Im sure there are a lot of people, myself included, who would tell you a slew of reasons why they can't buy a home (specifically their primary residence).
"I have bad credit."
"I don't have enough money."
"I don't want the burden of fixing things when they break."
"I don't know where I will be next year and don't want to be tied down to a mortgage."
This is a mindset-one brought on by the news media along with people within our spheres that have had a bad experience (or who are ill-informed) and perpetuated by a negative feedback loop in our own minds.The human spirit can do whatever it can dream up until it is tempered by the thought I can't. The truth of the matter is that these are all excuses based on F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real).
This is the truth --
I've been in the world of real estate finance for 7 years now. At my first mortgage gig, I was a Sales Coordinator calling leads to convince them to do a loan application. At the time, the thought of purchasing a home for myself had never really crossed my mind. I sincerely thought the only way I'd own a home was to make $100K+/year and put a bunch of money down I had no idea. So, trust me when I say I've been there'.
After a few months, I started to believe my own sales pitch and thought 'It doesn't hurt to see what you qualify for (not physically anyway). But, I had to overcome my mental hang-ups - the same hang-ups the people I was calling to help prequalify had themselves (i.e.I don't want to be rejected, I don't want to be judged for how few assets I have and how little income I make, I know they'll tell me I don't qualify). Eventually, these normal, average, everyday people I had called and sold on doing a mortgage application in the months prior were now closing on their homes.I got to see the process come full circle. Most didn't have great credit or high-paying jobs or even a ton of money in the bank but they were able to buy their next home with the help of some planning with their Mortgage Loan Officer.
Be open to being educated (i.e. be coachable) about the process because it changes consistently even if you bought a home in the past, the process/requirements could be vastly different this go-around.My career goal as a Residential Mortgage Loan Officer is to, not only educate consumers on their current options and give them a "game plan" so they know what they need to do to become home buyers (if they're not ready to go right now), but to overcome those deeply-ingrained cultural mores that a person needs a perfect credit score and 20% down to ever be able to become a homeowner. It is simply not the case.