She is a single woman, never married, and no kids. When I did her first home loan, she had a hard time finding anything she could afford on a librarian’s salary.
It was 1995, and she knew she had to buy before prices were completely out of her range. However, the market was still soft and many homes were fixers, HUD foreclosures, and she had a small down-payment. YES, this market climate comes around often and so it’s best to wait.
Anyway, back to my story. She looked for months and finally found a 1920’s home in Old Torrance (if you have never been down there it is a truly special neighborhood where the City of Torrance started).
This house needed a lot of work and it was close to a busy street, but she loved it: quaint arts and crafts style home, large yard with a big beautiful tree. She bought the home for $110,000 and we did a 203k (FHA rehab loan program) loan to get it fixed up.
We wrapped $30,000 in repair money for the fireplace to be reattached to the house, clean up and put appliances in the kitchen, and paint inside and out. We also financed 6 mortgage payments into the loan so she didn’t have to make payments on a house she couldn’t live in.
Now that she is retired and her only relative is in North Dakota, she has decided to sell her home and move to a less expensive home and use the rest of the money for traveling.
She is so excited to find out that her home will have multiple offers at $700,000! Yes! Real estate is a good investment and creates a home and for many of us gives us a sense a security accomplishment and confidence in our ability to care for ourselves.