23 Oct Millennials Think Owning A Home Is The Ultimate Achievement

Ah, Millennials. We tend to think we are always right (a common staple of every generation)…but are we right on this? Well one thing is for sure…we have to be the most overly-polled, heavily criticized generation of our own time. Most of the statistics that manage to get media attention continually show Millennials to be ignorant, incapable, and many times downright entitled. They’re not always wrong. But there are lots of redeeming factors about Millennials as well.

• Divorce rates are plummeting for our generation.
• We are technologically savvy and adjust well.
• Collaboration comes very naturally to us.
• We take the best selfies (whether or not this is a good thing is open to argument).

Like every generation, we’ve got pluses and minuses. But this most recent poll I had to think about. As the generation who can’t iron a shirt or boil an egg and is dumb enough to pay $18 for avocado toast at brunch, I think we’re onto something. Millenials were polled as a heavy 72% saying that owning a home was top priority. Over half went on to say that it was a personal sign of success and being mature. This outranked being married and having children.

At first glance, this may seem somewhat controversial. Another against-the-grain perspective from the “boomerang generation”. How could finding the love of your life to take long walks on the beach with and carrying on your legacy through the conjoining of chromosomes not be the ultimate acheivement?!

Well…because those two things are relatively easy. (Say what!?)

Let me explain. Go back 1000 years. Then go back 100 years. Then go back 10 years. Pick any place in the world for any of those times. Getting married and having kids wasn’t unusual or even difficult! Not saying raising kids and staying together is a walk in the park, but we are just talking about the event itself. Weddings have become incredibly expensive (over $27,000) leading people to look for alternative receptions. Raising children is estimated to cost you a fortune (but who can really put a price on those little monsters...apparently a few bored economists can because its around $233,610). But those are all over lengthy periods of time and the startup costs are minimal compared to home.

In order to buy a home, you have to have good credit, enough cash available for some kind of down payment, a job to prove you can continue to pay off the mortgage and utilities, as well as navigate the endless amounts of fees and paperwork involved in realtor fees, closing costs, apprasials and more. And that’s when you have actually FOUND a house you want. Searching can take months and even years depending on your situation. All of these things require an adult. There is no #adulting your way through this situation. You have to be a legit gave-up-on-Neverland-for-good grown up. Being an adult is recommended in order to be a spouse or parent, but lets be real. You can get married after a few too many Irish Car Bombs in Sin City by an Elvis impersonator. Becoming a parent can happen on a random Wednesday in the middle of a moment of passion when that not-so-trusty thin lining of latex snaps. Boom. Instant baby. You can’t drink a six pack one night and wake up in the morning with a 3/2 single-family that has a cozy little porch and white picket fence for the dog. A few Amazon Prime orders maybe, but not a house.

So I get it. I can honestly say that I think we Millennials got this one right. Owning a home really is one of the signs of being mature and an adult. Now that being said, it doesn’t mean we understand the process. In fact, there are a lot of misconceptions out there about buying a home and I want to dispel a few of those now in case someone reading this is actually looking to graduate into adulthood.

• Myth #1 – 25% think they have to have a perfect credit score to buy a home
• Myth #2 – 49% believe they must have 20% for a down payment
• Myth #3 – 39% think PMI (private mortgage insurance) is almost double what it actually is

So these are not true (hence why they are called ‘myths’). A perfect credit score is not required, though a good one is highly recommended. A bad credit score will affect your loan rate and could cause the house to become climb out of your budget. Most people end up only putting down 3-5% for their down payment and get an FHA loan. 10-20% is recommended but even I took advantage of that low cost of entry on my first home. PMI is a lot cheaper than many think. A very rough estimate to give you an idea is about $110/month on a house that costs $250,000 (this heavily depends on what the lender sets as the rate so check with them) and PMI is no longer required once you pay 20% of the mortgage off.

When it comes to finding a place to call yours, be sure to do your homework. Talk to a friend who bought a house recently. Consult with a realtor. Read a few articles online. This is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make and it deserves your time and attention. Don’t rush into it but don’t lolligag around this either and make an avocado-toast-for-brunch decision on this (also known as a bad decision). Renting is a popular alternative, and we will discuss whether its better to rent or buy from a monetary perspective in another post as this debate is heating up faster than a gas grill that someone just turned on (what…you were expecting an funny, original analogy instead of just a literal thing…deal with it). Despite the math around rent vs buy, as a former renter and now homeowner, I will say this. There is no doubt that one thing will always ring true that makes this lofty goal worthy of pursuit. Dorothy said it best when she clicked her fancy, red heels together in the land of Oz.

There’s no place like home.