Prepare a Personal Budget to Relieve Financial Stress
I've been on several listing appointments in the past few weeks that have turned into financial advising sessions. The home owners in one place had great ideas about what they were going to do with the home they had just bought. What they weren't expecting was the first $400 bill for heat last winter. Unfortunately, these homeowners were not able to get to any of their home projects due to their finances. Another potential seller is expecting to finalize the divorce proceedings soon and neither of them can afford the property on their own. Both of these couples have not accrued enough equity to sell their home and break even at this point. They also have noticed that the agents who sold them their homes are no longer in the market. What should they do?
Too many real estate professionals are just hand holders through a transaction. I believe that a real estate professional should be able to give you good advice on many different home owning issues. If they don't know something, they should at least be able to get you in contact with the right people to get your queries solved. This is to include the little quips of wisdom revolving around how to budget yourself once you are in your new home. New home buyers are not always aware of the full expenses that are going to come about with home ownership. Wouldn't it be nice if their real estate professional reminded them of the heating costs, property tax hikes, and other issues?
Sometimes you need to say things that people do not want to hear. Both of these potential sellers had TVs that would be perfect in a million dollar homes, cell phones, home phones, newer cars, and quite a few other monthly commitments for various non-necessities. A budget was what was direly needed to help them get back on track. They had to spend some time figuring out what was a necessity and what wasn't. One couple is able to keep their home and start making progress for the future. The other set of home owners (divorcing) is going to start to rent out their home until they are in a better situation to sell.
If you are in need of some financial help and budgeting, visit the link below to start some basic and more complex personal budgets. The simple act of accurately tracking a full months worth of expenses will help you further understand where your money is really going. It takes some discipline to live within your means, but the stress that it removes from your daily life is well worth the work. If you need more help, contact me or a local financial planner to get you going in the right direction.
Create a Personal Budget: http://www.free-financial-advice.net/create-budget.html
Jason Tangen, GRI
www.StCloudEdina.com/blog - REAL ANSWERS for REAL ESTATE in St Cloud MN
