Ep. 4 – Planning To Purchase Your Home 

 March 13, 2019

HBH 4 | Home Purchase

All of this adulting stuff may not seem like the most fun to do, that is why we take this topic on in better terms. It is time to face our responsibilities and do some planning to stop wasting money on rent and purchase our home. David takes care of first-time buyers as he shares how to have a big fat savings account. Start planning now and save money. Remember that real estate agents are not the only people out there with a key because you have it too.

Planning To Purchase Your Home

This episode was originally written on March 13th, 2019. Since new readers are coming into the show all the time, I have this new introduction three years later. This is March 2022. I’m from the future and time travel is possible. Believe it, Marty McFly. Why would I be doing this? It’s because after hundreds of thousands of downloads of the show, I’ve discovered one thing. You readers like to binge.
This is a service announcement to all new readers who’ve read 1, 2, 3, here you are binging on number four, and you’re excited to binge to you get everything you need to know about buying a home in order. First of all, thank you so much for reading, but do yourself a favor. Do not binge this show in order thinking that there’s a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 straight order on how to buy a home.
Buying a home is not a simple 1, 2, 3-step process. It’s different for everyone. Your best tips could be buried deep in the catalog of episodes. I’m in the 80s by the time I write this. This episode is about planning. You might need planning, or you might have questions on credit, savings, down payment, lender choices, internet searching, buying another estate, PMI, using the internet to help you with your search or you want to know about current market conditions. Back in 2019, I had no idea what the market was going to be happening in 2022.
If you’re reading for the first time and you went 1, 2, 3, and you’re on 4, do yourself a favor. Don’t go in order. Timing could be a big factor in your purchase. It’s not a rush for you to buy a home. It’s a rush for you to understand everything that’s going on to be able to take advantage in the timeframe that’s best for you. Go to HowToBuyAHome.com and click on the Podcast tab and scroll through all the titles and jump to the topic that’ll help you again. Do not binge this in order.
Thank you very much. I’m sorry to fight against your anal completism, but it’s best for you to find the titles that are going to help you out the most. In fact, I recommend that if you’re starting and don’t know anything about it, you do one old episode followed by the most recent episode, and then jump back and forth, old one, new one.
You get some of the basics mixed in with the most current up-to-date market analysis that’s out there and that’s going to affect you, the home buyers. Let’s take a trip back in time. This is going back to 2019 when I was a weird dude, sitting in his kitchen with a lousy microphone, trying to do a show, trying to help people out and had a small dream of having a show that at that time was mostly for my parents and my friends.
I’m happy to say that we’ve grown into a huge community, hundreds of thousands of readers, and a lot of them have turned into homeowners, or they’re part of the hundreds of thousands of readers that are in deep planning phases like you can be. We’ve built a new network to help all these dreams become realities. We’ve got a giant unicorn realtor network and a giant unicorn lender network. It’s a unicorn nation.
It was a dream in these early episodes, but in 2022, it’s a reality. They’re guiding our readers in cities all across the United States and Canada. As far as all my episodes go, this is a good one to give you some content and an idea on what the show is all about. It’s one word, planning.

I’m super excited to be here with you. We’re going to talk about the always exciting, always thrilling and super fun topic of planning. Aren’t you all excited out there? It’s time to talk about being responsible. All this adulting thing doesn’t sound super fun, but we’re going to talk about this in better terms, something that might be a little more exciting for you. How would you like to have a big fat savings account? How would you like to have $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000? I know what you’re thinking, “Don’t even try to con me. You’re going to tell me I have to stop doing all the fun stuff that I already like to do.” No, this is different.
How would you like to have $25,000, $50,000 or $75,000 in a big fat savings account doing exactly what you were already planning on doing for the next 2 or 3 years? We’re going to talk about planning so that, hopefully, you can get that. You can have that money and you can have a big fat savings account. As of March 2019, I’ve personally helped 76 first-time home buyers reach the American dream and every single one of them told me one thing and that was that they all had wished that they had done it earlier.
Every single one has told me that they wished that they had started the planning earlier. They could have purchased the home earlier and they’ve realized they’d wasted so much money on their rent. They said, “I could’ve done this 1, 2, 3 years ago. If I called you a year before I called you, then that would have meant a year less of renting.” Think about that. Multiply your rent by twelve. Do it by 24 and do it by 36. How much money is that? That’s how much money people throw away and give to their landlord every single month and that’s why I started this show. That’s why I changed my entire business.
There are people out there wanting to buy a house. If that’s you, I’m telling you something. You’ve been totally overlooked. You’ve been under-appreciated. You’ve been ignored and you have been uninformed. People are not giving you this information. Let’s change that right here, right now by having the super motivational and super inspirational discussion about planning. I can’t make this sexy, but I can tell you, you’re going to have a sexy bank account.
Here’s how it usually goes for first buyers who don’t get the proper guidance on the planning and they don’t start early enough. Sometime early in their adult life, they’re ready to take on the world. What do you do first? You move out of the house and sleep on a few couches, maybe a couple of floors or futons. You go through a few crazy roommates, you get a decent job and then you finally get a killer apartment. After a couple of years and usually way too many raises in your rent, they figure out that this cool killer apartment sucks and is costing too much money because the rent keeps going up.
What do they do next? They google a couple of things. They start to try and save their money. They start to try to reduce their debt and figure out their credit a little bit. A few months later, after they think that they’ve saved some money and they fixed their debt, then they start going online. They start dreaming and start looking at houses or maybe then they pop by a few open houses. Let’s back up a few months for this imaginary first-time buyer that I’m talking about.
[bctt tweet=”It’s not a rush for you to buy a home. It’s a rush for you to understand everything that’s going on so you can take advantage of the timeframe that’s best for you.” via=”no”]
What if they’ve read this when they were 20, 21, 22 or maybe it was 30, 31, 32? What if made one phone call before they went from the house with six roommates into their own apartment that they started paying $1,500, $1,700, $1,800 a month, $2,000, $2,500 if you’re here in the lovely land of the sun, Orange County, California, that costs too much money? If they’ve made one phone call before they went to that apartment, they could have shaved years off the time that they ended up renting. That’s why we’re talking about planning.
Think about all those first-time buyers I told you I worked with. As of March 2019, 76 of them, every single one of them said they could’ve done it earlier. They would have been able to put that money into the house. Eventually, when everyone moves into the house, they all stretch as far as they can. They spend all their money and a lot of times, they don’t have a couch to match their cool new house or condo or townhome. If you start a plan early and you get in early, you’re going to be in better shape. What’s the deal with paying yourself as opposed to paying a landlord?
I know it seems simple. It seems basic. It seems easy, but basically, it works like this. If you’re putting money into a house, you are getting yourself a forced savings account. The average appreciation on a house is about 3% to 5% a year, every year since the 1900s, since the beginning of time. That’s how much the house goes up in value. That’s more than a savings account is here in 2019. You’ll also get the magic word. With that, you get equity. That’s the exciting part. Let’s say you buy a year earlier than you thought you were going to buy. Let’s say you’re reading this right now because your parents are making you. Let’s say that you’re reading this and you decide to start planning.
You decided that in 2, 3, 4, 5 years, you can buy a house, but you can buy it a year earlier than if you hadn’t read this. Take your rent and multiply it by twelve and you just saved that money. Now, multiply it by 2 years, by 3 years. How would you like to have $20,000, $30,000, $50,000, $75,000 in a savings account? Buying a home before you think that you can because you can is a forced savings account and you will have that money. You’re already going to pay rent anyway and if you’re thinking that you’re going to buy a home someday, why not get ahold of the information right now? Why not start to learn about that beautiful little word, equity?
Your home is your forced savings account. It also helps you to stop throwing your money away and it’s the number one regret of all first-time home buyers. Do you want to talk about FOMO? You want to talk about Fear Of Missing Out. That’s serious FOMO. I fear tossing my money in a trash can. That’s what I fear. FOMO is all about, “I wish I could do that.” What’s the one thing that’s holding you back from doing something? Money.
If you all had money, you’d be FOMO-ing whatever you want to do. You’d be gone. You’d be out on an island having fun and doing whatever you want. The only thing that’s stopping you is money or work and why do you work? For money. Go ahead and start capitalizing on yourself. You’re already going to do this. You’re already going to make a payment every first of the month.
Wherever you are, you’re on a treadmill or you’re in your car driving, raise your hand if you are going to skip your rent next month. Nobody? You’re all going to do this, so let’s plan. If you’ve got questions, put some questions down in the reviews of the show or comment or you can reach out to me on my Instagram @DavidSidoni. Ask me and I’ll tell you. Wherever you are in the country, it doesn’t matter. My mission and my goal are to help everybody get over the fear and the first fear is figuring out whatever your fear is. I don’t know. If you’ve got a question, go ahead and ask me.
It’s up to you to start this planning, even if it’s only baby steps. Here’s what’s happened. Unfortunately, most realtors think that you suck. It’s true. They pass you off to inexperienced realtors, rookie agents and the experienced agents ignore you altogether. They won’t work with you. You have to do this on your own. Reach out, ask me a question. I’ll answer it. I can’t sell you a home if you’re somewhere else in the country, so I’m doing this because I really think that no one’s talking to you and that sucks.
You’ve been ignored until now. Now, you got me. I can help you out. I can guide you, but it’s up to you to take action. If you do, you’re going to save yourself tens of thousands of dollars. You might be asking if this crap is true, “Why are you the only dude out there talking to me about it?” It’s because you’re the ignored gap. Realtors think you suck, but I think a lot of those realtors who think you suck, they suck.
What they’re doing is they don’t want to work with you because the industry is decided that you’re not worth it. No one’s telling you this information because they’ve decided that eventually, you’re going to come to them. You’re going to figure this all out on your own and then you’re going to come to them. You’re going to come to their open house. They just work with sellers. They don’t want to work with you.
The industry still doesn’t believe that you’re going to seek this out on your own. They seriously don’t think that you’re going to go and figure out the planning part on your own. They think you’re going to eventually come around when you’re ready because they’re old. I said it before and I’ll say it again. They’re archaic. They’re dinosaurs. As a matter of fact, I have a guy here. He’s 24. He’s my main man and he told me, “Millennials look things up. That’s what we do. We don’t just take an ad or an article on Facebook face value. We google it and we check out the author. We check out the publication. We check out the other stuff that they did. We go look at their Facebook page. We check out everything about them.”
The industry doesn’t believe that you’re going to do that. They think that you’re going to put money into a savings account like freaking Mary Poppins. “You’re just going to stick your money in the bank. That’s what you’re going to do and then someday when you save enough, you’re going to buy a house.” They seriously think that advertisement they’d got on the bus bench that you’re going to save your money and eventually you’re going to call them because you’ve seen their face. That’s not the way it works. You’re going to get out there and you’re going to start looking and this is one of the only places you could find the information right now.
If you’re reading this in the future, hopefully, other people, other real estate agents, other companies out there are starting to tell you all about this. If you’re reading this in 2019, I’ve just started my mission to tell you about all the deep, dark secrets and how the real estate industry looks at you. You’ve got a chance right now to start planning and you can look at this magical mystery of homeownership and the real estate agents aren’t the only people out there with a key. You have the key. Start planning now.

HBH 4 | Home Purchase
Home Purchase: We’ve built a new network to help all these dreams become realities.

The other reason why you do not hear this information is because the real estate industry thinks that you’re too much work and you’re not a good return on their time. Everybody wants to be a $1 million listing. Everybody wants to be king or queen of the neighborhood and you take too much time. You’re the ignored gap. Don’t be that. Don’t let that happen to you. Don’t be the ignored gap in between young adulthood and a homeowner. You take action now.
If you’re a person that’s going to buy a home someday and a person who could end up giving months and months and often years of rent to somebody else, start planning. Take the initiative. Do the big P-word, planning. It’s not sexy. You’re not going to get six-minute abs. You won’t get 10,000 likes or followers in 10 days. You’re not going to make 6 figures in 6 months. There’s going to be no immediate gratification, but it’s also not that difficult. I’m going to be your cheerleader. It’s pretty easy. Depending on where you live, the American dream is becoming more and more unattainable.
If you live in a high-priced area, how can you even afford to buy a house and get that American dream? You’re not buying like your parents or your grandparents for $60,000 or $70,000 buying your first house. In lots of places in America, it is $250,000, $300,000, $400,000 or $500,000 for a starter home. You need a plan to get there. Everybody can buy a home. It’s just a matter of when. What are your action steps? What do you need to do?
The first thing is to read this. There are a few other good lenders out there that have some great information. There are a couple of good guys working on credit. They’ve got some good stuff too. If you haven’t read the rest of this blog, it’s a realtor’s perspective directly to you, go back from the start and read it. There are tons of bite-sized nuggets and you can start implementing them now.
Here’s another step that freaks a lot of people out. Tell your family. That’s the first step of the plan. I’m not kidding. You’ll freak out your mom, dad, grandparents, uncle, and cousin, but you finally said something “responsible.” You’re actually not one of those Millennials who doesn’t pay attention to anything. Talk to your family. You’ll never know. You might have some down payment assistance program in the form of a bank of mom and dad. It’s something to check into. If mom and dad haven’t got it, don’t worry about it. I get it, but you never know about your uncle, your grandma or your grandpa. They love it when people are responsible.
The next thing, don’t do this on your own. It’s going to take a little while because, as we discussed, the real estate industry doesn’t think you’re worth it. No realtors with experience want to do it. They’re glad to pass you off to a newbie who’s never sold a house before or sold 1 or 2 houses in the past 3 years. You’re going to have to do this on your own. You’re going to have to search. In 2019, you’re not going to find much. Hopefully, in the future, you’ll find more. If you’re reading this, you’re an early adopter. I’m just starting this. My mission is to make sure I get this information out there. You can call me, text me, tweet me or check me out on Instagram @DavidSidoni.
No matter where you are, this is my mission. I will help you. I will guide you. I will give you some free advice. If you read this in the future, find me, David Sidoni. I’m sure I’ve got websites and podcasts in the future. I’m not selling you. I’m talking to people all over the country, all over the world. You’re an ignored gap and you deserve better.
What are some of the little things you can do for your planning? Hopefully, this information has got you to realize that planning can save you wasted rent money. All you need to do is realize that and then start saving. I’m not asking you. I’m not telling you don’t do anything fun. I’m not telling you to put 30% or 40% of your money into a savings account even though you seriously should. All I’m telling you is once you’re at a place where you can afford the average one-bedroom in your neighborhood. If the interest rates are still hovering in that four and 5%, you’ve got a chance to buy. Get over the fear and ask a question.
The other thing you can do is once you figure out and start asking questions, you can start working on your credit. That’s an important part. Most people come to me and say, “I’m ready to buy a house.” If they talked to me 12 months ago, we could have done 12 months of credit cleanup and it could have saved them a lot of money.
Finally, you’ve got to find a guide. Don’t do this on your own. I’m actually going to do an episode on how to interview a realtor. That’s an important part. I’m going to make sure you ask the right questions, so you find someone experienced who wants to help you. If you’ve read this whole thing, I know you’re looking for a magic answer. Here comes the magic answer. Save money, plan and get a guide. That’s it. There’s nothing magic.
Save money, don’t feel like you have to scrimp and can’t live your life. Start planning and thinking about it. Call somebody and get a guide and realize that you can probably do this earlier than you think you can. If you’ve got questions, hit me up @DavidSidoni on Instagram. Follow me or direct message me. I’ll get back to you or you can email me, you can text me. I’m all over social media and the web. There’s a Facebook page called How to Buy a Home. You can check that out too.
If you got information that helped you out a little bit, rate and review. Help me out. This is a true labor of love. This is a passion project for me. I don’t care how many first-time buyers come to me in California. I want to help people all over the country and if you review it, other people will read this. Remember, planning doesn’t mean you have to do anything different except start talking to somebody. Check in with them a couple of times a year and be ready to go. “Why is this dude screaming into a microphone being a cheerleader?” It’s because I’ve seen it. I’ve done it. Many years of this and 76 first-time buyers and one thing I know is you can do this. I’ll talk to you next time.

Important Links

This podcast was started for YOU, to demystify things for first time home buyers, and help crush the confusion. After helping first timers for over 13 years, I knew there wasn’t t a lot of clear, tangible, useable information out there on the internet, so I started this podcast. Help me spread the word to other people just like you, dying for answers. Tell your friends, family, and perhaps that random neighbor you REALLY want to move out about How to Buy a Home! A really easy way is to hit the share button and text it to your friends. Go for it, help someone out. And if you’re not already a regular listener, subscribe and get constant updates on the market. If you are a regular and learned something, help me help others – give the show a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts, or write a review on Spotify. Let’s change the way the real estate industry treats you first time buyers, one buyer at a time, starting with you – and make sure your favorite people don’t get screwed by going into this HUGE step blind and confused. Viva la Unicorn Revolution!
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You Might Also Be Interested In:

Ep 228 – Interview With Andrew And Melissa Who Did NOT Need 20% Down To Buy And Bought Their First Home In A Matter Of Weeks!
Ep 227 – Using The Internet To Research Your First Home
Ep. 226 – Interview With Aaron And Devany – Planned For A Year And Bought A New Build Home
Ep. 225 – Renting Versus Buying For 2024