Tuning out the noise when buying a home
“They immediately began justifying why they bought a house,” Fain said, likening it to the couple pleading guilty to something they had done – a vacillation driven by an acute focus on the mortgage rate at the time of purchase. “I still believe in the power of homeownership no matter what the rate is right now,” Fain said. “It became evident that a lot of people in their lives had told them it was a bad idea. Or they had heard in the news that it was a bad idea.”
The lesson of the story: “It really comes down to your personal situation, and not to listen to all the noise,” Fain said. “For sure, take some feedback and try to learn some lessons from the people who know what they’re talking about. But if I’m going to buy a house and you’re going to buy a house, we’re going to have different needs that prevent us from buying a house too. It might be a good time for you to buy in your area, whereas it might not be a good time for me to buy in my area.”
That piece of content resonated with many given its relatability, Fain said. “Personal finance is personal,” Fain said. “This decision is personal.”
Given such intimate dynamics to each scenario, buying when rates are low doesn’t always fit the equation. Fain explained: “Even when rates were low, some people should not have bought then because of their situation. Think back to the spring of 2021: Rates were still low, but everything was a bidding war. Let’s say you were someone who was strapped for cash and didn’t have a lot of money to go over the asking price. Technically, that wasn’t the best time to buy a house because you were overextending yourself by draining all your savings, whereas now you can buy a little less of a house but not drain your savings.”
It’s not that complicated, he suggested, in describing the goal of his video featuring the couple. “One of my goals in that video was to redirect and rewire some people’s thinking of ‘OK, I hear all the noise on social media, from the news, from uncle Wayne who’s never originated a mortgage, my aunt Betsy who’s never sold a home.’ It comes down to surrounding yourself with professionals who want what’s best for you and have a fiduciary responsibility to do what’s best for you, listening to their guidance and doing what’s best for you and your family.”
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