The Whoas and Ohs of House Hunting

Today a special treat. Guest writer Diane Bolton provides insights and tips to buying a house if you are female, 50+ and flying solo!

By Diane Bolton

There I sat, dumbfounded.  I was staring across the desk at the mortgage loan officer at my bank. He was a young man, probably ten years or so my junior. Emotionally, he was probably 20 years less advanced.

“You’re thinking about a mortgage? At your age?” he asked. “Do you know how old you’ll be in 30 years when it’s paid off?” So 20th century of him. I felt ancient. I felt depressed. I shuffled my elderly 37 year old body off to my car, fell in behind the wheel and slowly drove home, worried that those next 30 years would pass without being able to afford the most basic of needs: a roof over my head.

Uh, yes, I could do the math: I would be turning the ripe, old age of 67 in 30 years. I was 37 years old at the time—now, 25 years ago—when he told me I would be “old” when I burned the mortgage after the magic number of 30 years had passed. Sixty-seven sure seems young now, as I blew out my 62 candles this year. I say “celebrated” because the alternative is, well, you know, not pretty.

Fast-forward to Century 21st. I’m on the hunt for a house. Of course, now I am really concerned because, in 30 years, I’ll be 92 when I feebly scratch the match to celebrate the Burning of the Mortgage. This is now beginning to sound old. House-hunting can be interesting, enlightening, even fun—and sobering. I had determined my wants and needs—which always seem to be fighting with each other—and knew what I had to work with, financially, to purchase a house at my age.

My coming of age began when I contacted a Realtor in response to a house for sale in my local newspaper. It seemed so hopeful, house-buying, until I realized the discrimination that lurks around the Unsuspecting Ones looking for their dream house. After finally drawing the line in the sand about what I needed and could afford (and no, it wasn’t a number that ended after seven digits), I discovered that house-buying also included a component that should be called KNR: Know Thy Realtor. I talked with several. I interviewed some. I asked friends for referrals. Finally, I found a Realtor who agreed that I didn’t have to be worth more dead than alive in order to find a house in my income and financial bracket in this small, but popular, northwestern Michigan city. But, this could have been Anytown, USA.

After this experience, it occurred to me that I probably wasn’t the only one who had had some uphill challenges in trying to find and buy a house and who wasn’t a youth anymore. Here are some of the steps I took, questions I asked, and insights I had on my house-buying journey. Perhaps they will help you on your journey:

• Determine your absolute, drop-dead, out-the-door, all-things-included price that you can afford to pay for a house. Don’t exceed it. No matter how tempting it is. A few more dollars a month can spell disaster very quickly. If you are like most people, you will have a rather lengthy mortgage term—even 15 years is a long time. Don’t make each month a frightening punch in the gut, knowing that you exceeded your budget and are now having to scrape together the money for that house payment each month. Level with your banker and Realtor. Don’t hold back any financial information with your banker. Learn what your debt-to-income ratio should be. If it’s too high, you may want to begin now to shave that down a bit; i.e., -pay off a credit card.

 

• Drive around the neighborhoods in which you are interested at varying times of the day—and night—to see what kind of traffic there is; how many dogs are barking; whether small children are quietly at home or noisily outside. Is there a railroad track nearby? An airport? When do the trains and planes make the most noise? Is this something you can live with, or will this become a constant source of irritation and angst for you?

 

• Interview potential Realtors as your “buyer’s agent”. Your goal is to have your very own Realtor going to bat for you who can traverse the paperwork, negotiating, and answering the myriad questions you should have about each property in which you are interested. Avoid contacting the Realtor on the For Sale sign; s/he is already committed to the seller and may not be the best source of information and candor because of this. Select your own Realtor who can be honest with you and still share in the fee when you do buy your house.

 

• Don’t be intimidated by anyone—Realtors and mortgage lenders alike—who implies you may be “too old” to qualify for a mortgage or other loan. Age discrimination, while very much alive, I believe, is illegal. If you are asked your age or are told that you don’t qualify because of it, seek legal counsel. (You might be able to afford that seven-digit house yet!)

 

• Get pre-approved by your mortgage lender before getting too serious about which house you would like. Dreams and reality can be distant cousins and not close siblings, so opt for reality now so that you aren’t disappointed later.

 

• Consider making one extra house payment a year. On a 30-year loan, you could shave your mortgage down five or six years, if you do. Don’t think that you must double your regular house payment each month in order to make that 13th payment, however. Instead, divide your monthly house payment by 12 and add that much to each month’s payment. For example, if your monthly house payment is $1000, divided by 12. With a monthly house payment of, say, $1,000 x 84 per month, your new house payment would be$1,084 per month$. That extra $84 each month will make your 13th annual payment over the course of the year. That’s a neat little trick that my mortgage lender told me. This is how she pays her own mortgage, more easily making that one extra payment each year.

 

• Escrow your property taxes in your monthly mortgage, even if it is not required by the bank or lender. If your house payment is $700 a month, and your taxes are $300 a month, your monthly house payment will be $1000 a month, whether you pay it in your mortgage or whether you write another check to the city or county itself to pay those taxes. The lesson here: It always feels better if you include as much as possible in that monthly payment, knowing that.

 

• Consider hiring a painter who can, at the least, prep your walls and perhaps even paint them, if this is in your budget; if not, at least the big work will be done and you can paint the interior as you wish and as time allows. The best money I spent when I bought my cute little house this spring was to have a person remove the wallpaper borders—in each room—and a painter paint over the previous owner’s choices and make this house mine. Those two things can make a big difference right away and will maximize your investment.

Whatever you do, stay calm, ask for help, do your research, and don’t let anyone make you feel less worthy, intimidated, or somehow less or not qualified because of your age or your budget. Finding the answers is a powerful tool in locating an affordable house, regardless of how old you’ll be when you light that match!

 

Diane Bolton is a professional educator, speaker,
coach, and seminar leader who resides in Traverse City, Michigan.  Through
her company, ForeSight Leadership Seminars (www.ForeSightSeminars.net), she
helps individuals and organizations develop their critical thinking, listening,
presentation, and interpersonal skills to find their inner voices to stand up, be
heard, and make a difference.  Her current project is helping those who
have been laid off, furloughed, or who have otherwise found themselves
“retired” prematurely, to update their resumes, hone their computer,
writing, networking, and interviewing skills, to get back into the job market
once again.  She can be reached at dbolton@ForeSightSeminars.net.