisis we are in. The sky is falling.
But PLEASE look at what is going on and learn from this.

Many of the houses we look at are REO's, A.K.A. bank owned, so someone goofed somewhere in Some reasons people are in forecloser are;
*Health.......no disability insurance.
*Divorce............I hope none of you are ever in that position.
*Child support issues.......make sure you have documented all your support payments.
*Poor advice from "friends"................all I have to say about that is friends don't let friends make bad loans.
*Re-financing your loan AND TAKING MONEY out for non-investment purposes, ie a trip, to pay off bills. ........do you really want to pay for that trip for 30 years?
*Re-financing your house and paying a contractor upfront and your money and the contractor are gone.
*Buying too high and paying to much on your interest rate.......patience.
*Adjustable rate mortgages......if you can't afford it now, tell me how you can afford it next year?
*Not letting people know when you are in trouble till it is to late.
*The one that really gets me is walking away from your house to go buy another house.

Please don't do these things!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I really don't want to be looking for someone wonderful to buy your house when it is an REO.
It's happened to a couple of my friends.

So when it starts happening and it will again after this cycle is over, my best advice to you is FEAR NOT!!!! Learn from this and put yourselves in a position of strength when it happens next time. That's the time to pick up a rental, but investment property, rent out your house and move up.

People that don't learn from history repeat it. This current crisis will hit again. The economy goes in cycles. Every cycle has it's positive points for real estate, sometimes it favors the buyer and sometimes the sellers. So put yourself in a place where you can take advantage of the current situation, like you are. At the moment you are looking to buy. Someday you'll be looking to sell.

Some of you are new friends but some of you are old friends, I seen you grow up and get married and now having babies. It is my honor and my privilege to be with you on the next part of your lives journey, that takes you into home ownership. I don't want to blab on and get all sentimental,(Your Mom's and I can get all mushy about it behind your backs once your in a house.) because that's off the point. Which is........... be a good student of what's happening now and you won't be suffering later.

Happy home buying,
Karen