KEEP GOING STRONG...

    

Failure as I understand it: the most important ingredient in the recipe to success. The lower you fall, the higher you leap.

There was once a businessman travelling to another city in his car with his driver. On their way, suddenly the weather got bad and there was a storm. The driver suggested to stop the car and take shelter nearby. But the master said “Keep Going”. As they advanced further, the intensity of the storm increased, it was getting difficult to drive. Once again upon asking to stop the master suggested, “Keep Going”. Further ahead the conditions worsened and they found  lots of vehicles lined up against the trees nearby taking shelter, but the master still suggested, “Keep Going”. The driver followed his orders. Soon they crossed the storm and saw beautiful sunlight and clear path. Now the master suggested to stop and get out of the car. The driver got amazed to hear that. He asked the reason to stop as they had already cleared the storm. No point in stopping now. The master then said, “It makes perfect sense to stop now as  we can see those people who stopped and lined up near the tree are still stuck in the storm and we are out of it because we KEPT GOING.”

The master was none other than Mr Dhirubhai Ambani. The incident is simple, but it teaches a very important lesson. A bad weather, a bad phase or failures are never final. They too shall pass just like the good days and success but it is very important to KEEP GOING and I would say KEEP GOING STRONG.

Also if we are taking our struggles head on, their intensity would reduce. Things, people or situations affect you only till the time you let them affect you. Once you move on they cease to follow. Having read a lot of biographies I can say that all the great legends are legends because of their failures. Mr Bachhan was once considered not fit for Bollywood as he was not good looking. Had he thought that to be true, he would be still working in Kolkata. Instead, he kept going strong and the rest is the history.

There are two kinds of failures. One is, when we actually fail in our goal and the other is, when we are declared as a failure by other people. It is when our critics think we have not performed as per their expectation.

I have realized that we at times feel defeated because of certain criticism about us. After a lot of pondering, I have deduced that more than the criticism, pay attention to the critic. If the critic is worthwhile, take the feedback seriously, if not, do not let it hamper our self-esteem. People would criticize us for two major reasons, either they cannot be what we are or they want what we have. In either of the case, if we take them seriously the loss is ours. By saying this I do not mean that we should think high of ourselves, but I have certainly learnt that not everyone has to be taken seriously. It is an age old maxim: when an elephant walks, the dogs would bark. The elephant can’t stop walking. He keeps going strong.

In the end, I would say, nothing lasts forever, not even our failures and bad phases. Just KEEP GOING and soon we would be at the other side of the storm, enjoying the beautiful sun.

A SIX POINT GUIDE TO A STRESS FREE HOUSE HUNTING

Buying a house can be an overwhelming process, especially if you do not know the knack of all the steps and procedures that go with it. Below are some of the checkpoints one should keep in mind to make the process smoother. After all, it is our dream home that we are searching and the journey should be as rewarding as the destination.

CONSULT A GOOD REALTOR

A dedicated realtor is the first and foremost requirement to start your house hunt project. One can benefit a lot from the expertise and research and inputs of the realtor. Your realtor if efficient would be able to read your specifications and try and show you the houses that you might be interested in. Also, their network of attorneys, lenders, appraisers etc. comes in handy in the process of purchase. The sellers also have their realtors and one can approach them, but always remember that the seller’s realtor is working for the seller and not you and hence he would always be in favor of his client. Your realtor is your knight in the shining armor. He is the one who would communicate and negotiate on your behalf. You can read reviews of realtors in your area on websites like Zillow or trulia and then take a call. If they are associated to a real estate firm even better, as you can avail a wide range of ancillary services provided by the real estate firm just through your realtor.

In other words, if you have managed to find a good realtor believe me you are baking your cake and eating it too.

SHOP AROUND FOR LENDERS

It is advisable to always get a pre- approval from various lenders to be able to know what range of property to target. This would depend on a lot of criteria like: the credit score of the borrower, the credit history of the borrower, the percentage of down payment, tenure of the loan and also the type of loan i.e. variable interest or fixed interest.  Based on all these parameters you can choose from FHA, Conventional or interest only loans.

Different lenders would give you different interest rates and different quotes and they would also run a credit check. It is advisable that you shop for the loan at the same time at all the lenders. Meaning if the credit check is run then there would be a hard hit on the credit score. But the rule says that the hit is affected every 13 days. Hence, get as many lenders as you want within 13 days and complete your lenders shopping in just one hard hit.

Again, if you have a good realtor who is tagged to a real estate firm, you can use their network and also get customized loan plan.

THE HOUSE HUNT

I believe that no matter what, there is this one house which is destined for you and that house would wait for you and no one else. If it is going to happen it would. Be very clear on your criteria like the school district, the age of the house, the look and feel, the number of rooms, etc. It is very important that you and your realtor are on the same page as far as your requirements are concerned.

When you are viewing the properties view them with your décor and furniture in the mind. Minus the cosmetics of the house as you can change the cosmetics to suit your requirement. For eg, you might not like the present color scheme of the house, but that can be changed in few thousands of dollars but if there is a defect in the elevation or you do not appreciate the floor plan then definitely strike it out of the list.  Always give importance to things that cannot be changed like the floor plan, the subdivision and the lot size. Rest all is cosmetics and can be changed.

We were lucky to have a great realtor who educated us on these grounds. As a result of this you make a practical choice and stay close to the market rate.

NEVER BUY THE MOST EXPENSIVE HOUSE IN YOUR SUBDIVISION

This is a very important aspect. While you are hunting for house you would often like the ones that are all upgraded and remodeled. But wait and look around. Tomorrow when you would go out in market to sell that property, you would not get more than the market price of that subdivision or area. Hence try and be close to the market rate of the subdivision or the area that you are targeting. As a result you would get the return on your investment in future. If you end up buying the most expensive house in your subdivision, you might have a tough time selling it as it is hard to justify the reason you paid a premium while buying it and so you demand a premium while selling it. Remember the buyer would not look at your house the way you looked at it while you were buying.

THE INSPECTION AND APPRAISAL

It is always recommended to get the property appraised and inspected. It is in the buyer’s interest. The reason being, we as buyer do not know the property that well as the seller. The inspection report clarifies whether the property is in proper condition or not. The appraisal report would determine the market value of the property. Hence, as a buyer you are assured whether you are paying the correct price for the property or not.

THE CLOSING

This is the last step. On the day of the closing you give your down payment check and after a lot of documentation, you are handed over the keys of the house. Make sure you collect all the warranties from the current owner and you transfer all the utilities under your name a day before the closing. This brings to an end of the journey of buying a house.

We were very fortunate to have a great realtor by our side who educated us through each and every step in this process. I hope this comes handy to anyone who is in process of finding his dream house.

Good luck. Stay blessed.