Lately I’ve been doing a lot of home buyer seminars. I enjoy teaching people how the process works and it’s great to give insights to first time home buyers. On the other hand, it makes me think, why don’t more people take the time to get educated on what to expect as a home owner?
How many people would buy a car without first learning how to drive? That would be reckless, yet time and again people will go out and make the single biggest investment of their entire life without any education into what they are doing. Down the road they’ll be wondering "what the heck did I get myself into?"
In this day of internet access, it’s easy to do searches and gather info, but how are you to know what info is correct and what info is incorrect? Because there is so MUCH info out there, it can get confusing and some stuff that is conjecture is passed off as gospel. People "pretend" to be experts all the time.
Misinformation is every bit as dangerous as uneducated. Sometimes more so, because buyers are so sure they know what they are doing. Imagine your neighbor offering to teach you how to drive that new car you just bought.
Neighbor: I saw a movie once where they drove a car. I’ll tell you what I remember them doing and you’ll be fine. Let’s head over to the freeway and practice.
Yikes! That would be nuts.Yet all the time I talk with potential home owners who were "educated" by fellow renters who never once owned a home (or worse, homeowners who are going through foreclosure and they are instructing first time buyers on how to buy in such a way that could lead THEM to end up in foreclosure!)
Not every Realtor or Broker is an expert, but they do have experience and training. Use that. Ask questions, take classes, read books. Take the time to understand what you are doing and how it would benefit you. Trust me, the education you get now will pay off in a big way later on.