Jacksonville Real Estate Ramblings

Do any of those apply to you? If you answered yes to even one, it's NOT a good time for you to buy! I know that sounds harsh, but  let's look at the past few years and what's going on currently. Short sales are everywhere in the Jacksonville and Clay County Florida market. At the end of the day, let's be honest, the responsibility still lies with the homeowner and Not the banks, Not the government, and Not Wall Street. Many home owners have, not only a first mortgage, but a second or sometimes a third. I've seen a common trend amongst most short sale sellers.  Little or no down payment when they bought, no savings,  huge debt, multiple mortgages on their home and yes, there are some that have had unforeseen circumstances out of their control happened. Imagine though if they had no debt, and a savings, how much better off they would be, even with events happening outside their control!

Imagine yourself buying a home with 20% down. The seller agrees to pay your closing cost, so instead of paying them yourself (which you have the money in savings), you use that money to pay cash for new furniture. A 15 year mortgage, instead of a 30 year mortgage. No debt, so you can pay extra on your mortgage, so instead of paying it off in 15 years, you pay it off in 10? 3 to 6 months of expenses saved so if an unforeseen event occurs, it's not your family's total downfall.

I write this, because I'm currently taking the Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. I'm not taking this class because I have all my ducks in a row, that's for sure, but because I've been there and I want a better way for my family. If I had followed those 4 reasons above, when I bought my house, things would have turned out a heck of alot different.

I also hate seeing families have to leave their homes to rent because of financial difficulties and hope that today's buyers learn from the mistakes of current sellers, because really, we do have control over our own personal economy, even when our nation's economy is weak.