#47 Thankfulness Dwells in a Home


Just the word “Thanksgiving” can conjure up much more than that holiday turkey feast -- especially if you are approaching the holidays in your own new home.  Counting the blessings that come with home ownership makes for a very long list.

Ending rent payments and moving on to monthly mortgage payments that are the path to your long-term investment in yourself, is a major reason to be thankful.  Working toward your fully owned home is a goal shared by many, yet still a dream for others.

Having a “home” does not always involve home ‘ownership.”  Our societal circumstances have escalated the historical condition of homelessness to huge proportions.  The result is way too many homeless citizens.  Our own Lake County microcosm of the larger circumstance challenges all of us who are more fortunate and who have at the least shelter, and at the best a home we own.   Thankfulness, then, is relevant...

For far too many, actually owning a home is a dream they may never realize.  However, for many who feel fear and hopelessness now, that goal may very well be achieved over a long and determined route.  Many professional home mortgage lenders enthusiastically encourage those with presently marginal financial profiles to continue to focus on an improved future. 

Homelessness can fall upon an individual in many ways.  Our human services agencies, our departments of employment, church charities, generous philanthropists and plain ordinary people are working diligently to assist our homeless population in their struggles to change their circumstances.   Thankfully, community support is alive and well.

The first goal is to simply find basic shelter, then employment, then, hopefully, a modest rental.   Many have no family – or no family able or willing to take them in.   It is important to nurture the goal of self-sufficiency, and support those who can see beyond their present dilemma and envision a better future – including holding onto the possibility of someday owning a home of their own.  We should be quite thankful for that kind of courage!

Too often, individuals who have struggled through the experience of being homeless (with no traditional financial resources) assume that there is no path to home ownership open to them.    The distance between homeless and homeowner lies on a path that is nurtured – or compromised – by human compassion and our capacity for understanding beyond our own good fortune.

As a professional home mortgage loan officer with much experience assisting hopeful homeowners, I can say it is an amazing experience to assist someone in buying the house they once saw only as a faraway slim possibility.  I am thankful for such opportunities!  It is one of those things we can value outside our own life paths.

As the actual Thanksgiving holiday approaches next week, I think a lot about how we as a society can re-translate our own blessings through the eyes of those who consider it a blessing – and cause for thanks – to wake up sheltered, dry and safe, one more day.   That is truly fundamental “thanks” in the face of huge minute-by-minute challenges.

Wise philosophers claim that wherever there is Hope there are possibilities!     My life is partly centered around helping individuals find and acquire a home of their own.  I welcome the difficult paths along with those easier, because to so many, Thankfulness is embodied in the dream of eventually having a home of their own, with those they love close by.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#56 About Insurance

Image
The decision to buy a home of your own, includes both the consideration of, the added expense of and the mandate to carry the appropriate insurance coverage for the property you are considering.  It’s a “given” that qualifying for your Mortgage Loan means your new property must be insured to protect the property you do not actually own until your Mortgage loan is fully paid. Many factors drive the amount and the kind of insurance you must carry for your specific property.   The recent factors of repeated (and repeated!) wildfires and floods have inspired many new insurance considerations and changes that directly relate to both of those “natural” disasters.    It is not that floods and fires did not exist in the past.   However, the more recent phenomenon, of wildfires originating miles away then sweeping across densely populated areas some distance from their point of origin, is seriously impacting fire insurance availability and limits.    Ne...
Read more

#58 Preserving an Interrupted Plan

Image
When making almost any kind of a serious plan, it’s probably smart to also consider the possibility of some kind of a glitch creating some kind of an interruption!   Interruptions to a plan for purchasing your own home can come in dozens of ways, from any number of directions.   But, understanding that reality, and accepting that “possibilities” may come up, shouldn’t be a reason to worry unnecessarily or become a bundle of nervous “what ifs.” Challenges, and many perfectly normal life situations, might arise and interrupt the original rhythms and timing you have developed for your master plan.    Most such things can be managed, and need not critically damage your plan.     An interruption to how you want things to proceed will probably just mean adjustments, modification and a little finagling! What’s most important, when the unexpected happens, is to keep your sights on your plan as a whole.   For instance, an employment status ...
Read more

#57 Windfalls and Nest Eggs

Image
They are definitely connected!  Understanding both – and their possible positive potential – can make measurable differences in your financial life! Having a formula, some disciplines and a plan for money to reserve may sound like an old fashioned homily, but savings don’t just happen – savings accumulate by determination and repetition.    When an unexpected “windfall” drops into your hands, it can be added to your existing reserves, or it can be a beginning to what you may have been intending but never quite got around to: some savings! Windfalls have several sources! A simple one might be an unexpected raise in pay, or an unexpected bonus!   The key determinator here is “unexpected.”   We all know how easily it can just disappear into the cash flow that’s already flowing! But, wait a minute.   Before it happened, you were probably making ends meet, one way or another, right?   Well, you now have an opportunity to treat a Windfall diffe...
Read more