October 24, 2018
First Home Buyers
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Hope for First-Home Buyers?

As the newest member of Velocity Financial (I started with the company in April), I quickly realised that I was the only person in the office who isn’t a homeowner. I soon became determined to change that.

My partner and I had talked about home ownership a lot over the past year but viewed it as something that could only occur in the future—maybe one or two years away at the earliest. We watched as the news reported rapid increases in house prices in New Zealand and Wellington. We were faced with an epidemic. Who were we but mere mortals? We couldn’t fight an epidemic. So we made peace with the ever lengthening time between now and home ownership.

Coincidently, I had organised to come along to Lance’s Home Buyers Club that he runs fortnightly at the office to see what it involved and, just mere days before this, my partner and I found out that we were getting kicked out of our rental property and we needed to move again this year. At the Home Buyers Club it quickly became clear that things weren’t as grim as we had once thought. There were still houses on the market, in our price range, and the overdraft we ran into during our first years of university wouldn’t put us on the bank’s black list after all. What a revelation!

What was to follow in the next four months was like your first relationship: an emotional rollercoaster filled with checking your emails and TradeMe obsessively—hoping that cute little three bedroom with insulation likes you as much as you like it.

I hope our story can bring hope to those with seemingly far off home ownership dreams. As time continues to go by and your friends and family are telling you that the next one will be the one, it can be really easy to put pressure on yourself.

However, here are three tips that helped us stay sane and optimistic along the way:

1. Take a Break

You will not miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because you spent one restful Sunday eating brunch and lying in the sun, I promise.

2. Don’t Shop for a Bargain

They don’t really exist. And hunting for these unicorns just takes up your energy and time.

3. Make it a Team Sport

Build an amazing team of professionals around you who will reduce your stress and encourage you to persevere during this process.

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