The ups and downs of homeownership
There are so many scenarios one must anticipate as a homeowner. The scariest is losing everything. Although Tim Kees, our CFO, and Agent Associate, experienced just that, his drive and determination awarded him a successful ending.
Every so often my sister Denise comes up with a good idea. Sharing this story is one of them. I’m a pretty private guy so I was hesitant at first. I’m also not the first to raise my hand and talk about the time I lost my home.
Being that it’s National Homeowner Month, we wanted to touch on a scenario that, although sucks, can be rectified. I lost the very first piece of property I owned. In 2013, I was fortunate to work with my dad to buy a spacious 2-bedroom, 1-bath house in Oakland. I was moving back home from Redwood City where I rented while in school and working my first post-graduate job at Wells Fargo. I figured I would commute for a few months get transferred closer to my new home and then get a promotion out of retail into corporate finance.
The first year was a lot of commuting. Quality of life sitting in traffic was bad. I could feel it affect my then-girlfriend, but we were following our plan and were comfortable in our new home. Sadly, Wells Fargo had other plans for me. There was no transfer ever made, and no promotion ever came. As much as the branch manager and I tried to get me moved back to the East Bay, I just grew frustrated with the process. I went home and had a deep conversation with my wife. I told her I was unhappy and was going to leave. She gave me her full blessing and unknowingly this was the beginning of my journey into real estate.
During this time, I took a huge pay cut, going from unemployed to temp jobs. I was using my credit cards to keep up with things and they eventually maxed out. I was drowning in debt and bills were piling up. I just remembered being really embarrassed—like I was letting everyone down, but I never talked to anyone about it. Every day I put on a brave face and told myself everything is going to be ok, but it wasn’t.
After a long back and forth with the mortgage company, they auctioned our home at the courthouse. We had days to vacate. I was devastated. There were so many memories in that house: our first pets, our engagement, countless celebrations with family and friends; and someone went to the courthouse raised their hand, and took a piece of what my wife and I built together. After a serious scolding from my father, he did what any Dad would do and offered space in his home for us and our dogs to get back on our feet.
What happened next changed everything. I got a letter in the mail saying there was a surplus of funds from the courthouse auction that I was able to claim. Those funds helped me pay off a majority of my debt and pivot the rest to a down payment for my next home. We targeted a vacant triplex that we had listed as a company that would help us keep our cost low if we filled the other two units.
I’m happy to say we are proud Oakland Homeowners once again. But not all stories end like this (happily). Not all have to get this far either. I have to admit that pride is the #1 reason people lose out on the opportunity to keep their homes. It happened to me and I’ve worked with many clients in the same or similar situations. Homeownership is attainable but knowing how to maintain it is imperative. Take it from me, my family and I experienced it.
If you’re considering buying property, reach out to your realtor early and formulate a plan. That can either be through finding programs to help keep you in your place or helping you seamlessly transition to a new place with a more affordable monthly payment. Don’t sit silently hoping everything will work itself out. That’s what we’re here for. Your advocates in home buying and selling for 30 years.