BuyAHouse_podcast
00:00:00.000 | Hello everybody, it's Sam and Sydney from the Financial Samurai podcast.
00:00:04.640 | And in this episode, I want to talk to my wife about what the latest thoughts are regarding
00:00:10.120 | upgrading homes.
00:00:12.040 | A couple of months ago, I had an episode that talked about trying to convince my wife, Sydney,
00:00:18.680 | to upgrade homes, and I was met with a lot, a lot of resistance.
00:00:24.160 | But two months later, it seems like things have changed a little bit.
00:00:28.380 | And I wanted to ask you, Sydney, what has changed?
00:00:31.720 | Why do you think upgrading homes now could be a good idea?
00:00:35.760 | Well, like you said, a lot has changed.
00:00:39.120 | And the main thing that comes to mind is when we had our initial conversation, I was not
00:00:45.040 | in a good headspace.
00:00:48.440 | The timing was off for me.
00:00:50.760 | I had a lot going on with my mom, because I was preparing for a big trip overseas to
00:00:59.620 | Japan.
00:01:00.620 | I had a lot of issues preparing for it and dealing with logistics.
00:01:05.860 | And mentally, I was at capacity.
00:01:08.180 | I just couldn't envision doing anything besides getting through that trip and getting back.
00:01:15.000 | So that was my main thing.
00:01:17.180 | I just mentally, I couldn't comprehend having to think about moving, because moving is a
00:01:23.740 | big deal.
00:01:24.740 | I mean, some people are used to it, but for me, I'm not so used to it.
00:01:29.060 | Okay, so you're back from Japan, and things went well.
00:01:33.500 | So it's been, what, a month since you've been back?
00:01:35.580 | And so now, how is your headspace?
00:01:38.580 | It's a lot better for sure.
00:01:40.500 | I have done a lot of thinking, a lot of talking with you.
00:01:45.820 | And once I felt calm enough to actually recognize that this was something that you are definitely
00:01:52.020 | taking very seriously, I sat down and put together a list of pros and cons of staying
00:02:00.180 | versus moving, and really put a lot of thought into it.
00:02:04.940 | And I felt like you, after going through everything, that yeah, it could be a wonderful change
00:02:13.380 | for us.
00:02:14.900 | What are some of the pros and some of the cons?
00:02:17.900 | Let's just talk about three pros and three cons.
00:02:22.500 | One pro is that we like the area.
00:02:26.340 | It's new for us.
00:02:27.820 | It's quieter, and it's just very peaceful there.
00:02:34.180 | Second pro would be the layout and the space is different than what we have, and I think
00:02:42.420 | it would be really fun.
00:02:44.260 | The third one would be just going on a new adventure, like you were saying.
00:02:50.620 | I think we're ready for something new.
00:02:53.780 | And then some of the cons?
00:02:55.700 | Just the fact that we are happy here already.
00:02:59.060 | We don't feel like we're unhappy, so we are taking a risk of going somewhere new where
00:03:08.620 | there could be some unknowns.
00:03:10.380 | So there's that potential of being in a different type of environment for us.
00:03:16.340 | Another one would be we don't know the neighbors.
00:03:22.220 | That's always a risk, right?
00:03:24.320 | Sometimes you could end up having a crazy neighbor.
00:03:26.700 | We've talked to some people in the area, and they seem to be great, so I think it would
00:03:30.220 | be fine, but that's still an unknown.
00:03:33.740 | The con of spending time and money to go through a move.
00:03:41.420 | It takes a lot of time to go through that.
00:03:44.300 | What's interesting is one of the cons you don't bring about is the cost of actually
00:03:48.420 | paying a lot more for a new house.
00:03:50.820 | And I wonder, is it because you don't feel the responsibility of generating the income
00:03:56.300 | to come up with the funds to buy the house?
00:03:58.180 | Because for me, that is one of the top three cons for sure that kind of weighs on me in
00:04:04.060 | terms of, man, I've got to spend a lot of money, and then there's more property taxes,
00:04:08.860 | more maintenance, and that's going to be a heavier or brighter burn in terms of monthly
00:04:15.340 | expenses.
00:04:16.700 | We have definitely talked about this, and that was one of my biggest holdbacks initially
00:04:22.560 | is that the numbers were not something that I felt comfortable with in the beginning.
00:04:28.820 | And that's why, on top of the stress, I just couldn't imagine it being the right move for
00:04:35.420 | us at the time.
00:04:36.940 | However, we had a lot of discussion since then.
00:04:39.760 | We looked carefully at the numbers, and I feel that we arrived at a place together where
00:04:47.300 | we both felt comfortable with it.
00:04:49.060 | But yes, it's obviously a significant factor in moving houses, and I do think that's the
00:04:57.440 | main thing that you bear, your responsibility.
00:05:02.520 | And I obviously am involved with that as well.
00:05:06.600 | But I feel that I'm in a much more comfortable place about the finances now than before we
00:05:14.680 | had a lot of discussions about it and really dug into the numbers.
00:05:19.460 | Just for our listeners, if you're interested, we plan to pay cash for the house.
00:05:24.440 | We plan to pay cash by selling some stocks and some various bonds, perhaps, some treasury
00:05:31.160 | bonds for sure, that have expiring maturity dates.
00:05:34.920 | And so the way I think about it is it's almost like just an asset transfer.
00:05:40.620 | Since 2022, stocks have rebounded.
00:05:43.300 | They're definitely up more than 20% since October 2022.
00:05:47.180 | And in terms of house prices, the house prices in the segment that we're looking at have
00:05:52.020 | come down.
00:05:53.020 | San Francisco overall, I think from 2022 to 2023, home prices are down about 8.5%, the
00:06:00.540 | median home price.
00:06:01.980 | And it started to take back up a little starting in the second quarter of 2023.
00:06:06.960 | So the way I see it is, OK, we can upgrade homes.
00:06:11.380 | One of the biggest complaints is there's not a lot of inventory.
00:06:13.780 | But if you can find that perfect home in a low inventory environment, right now I think
00:06:19.100 | could be a great time to buy because you've identified that home.
00:06:23.220 | And there's not a lot of competition because mortgage rates are up.
00:06:28.020 | And so if you have a lower priced home while your stocks are rebounding, then it's kind
00:06:33.700 | of like, wow, my stocks have rebounded and I actually buy something that I want.
00:06:39.740 | This sounds like a good asset transfer.
00:06:41.540 | So it's not taking on debt at this point in the cycle.
00:06:45.360 | It's just transferring assets from stocks and treasury bonds to a home that we would
00:06:50.180 | live in.
00:06:51.820 | So just FYI for those folks listening.
00:06:55.300 | In terms of one of your main concerns on whether this is the right move or not, you talked
00:07:01.980 | about just the uncertainty of the move and whether because we're already happy in our
00:07:07.680 | existing home.
00:07:08.940 | And so I thought about that a lot.
00:07:11.200 | And at a certain point, I think all of us reach a level of financial stability where
00:07:16.160 | we're happy being able to provide food, clothing, shelter, transportation, education to our
00:07:21.140 | family children.
00:07:23.140 | And we really don't need much more than the basics.
00:07:26.660 | And so one of the things that I've struggled with the most is buying a home we just don't
00:07:32.100 | need.
00:07:33.100 | It's like, we just bought this home in 2020.
00:07:36.100 | Why do we have to buy another home in 2023?
00:07:39.540 | And so my biggest fear, and I heard you loud and clear back when we started debating about
00:07:44.540 | whether to buy another home, was us buying another home, leaving a home that we're already
00:07:50.520 | happy with, and you not being happy in the new home.
00:07:54.980 | And the kids not happy in the new home.
00:07:58.460 | That's one of my biggest fears.
00:08:00.460 | Because then I'll be like, well, I just shot myself in the foot thinking that this would
00:08:03.860 | provide for a better lifestyle for our family for the next 10 plus years.
00:08:08.420 | And yet we're not happier or you're actually unhappy.
00:08:13.260 | So can you share your thoughts on that worry that I have?
00:08:18.460 | Yeah, it's totally understandable.
00:08:20.900 | And I think in any kind of huge decision like this, when you're in a partnership, in a marriage,
00:08:26.700 | you have to both be on board to successfully take the step forward.
00:08:33.340 | And we have had countless discussions offline together about this.
00:08:40.100 | We talked it through and I got to a point where I felt that I could emotionally let
00:08:44.900 | go.
00:08:45.900 | And I think one thing with me is in any kind of big decision, I don't like to yo-yo back
00:08:51.180 | and forth.
00:08:52.180 | I can't take that emotional uncertainty.
00:08:56.700 | And I wasn't ready to do that when we had our initial conversation on the podcast.
00:09:02.220 | So over time with additional conversations and analysis and thinking about it, I got
00:09:11.100 | to the point where I felt that I was emotionally ready to move forward and let go of our current
00:09:20.420 | home and welcome the new house.
00:09:24.260 | And I am fully on board with that now.
00:09:28.460 | And I know that we are going to be happy.
00:09:32.020 | There will be unexpected variables.
00:09:34.060 | I'm not going to say that there won't be, that just life, there's always going to be
00:09:37.420 | something that you don't expect.
00:09:40.180 | And I think there are so many positives.
00:09:42.860 | Kids are excited.
00:09:43.860 | We're moving forward, united on this decision.
00:09:48.740 | And I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
00:09:51.740 | My fear is that I'm too good of a salesman.
00:09:54.380 | So if I listen to the podcast regarding our debate, you are no, no, no, no, why move when
00:09:59.860 | we're already happy.
00:10:01.860 | And I was trying to sell you on the other side.
00:10:04.460 | So now that I've succeeded in selling you on the move, now I actually worry.
00:10:09.780 | I worry, uh-oh.
00:10:12.380 | I feel like I could sell you going back to staying in our home.
00:10:15.780 | That's my problem.
00:10:16.780 | I feel like I'm too good of a salesperson to convince you to do something that I am
00:10:21.340 | almost like bullying you into doing something that you don't really want to do.
00:10:25.620 | Not at all.
00:10:26.780 | And I think what, you know, we've actually had the opposite, right?
00:10:31.020 | There were some unexpected things that came up where you were like, "Okay, maybe this
00:10:35.020 | isn't the right decision."
00:10:36.340 | And I had to explain to you that I am comfortable with it.
00:10:41.820 | We're going to work through these issues and that this is the right decision for us as
00:10:45.940 | a family.
00:10:47.940 | And as you know, I personally take a longer time to come around to change than you.
00:10:56.980 | And I needed, this has happened in the last move that we made, right?
00:11:00.540 | You were ready to move and I wasn't.
00:11:02.580 | I needed more time.
00:11:04.140 | And then I got to the point where I was ready to commit and then we took the steps forward
00:11:09.940 | together.
00:11:10.940 | And I think the same thing has happened here.
00:11:13.580 | I wasn't ready, you know, several months ago and then now I am.
00:11:18.980 | And I just need, I need more time to mentally prepare for change and to think through all
00:11:25.180 | of the different pros and cons.
00:11:28.300 | And you know, I just take longer to process things.
00:11:32.500 | I guess so.
00:11:33.500 | It's interesting because when I was talking to other guys about this dilemma that we have,
00:11:39.700 | it was rare for them to say, well, it's rare for a situation where a husband or wife, whatever,
00:11:47.940 | has identified a nicer home than they currently exist in and getting so much resistance for
00:11:56.060 | wanting to buy that nicer home.
00:11:58.140 | So I think that's rare in the sense that you are, we're creatures of habit, we're comfortable
00:12:02.300 | and shows that you're comfortable with what you have.
00:12:05.580 | You're happy with what you have, which is a good sign and you don't need more.
00:12:11.060 | And that's, that is kind of the conflict internally that I'm trying to think about as we get older
00:12:17.580 | and hopefully wealthier.
00:12:19.260 | I think most listeners will get wealthier over time and they'll have an excess amount
00:12:23.840 | of money than they figure out what to do with so that they don't waste all that energy and
00:12:29.340 | effort that they initially expended to earn and make that money.
00:12:34.580 | So in terms of that emotional attachment, you know, I hear you on the emotional attachment,
00:12:38.620 | which is why I wrote a post called five ways to overcome emotional attachment to buy a
00:12:44.120 | new home.
00:12:45.700 | And one of the ways to overcome that emotional attachment is to tell yourself it's not the
00:12:49.580 | home, it's the people around you.
00:12:53.180 | And so do you believe it's really you're confusing the attachment to the home that we currently
00:12:58.340 | live in versus really it's your attachment to the three of us, your two children and
00:13:03.780 | me?
00:13:04.780 | Yeah.
00:13:05.780 | And for me, it's also just, you know, how much stress I can handle.
00:13:11.180 | At the time, you know, initially I could not mentally take anything else in terms of big
00:13:17.700 | changes and I just, I was at my mental limit.
00:13:22.220 | And fortunately I'm in a much better headspace now and we were able to have a lot more discussions
00:13:32.260 | about everything.
00:13:33.260 | Well, that's the thing.
00:13:35.540 | It's very important that you bring up your mental limit because I think we all have different
00:13:41.260 | levels of mental capacity, right?
00:13:44.640 | Maybe I have like a super tanker storage facility of mental stress that I can deal with.
00:13:50.620 | And maybe you have a smaller capacity, right?
00:13:52.980 | So it's very different.
00:13:54.780 | So if we have different mental limits, like we have different strengths, different endurance
00:13:59.460 | levels, different anything, I think we need to be aware of that because it's not a default
00:14:08.300 | setting where we all have the same ability to, let's say, rise early or work certain
00:14:13.860 | amount of hours.
00:14:15.940 | And I feel, I'm afraid that one day my mental capacity won't be able to deal with as much
00:14:20.740 | stress as possible.
00:14:22.920 | So the way I envision it is once your mental stress load or capacity is limited, it overflows
00:14:28.900 | into my bucket and it fills up my bucket, right?
00:14:32.180 | And so that's my duty as the husband to try to, you know, work harder or try to calm you
00:14:37.280 | down or make sure everything's okay, you know, take care of the kids, whatever it is, right?
00:14:42.260 | Just to be there as the backup, like the backup generator.
00:14:46.180 | And my fear is that as I get older, slower, weaker, less mentally with it, that my mental
00:14:53.820 | capacity will decline.
00:14:55.300 | Unfortunately, it's sad, but that's kind of the way things are with life.
00:15:00.720 | And so if we move and then I have to deal with another set of tenants, if we don't sell
00:15:04.680 | our existing house, my ability to take in your stress and deal with my own stresses
00:15:10.660 | will decline.
00:15:12.060 | And what's also really sad, I think, but also fascinating is that we both don't have day
00:15:18.580 | jobs, right?
00:15:20.020 | We both set our --
00:15:21.420 | Traditional day jobs.
00:15:23.180 | Traditional day jobs.
00:15:24.180 | But still, I don't have to write, I don't have to record a podcast, I don't have to
00:15:28.020 | do nothing.
00:15:29.020 | I just have to ensure that our finances are stable, you know, I stay healthy, I pick up
00:15:33.860 | our son from school and send him.
00:15:35.980 | And now that our daughter's going to school three days a week, we have a lot of capacity.
00:15:41.200 | So what is that law?
00:15:43.020 | It's like Parkinson's law or something where it's the work fills up the time you have to
00:15:47.820 | do the work.
00:15:48.820 | It's like it doesn't really matter how much time you have, we're going to fill up that
00:15:54.220 | time at the pace that we have.
00:15:57.660 | And so what are your thoughts on, you know, my fears on reaching my mental capacity limit?
00:16:05.140 | I think we all, in general, as a society, are under a lot of pressure.
00:16:12.920 | And I guess we get so absorbed with so many things that we forget to self-care.
00:16:20.440 | And I think, you know, even just taking, you know, two, three minutes a day or every other
00:16:27.640 | day to just block everything out and have quiet, I think, is really beneficial.
00:16:33.620 | There's all these little things that we can do to help decrease our stress, clear our
00:16:38.040 | heads, you know, and increase that mental capacity when it feels like it's going down.
00:16:44.040 | Yeah, I always believe that if you feel mentally ill, treat it as a physical illness, take
00:16:50.200 | 24 hours, drink a lot of water, get a lot of sleep, and recharge.
00:16:57.380 | Because it is really interesting for me once we had kids about the stress that increased
00:17:04.360 | for me, whereas I thought, "Okay, well, we got kids now, so I got to provide, I got to
00:17:09.040 | earn the income, I got to asset allocate."
00:17:11.040 | You know, managing money is almost like a full-time job if you want it to be.
00:17:16.660 | And then to do the childcare and then to write on Financial Samurai and then to record and
00:17:22.480 | then to write the book, it just keeps on going on and on.
00:17:25.280 | So it's an interesting situation where it's almost self-inflicted.
00:17:29.480 | It is self-inflicted.
00:17:30.480 | It's not inflicted, it's like it's our decision, right?
00:17:33.800 | So for folks who want to work and take care of children and all that, just know what you're
00:17:41.160 | getting yourself into.
00:17:42.500 | Really carefully plan ahead and think through the steps.
00:17:47.280 | Because it's not easy.
00:17:48.280 | The more you have, the more stress and the more responsibility you need to take.
00:17:52.680 | And if both partners' mental capacity and endurance is not equal, the one who has greater
00:17:58.880 | capacity will have to pick up the "slack," right?
00:18:02.960 | To make sure things are going to be okay.
00:18:05.840 | And so, yeah, think twice, maybe think thrice about upgrading homes, which is where I'm
00:18:12.600 | at right now, right?
00:18:13.600 | In the beginning, two months ago or whenever we talked, I was really gung-ho about it.
00:18:18.120 | I was like, "Okay, this is a great deal.
00:18:20.320 | This is a house that I looked at last year for a much higher price.
00:18:23.600 | It's lower now.
00:18:24.600 | Our stocks have rebounded.
00:18:26.040 | It's a great layout, large lot, really rare, and I think we'll be happy there."
00:18:32.240 | But now I'm thinking, "Okay, is this the right move for us?"
00:18:37.160 | I think this is kind of the pattern that you've had in the prior purchases that we've done,
00:18:44.960 | where initially it's very exciting, and then the closer it gets to actually happening,
00:18:52.040 | the reality of it sets in.
00:18:53.600 | So that's when the anxieties start to come out more than initially when it's just thinking
00:19:00.480 | about how fun and exciting that it's going to be.
00:19:03.940 | So I think what you're feeling is completely natural.
00:19:08.840 | It doesn't worry me because I know this is the pattern that you typically follow before
00:19:15.520 | a purchase.
00:19:19.960 | It's good that you're getting all of your feelings out and you're really thinking it
00:19:24.040 | through because in any kind of purchase that's this big, you want to really be sure that
00:19:29.480 | it is what you want to do.
00:19:31.520 | So I think you're just going through all of your thoughts.
00:19:36.200 | It's always a little bit scary, as you've told me, before it happens.
00:19:41.360 | And then...
00:19:42.360 | Right.
00:19:43.360 | No, I hear you.
00:19:46.040 | Every single home purchase that I've made, it's been very nerve-wracking, very scary.
00:19:52.240 | I remember getting the phone call, something like June 6, 2020.
00:19:56.160 | I was at the playground with our son, and I got a call from the realtor saying, "Congratulations.
00:20:02.960 | The seller loved your real estate love letter, and they've accepted your offer."
00:20:07.680 | And I remember thinking to myself, "Ooh, great.
00:20:11.760 | But okay, thank you so much."
00:20:13.480 | And I hung up and I sat on the seesaw, and I just thought about it.
00:20:17.200 | I was like, "Oh no.
00:20:20.420 | After all that work, they accepted it.
00:20:23.400 | Am I really going to go through with this?"
00:20:25.940 | And I felt this way with every single purchase since 2003.
00:20:29.940 | Every single property, "Uh-oh.
00:20:32.440 | Is this the right move?"
00:20:34.160 | And I would say every single one has worked out well, financially at least, but all of
00:20:39.040 | them have worked out well lifestyle-wise.
00:20:42.200 | I think it's just a little different because of the financial responsibility that I feel
00:20:49.000 | the weight on my shoulders.
00:20:51.480 | When we were back in 2012, when I left, I was like, "All right, let's just live a simple
00:20:57.740 | life in Hawaii on the mango farm, go surfing, eat off the fruit of the land, and then maybe
00:21:05.360 | we'll make $25,000 a year online and have some passive income, and that'll be great."
00:21:12.640 | And now life is a little bit more complicated, and I have to be careful not to go overboard
00:21:18.320 | because I think a lot of us want to spend our wealth, but a lot of us who are used to
00:21:24.200 | being frugal, investing heavily, and not buying things we don't need have this trepidation.
00:21:32.080 | And then in the end, we end up with a lot when we're older, and then maybe we will regret
00:21:37.660 | not living it up as much as we could.
00:21:40.880 | Do you have any thoughts on that?
00:21:44.760 | I think what you're saying makes a lot of sense.
00:21:47.540 | We typically aren't big spenders, so buying a home feels uncomfortable sometimes because
00:21:55.380 | of the significance of it to our financial situation.
00:22:07.740 | So you're gung-ho on moving?
00:22:10.220 | Yeah.
00:22:11.780 | And again, it took me a while to come around to it, and then I felt once I made my mind
00:22:19.820 | up, I felt comfortable with it 100%.
00:22:24.500 | And there have been some unexpected things that we've had to consider, but I feel very
00:22:30.900 | comfortable with it, and I'm fully on board with the decision.
00:22:37.420 | And let's say we move into the home, and I don't know, goodness forbid our son breaks
00:22:44.900 | his arm because he's jumping around the property because it's so much bigger or something.
00:22:52.020 | Will you blame me?
00:22:53.020 | No, of course not.
00:22:56.020 | Okay, because my fear is that one day you'll be like, "Well, you see, if we just stayed
00:23:03.180 | at our existing place, none of this would have happened."
00:23:05.620 | No, that's not how I am.
00:23:06.940 | That's not how I am at all.
00:23:09.660 | Especially in a decision this big, we're not going to move forward if we're not both 100%
00:23:16.420 | on board.
00:23:17.420 | We are making this decision together, and we're not going backwards.
00:23:22.460 | I am not going to ever ... I would never say something like that.
00:23:27.300 | There's no way.
00:23:28.300 | Okay.
00:23:29.300 | Wow.
00:23:30.300 | It's just human nature.
00:23:31.300 | Heats of arguments.
00:23:32.300 | You just never know the future.
00:23:34.940 | For me, I've learned a lot, and I don't know if I've said this already on the podcast,
00:23:40.100 | or I said it in a post, but the reason why I'm comfortable moving every two to four years
00:23:47.020 | is because that's exactly what I did when I was growing up as a son of two Foreign Service
00:23:51.740 | officers.
00:23:52.740 | We moved around every two to four years.
00:23:54.660 | And every single move, I was a little bit sad because I had to leave my friends, but
00:23:58.380 | I was also happy because I got to meet new friends, go to a new country, new food, new
00:24:04.140 | wonderful, wonderful experiences.
00:24:06.820 | And I moved around.
00:24:07.820 | I think it was six countries, Malaysia, Taiwan, Philippines, Zambia, America, Japan, and I
00:24:15.540 | thought it was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful experience, full of excitement, full of adventure.
00:24:22.180 | Whereas you, you have had a more stable living arrangement where you were in the same house
00:24:28.180 | from elementary school up until sophomore year in high school?
00:24:33.220 | Through college.
00:24:34.220 | Well, I wasn't living at home during college, but my home stayed the same.
00:24:38.180 | Okay.
00:24:39.180 | Yeah.
00:24:40.180 | Yeah, so I think that is partially why you're more hesitant to move, and you probably have
00:24:46.700 | thought why I'm so unstable in terms of wanting to move so much.
00:24:53.380 | You probably thought I was crazy for wanting to like, "Wait, you're looking for another
00:24:57.380 | house?
00:24:58.380 | We just got here."
00:24:59.380 | I don't think you're crazy.
00:25:01.500 | I think, yes, we did grow up in different environments, different lifestyles.
00:25:08.380 | However, as I said, we're moving forward with this decision together.
00:25:14.660 | We're not going to make a decision this big without being on the same page.
00:25:20.540 | No.
00:25:21.540 | Well, I think this was good therapy for me because I do have a lot of fears, and I think
00:25:27.780 | listeners can hear the fears and concerns that I have in my head.
00:25:32.260 | If you're looking to upgrade homes, buy a home you really don't need, have these heart-to-heart
00:25:39.220 | conversations with your significant other because there will be good and bad things
00:25:44.060 | that will happen on your move and once you do move, and you want to make sure that you
00:25:49.140 | guys were on the same page and there was no miscommunication.
00:25:53.740 | I think in a natural way, my trepidation now is to help protect me in the future of frankly
00:26:02.660 | you not being happy in the new home.
00:26:05.380 | Oh, come on.
00:26:07.380 | I'm an easy person to please.
00:26:11.220 | I'm very low maintenance.
00:26:13.260 | I am not the type to complain or say, "I want this.
00:26:17.220 | I want that."
00:26:18.220 | That's not who I am.
00:26:19.220 | You know that.
00:26:20.220 | It's more my fear of making you stressed and unhappy in those moments because life is full
00:26:26.220 | of ups and downs.
00:26:28.500 | If we do move, I hope we can look back on this episode and you know that I had fear
00:26:35.220 | and I was thinking about you, about your stress levels and the potential for what could go
00:26:40.840 | wrong because every single time I do something big, when I move forward, I think, "Well,
00:26:49.060 | of course the positives are going to be greater than the negatives," but then the negatives
00:26:52.340 | always happen and sometimes I miss them.
00:26:56.420 | When I miss them, then I feel guilty and I feel bad.
00:27:00.940 | Hopefully, this conversation will make you realize that I'm doing my best and I have
00:27:08.580 | this fear and I'm trying to be as thorough as possible before we move forward.
00:27:13.540 | Just on a practical note, for those who are looking to buy homes, I think, and I could
00:27:19.260 | be wrong, but now with rates so high, it's a very compelling time.
00:27:25.420 | The competition is way down and rightly so because it's harder to afford a high mortgage
00:27:32.140 | rate.
00:27:33.140 | It's harder to come up with the funds and so it's less competition.
00:27:38.820 | We have less competition, you have more bargaining power.
00:27:43.460 | So anybody who's listing now, well, it could be a time to take advantage because I do fear
00:27:51.260 | that if mortgage rates come down by 1% to 2% in the future, that frenzy that I have
00:27:56.580 | experienced over the past 20 years, it ebbs and flows, will come back and if you identify
00:28:01.760 | that nice home during a frenzy market, chances of you actually winning without overpaying
00:28:09.100 | or winning a bidding war is very, very low.
00:28:13.740 | So be prepared, folks.
00:28:15.900 | Have deep discussions.
00:28:18.020 | Get on the same page.
00:28:19.380 | Run the numbers.
00:28:20.620 | Look at my 30/30, 3-5 home buying rule.
00:28:23.940 | Look at my net worth and income rule for buying a home.
00:28:29.380 | These are really good guidelines to help you make one of the biggest decisions of your
00:28:32.940 | life.
00:28:34.180 | I hope you enjoyed this little banter and you can use it to talk to your significant
00:28:40.020 | other about the gravity, the seriousness and the potential joy of buying a new home.
00:28:46.140 | Thanks so much everyone for listening and if you want to subscribe to the Financial
00:28:50.660 | Samurai newsletter, we're at financialsamurai.com/news and we'll keep in touch.
00:28:56.180 | Bye.
00:28:57.180 | [End of Audio]
00:28:57.420 | [ Silence ]