July 2, 2004

The American Dream…

By Donna Nardi, Realtor
Special to the Times

We all have our dreams and aspirations. One of the commonly held dreams is to own a piece of the “pie” —our own home! Yes, the American Dream! Once we decide it’s time to find our dream home we begin looking by going to open houses, having realtors show us homes, checking the multiple listings and so forth.

To our dismay we realize our dream home is not quite within our financial reach. Our lender just doesn’t seem to understand that we want a bigger/nicer home. We wonder why it is our dream home is priced out of the range we qualify for. It’s at this point that we ask ourselves what we can do to make our dream as much of a reality as possible.

The solution is to start where you can. Carefully choose the location, school district and “bones” of any home you consider buying. In today’s world you will want to consider the future resale value of your prospective dream home.

What improvements will you be able to make to your new home that will increase the value of your home?

If money will be an issue, make plans to make improvements as your can afford it. If possible you may want to secure an equity line of credit and be sure the interest rate is just above the prime rate. Remember during the time you are living in your new home equity should be building. You may eventually decide to roll your equity, or profits, into another home that is closer to your dream. Or, if you’re really lucky, your present home will become your dream.

The month of July is the time our country celebrates its independence. Try not to let concerns generated by the day’s events thwart your plans of obtaining your American Dream! Continue to look forward toward a bright future for your family and yourself.

Go ahead…Dream!
The best way to celebrate our country’s independence is to live it in your personal life. Exercise your independence by becoming independent of your landlord. Imagine the freedom owning your own home will add to your life.

Owning your own home will add quality to your life and provide a place to raise your family. Your home could create warm memories for all your family members and provide a warm place for your children and grandchildren to come back to.

Buying a home is more than just a financial decision. It is an emotional decision as well. Home is your headquarters of life. It’s where you will celebrate the joys, embrace the sorrows and share the experience of being family. Hopefully, with a lot of dreaming and some hard work we can all have our very own American Dream.