EPISODE 11: Starter Homes – Rent Til You’re Ready

Episode 11: Transcript

Mousetrap: All right, All right, welcome back to the Doublewide Dudes Podcast. Mousetraps sitting along here with AP ready to tackle another episode on Starter Homes, give you guys some good information but I can’t continue without talking about that play in Golden State.

AP: We have to, we have to. The Spurs were up 23 points going into the 3rd quarter, Kawhi Leonard goes down and did you see the interview with Popovich today? He never talks that much ever, ever and he was a little heated but he had a good point. Unnatural close down is what he called it, a lot of controversy out there in the social feeds. Was he intentional or not and I got to say based on the guy’s rap sheet I think he did it on purpose.

Mousetrap: If he’s done it before and someone like Kawhi is beaten you by 23 points, are you going to sneak it in there? What are you going to do?

AP: In the spirit of the game you have to respect that, that’s the guy’s profession and even if you’re getting your tail kicked, I mean Harden, they lost by almost 40 and he wasn’t trying any of the cheap stuff like that. Take it on the chin, move on, and live to play another day.

Mousetrap: Yeah, that was an impressive win though, game six in Houston.

AP: Definitely was.

Mousetrap: Closing it out on their home court. But yeah I was at H.E.B for half time picking up some goods. I didn’t even catch the first part of the game, I was doing mother’s day stuff and I saw the score. I was like 63 – 42 I was like dang! In Golden State, I was really surprised to see that score you know, so in my head I was like, all right we already got game one now, I’m already thinking that we got this one in the bag, pretty excited about it. Not only to drive home to turn on the TV and they made an 18 – 0 run and now we’re up only by three or four points.

AP: I think the whole world was shocked to see that we even stood a chance as a team, but we beat Houston in game six without Kawhi and that’s a true team. How was the rest of your mother’s day? I know you got to spend it with your momma.

Mousetrap: Yeah, It was fun it was a lot of fun. They came up from McAllen her and my dad. Saturday we actually got to spend the day at your house for Maddy’s birthday party.

AP: Yeah it was nice. Nice to have everybody there, your nephew there chasing around my little girl. It was a good time, it was a good time and that is to me what home ownership is really all about is having friends and family and just getting to share the events in life with those around you that matter most.

Mousetrap: Having the house and being able to have the privacy to host a party like that and having my family meet your family for the first time it was just– we had a good time.

AP: Yeah, they’re all fans of the Doublewide Dudes.

Mousetrap: I mean they better be they are family.

AP: Right right, you know there’s a lot of benefits and a lot of pros that come with home ownership but you can’t talk about that without also recognizing the disadvantages of owning a home and the reality is this is the biggest single financial decision that most of our customers and most people out there will ever make. It’s not one to be taken lightly. In today’s day and age, it’s actually easier to get out of a marriage than it is a mortgage and when folks sign up for a mortgage they’re signing up for a 20 to 30-year commitment and there’s a lot of things to consider Mousetrap.

Mousetrap: Yeah, it’s got to be something that they’ve planned out and make sure the timing is right. You never want to rush into a decision of this magnitude and possibly get yourself into some trouble where financially you can’t afford it or you jump the gun on finding your dream home and now you’re really stuck in a bad situation.

AP: The biggest thing to consider is that it’s a long-term financial commitment and I relate it a lot to dating and that’s what renting is really all about. Most folks aren’t going to meet the man or woman of their dreams that first go around and that’s what dating is all about. Figuring out what you like, what you don’t like, personality types and what not and that’s the biggest benefit, that renting hones potential home buyers. You get to find out what neighborhoods you like, you get to find out what budget you’re comfortable with, what you can afford, what other bills come along with being out on your own, cable, cell phone bill, electric, water. All of that stuff is your responsibility whether you’re renting or you own a home and it’s a good first step for a lot of folks out there to get their feet wet by becoming a renter first.

Mousetrap: The bills can stack up quickly. If this could be your first time moving into your own place and you’re starting to get everything into your own name. By the time you know it, not only are you paying for your rent but there is an extra $300/400 in expenses and being a home owner that can be your responsibility. Without planning on it something can hit and it can really put you in a bind. I’ve been renting for quite a while now and just the other day my AC went out. It was actually on mother’s day this past Sunday. We were here watching the game and making some cheesecake. My dad was whipping up two pies I was going to bring you guys, we talked about on Saturday but the place got hot. I had it down to 72/71 and it just continued to rise from 80 – 82. I sent an email to my landlord this morning and he told me he was going to send a HVAC guy out and yeah, it was real nice. So that’s going to be taken care of.

AP: Those are the things you’ve got to think about when you’re deciding Is the time right for you to buy a house? If you’re AC goes out and you’re a home owner well financially that burden of getting that repaired is going to fall on you. Something as simple as the handle on a toilet takes time and it takes a little bit of money and there are some benefits to figuring out what you’re comfortable with and what works for you by first renting and having that safety net. It’s a landlord’s responsibility to make sure the home is in good working order.

Mousetrap: It really was a relief when I know I want going to get that taken care of without having to come extra out of pocket. AC’s are expensive and if there is something that has to get replaced that’s just an extra expense that I wasn’t prepared for. Things like that is why you have to plan ahead to make sure you have the funds separated accordingly. It’s not just down payment that you have to focus on or do I have enough for the bank to get me approved? Once you pay the down payment, do you have money set up for these type of emergencies? Those are things you have to consider.

AP: We’re just talking about the cost of maintenance on a home and the last thing you want to do is spend every penny you have on the down payment and have one or two things happen on your house and you end up foreclosing. That’s really the reason if someone is to foreclose, why they do. Everybody would like to keep their home but other than a change of employment typically something goes wrong with the house that wasn’t expected and it taps you financially. So, what we typically recommend for customers is beyond the down payment to have at least six months of the mortgage put away in savings and not money for a vacation if something doesn’t break tomorrow, money that’s just there for the what ifs because I can tell you the what ifs are going to happen.

Mousetrap: yeah 100% and there are other things are guaranteed to happen that aren’t necessarily what ifs AP. For example homeowners insurance, it’s going to be a lot more than renters insurance. The electric, when you get into a bigger house your bill is going to go up to cover all the square footage of the home you just bought. Water, if you have a nice big yard it’s going to take water to keep those plants alive and taking the time to keep those manicured. When the fall comes around you’re going to have to rake those leaves, mow the lawn. Those are expenses that are definitely higher when you own a home versus renting.

AP: Maintenance is a lot higher when you’re the homeowner versus a tenant.

Mousetrap: You have to take those things into consideration. Another important factor is the location. If you have young kids and if you’re looking to put them in a good school district the location is everything.

AP: Drive time to work, drive time to family, friends. The location is huge.

Mousetrap: It is and that reminds me of my brother when he decided to move up to San Antonio from McAllen in 2015 he went with buying a house first and I had been living here eight years prior and I recommended some good locations thinking of what him and his family would like and they went with a house in the Northwest part of town. And when they were deciding I don’t know if the school district was something that they were keeping in mind. But when they moved up in 2015 Isaac was just turning two I believe and you fast forward two years later and they sold their home and now they’re renting in a part of town that they like spending most of their time in. And now that they have their second kid and Isaac is about to start kindergarten the school district was one of the main reason they chose that location where they are at now. So Isaac can attend somewhere that has good ratings.

AP: I thought it was really cool getting to talk to them when they were out there Saturday. They’re actually looking to put your nephew in the elementary school that my brother and I went to. We had a lot of fun there. The location is huge and not to say that once you buy a home you’re 100% stuck to that location you can obviously like they did, sell the home and move. It’s just a lot easier to do so when you’re renting and have a one year lease instead of a 20 or 30-year mortgage.

Mousetrap: And having the flexibility of renting is going to help you pinpoint a location that you actually like and it’s done it for me. I’ve hopped around San Antonio for 10 years now renting different locations and I finally found a spot that I really enjoy right here North 281 right above downtown. I feel it’s the perfect location for me to just live my lifestyle. I got a lot of friends down here, work is downtown, and I use my bike to commute everywhere. It contributes to my overall happiness, it really does. So the location for me once I found this spot when I’m ready to buy which is hopefully in the next few years it’s going to be in this area and having the flexibility of renting and looking at different locations has finally helped me choose an actual place that I want to call home.

AP: Especially if like you or your brother you’re from a different city. You don’t really know where you’re moving. You can read in magazines and talk to people but no one is going to have the same taste that you do especially you Mousetrap. I think you’re still trying to figure out what country you want to live in much less what part of town.

Mousetrap: Yeah I’m definitely making the hob here in San Antonio. I love this city. Home ownership is pretty much everyone’s goal. I know it’s my goal the advantages are you get your privacy. Right now I live in an apartment and I just can’t play my instruments the way I want to or at the times that I want. So privacy is going to be a good thing, it’s definitely a good investment because you’re not throwing money away, the tax incentives let’s not forget about that. At the end of the year, you can write off the interest and then just pride in owning a home. Now that you’ve found a place that you want to live at you’re going to take care of it and put more thought into your home. It’s going to actually help you strive and help you be a better part of the community.

AP: There is a ton of advantages towards owning a home and it’s definitely the best option in the long-term but it’s a huge decision and it’s one that needs to be entered into with a lot of thought not just in the here now but with the long-term in mind as well. It is a long-term commitment generally 20 – 30 years. It typically is a little bit more expensive than renting when you consider things like insurance and higher utility cost and the maintenance cost in repairs and although it doesn’t permanently tie you down you do lose a little bit of that flexibility. It’s not as easy to pack up and go when you own a home and when you’re tied to that 20 or 30-year mortgage there is a little more upfront cost typically a higher down payment than your first or last month’s rent. And the biggest thing that scares people and it should is the potential of getting foreclosed on, of losing your home and the last thing we want to see is someone achieve their dream of home ownership just to have the rug pulled out from under them a couple years down the road because they didn’t account for things that we know are going to happen. So tremendous amounts of advantages but a lot of things you’ve got to keep in mind to make sure you’re not going into it blindly.

Mousetrap: You got to be prepared to pull the trigger. It’s definitely research and grit that’s going to get you to the right places. Well, that does it for this episode guys. Thanks again for tuning in. That accounts for episode number three on the Starter Home series, we’ll give you guys a couple more episodes to get you guys all the information you’ll need to get into your first home. Thanks again and we’ll talk to you on the next one.