There’s a great article in NPR a few days ago about Black people and homeownership/real estate. Happy New Year!
This is Kevin Ross talking to you from a real estate perspective; instead of TheIndustry.biz as an agent for the past ten years. Yes, I am a real estate agent.
I cannot tell you how often I’ve seen people do very foolish things with real estate, including myself before I became enlightened on the process.
One friend had a house in foreclosure, and he didn’t tell me because he thought I would be in his financial business. I don’t work in conjunction with mortgage brokers or banks unless asked, and once you are in foreclosure, it’s public record anyway.
I could have orchestrated a short sale for him and possibly gotten him a little money and saved his credit, but he let the house foreclose? Pride can be a beast.
Quite often, I have heard Black people say, “Oh, a house is too much responsibility.” Yes, it is, but so is being broke. I cannot think of any other way for Black people to have greater wealth than owning real estate.
How is it too much work when you can live someplace for two years and walk away with everything that you paid monthly for the mortgage back in your pocket plus more money even tax-free?
This means that you lived rent-free for 2 or more years in your own house? You certainly can’t do that with an apartment. And if you get financially strapped a bank is willing to work with you more than a landlord (sans current COVID laws).
No question, you are merely making someone else rich by renting. Why can’t that someone be you? especially these days where many people are telecommuting not just from home but from other states. Of course, it depends on the location that you’re buying in too, which is why you need a qualified agent.
Currently, real estate is at an all-time high in most markets, but it’s not too late to find deals in smaller to midsize markets, which is where a lot of the industry will be heading over the next couple of years.
At some point, it’s going to level out, but it’s not wise to wait for that to happen. Los Angeles, for example, will not go back to where it was even five years ago, so why wait? Check out smaller, more affordable more-for-your-money markets with the help of a great agent like myself and my partners.
I wrote an article the other day about how people will be working from home and telecommuting more than ever, and people are tired of heavy traffic and COVID risks in major markets.
Life is more straightforward and a lot less expensive in midsized towns. And it’s not impossible to find great deals even in cities in California like Palm Springs, Temecula, Canyon Country, Sylmar, Bakersfield, etc. There are always hidden gems.
Even in the Valley of Los Angeles, a million dollars will usually get you a lot more house and land than LA proper.
The story on NPR talked about how a young man went to his aunts to pay the taxes on the property his grandmother purchased in 1970.
After the grandmother died and the taxes were due, the aunts argued and refused to pay them and opted to sell.
We need to be in it for the long game and stop thinking of having everything YESTERDAY. Investing doesn’t work that way. They lost a LOT more by not paying those taxes than selling the house.
To our fault, we also need to explain to younger family members how real estate works just as much as we practice and teach them religion.
I had to learn this on my own, and I think many other people do too but unfortunately when it’s too late.
Several years ago, I had a friend whose mother died, and she only had two payments left on the house, but her mother did not have a will or a trust so after much fighting and arguing amongst family members, the home went to the state.
That is such a tragedy considering it took her 30 years to pay for that house with just two payments left.
Without question, we are often afraid of having wills and deeds. It means that we have to think about death, which is inevitable, but it would be unfortunate for us to leave this earth and watch our families continue to suffer and struggle to make money and continue to start from scratch.
Perhaps that’s a start if you are a homeowner now getting your will and trust in place.
