This week, I had the pleasure of attending a masterclass from Chris Leader, a real estate agent and trainer with 49 years of experience in the industry. There were so many fantastic takeaways from the class, but he shared 3 points about goal-setting that were particularly applicable for first-time homebuyers.
1. Attitude determines results.
If you pay attention to the news, you may believe that now is the worst time in all of history to buy a home. The reality is, it’s not. Interest rates have been much higher in the past (take a look at interest rates in the 1980s). Economic uncertainty has happened before, and this is not the first time in history that there have been international conflicts. Rather than looking at all the issues, remember that opportunity comes disguised as a problem. Instead of sitting on the sidelines waiting for the perfect time to buy, you could see this phase of the market cycle as an opportunity to take advantage of the reduced number of buyers in the market, giving you a better chance of negotiating a good price on a home you love.
2. Goals motivate us to do tough stuff.
They get us out of our comfort zone and move us from where we are to where we want to be. If your goal in 2024 is to purchase your first home, you will need to learn how the home-buying process works, the financial elements required, and the process of due diligence once you have an accepted offer. With an experienced agent as your guide, the process is fun and exciting, but it also takes courage and discipline to achieve the goal of getting the keys to your first house. If you are saving for a downpayment, you’ll need to be courageous when your friends invite you out to dinner and you decline the invitation to save the money and eat at home instead. You’ll need to be disciplined to do this day in and day out for months until you have reached your goal.
3. Be as intense as a child in pursuit of that goal.
Have you ever been around a kid who decides they “need” something and won’t relent until they have it? When my daughter was six years old, she decided she wanted a puppy. With two other small children at home, that was the last thing I wanted, so I told her if she wanted a puppy she would need to save up the money to buy one, thinking that would put the problem to rest. Ha! She went to work, doing chores, working for her grandmothers, doing bake sales, and saving every last penny she earned or received. After she saved up $50, she said she was ready to buy her puppy. I didn’t think we’d be able to find a puppy for $50 but I told her that we should pray about it. So we did. Within a few weeks, we learned of a farm family whose dogs had puppies that needed good homes. They were charging $0. The day we went to pick up the dog was an exciting day for our little 6-year-old girl! The puppies were so cute, we came home with 2 of them!
So if you want to become a homeowner and are committed to doing so in 2024, be like a child and relentlessly pursue your goal! If you do, you could ring in 2025 in your new home!
