American Dream

Back in the glorious early days of the Seventies, underneath that nostalgic glow of the Nixon administration, every good young Japanese American male dreamt of growing up and one day owning their own little one and a half story, two bedroom, one bathroom, wood floored, brick house in the Como area, with a big laundry pole thing in the backyard. But as we all know, somewhere down the road dreams went askew for many, and in the aftermath of Watergate, of Iran/Contragate, of the flood of Whitewater, a lot of people's dreams became more like fantasies never to be realized.

There were some mighty hard lean times for many of us, as we collectively as a country learned more and more to tighten our proverbial belts and try to get by with less and less. There were many days in the not too distant past where the dream of home ownership seemed as likely as a woman with a man's name coming along to steal one's heart. These were days of getting by on a hundred dollars a week, where renting a place was a struggle unto itself, and getting by meant living from paycheck to paycheck.

But like a good house, many dreams begin by laying a solid foundation, keeping focused, keep on keeping on, and with a little luck finding one's self in the right place at the timeliest of times. These are days of seven percent interest. These are days of pre-approved loans and a competitive real estate market. On one hand the amount it takes to buy a house is scary, but the logic of not throwing paycheck after paycheck out the window in rent money makes a convincing argument for investment in a home. Once you can convince yourself that you are in the place you want to be for awhile, that no pending disasters are looming, and that your job is more and more becoming a career, the thought of taking a dip into such a major investment doesn't seem so dreamlike. As you begin to save your money with a long term goal in mind, no movies, no extravagant purchases, limited CD buying and no social life, you can even convince yourself that owning a home might even make life more enjoyable?

So where do you start? Perhaps the best place is by asking as many people as you can about their experiences and knowledge in buying a house. There are enough horror stories out there to scare away the weak of heart. But getting various perspectives gives you the feeling that it can be done, and done right even by the feeble minded, with enough preparation and thought. One of the other things you want to do right away is to make a list of what you are looking for. Is it the relative ease of maintenance of a condo or townhome, or the privacy and variety of a house? Do you want a big yard, a fireplace, wood floors or carpeting? How many bedrooms and bathrooms? What is important in terms of layout? What areas of town interest you? Once you begin to picture what you are looking for and why, it is easy to start perusing the papers and catalogs available to see what choices you may or may not have. Of course another early step is to figure out how much you can afford. How much do you take home a month and how much do you already have tied up in expenses? How much (or how little) savings do have and do you feel comfortable with? This was the hardest part for me, because any amount over $5,000 seemed like it might as well be a million. In this day of pre-approved loans however, I was able to arrive at a ballpark figure I was comfortable with and that I qualified for.

By attending open houses and by talking with others, the picture gets a little more clear. A little more research will help you find a realtor you are comfortable with. With the competition in that industry, you can afford to be choosy in selecting an agent. Many realtors make their careers out of referrals so there are some out there who want to do a good job for you, if for nothing other than self preservation. Soon you begin looking at listings and driving out to look at potential homes. This was something I heard from many others was the best part of buying a house. To me it was just another task. It takes time to drive to different locations and it became clearer to me over time that what I originally drew up as wanting my place to be, wasn't set in stone. I expected to walk into a place and feel like it was home. Nothing I looked at struck me that way. Each place I did look at had its own pluses and minuses. One condo was in a great location but had a mediocre layout; another house was spacious but in need of a lot of minor work. The more you look the more you begin to appreciate the potential in different options.

Once you decide on a place, you have to sit down with your realtor and run over more numbers and potential scenarios. You draw up the papers to make the offer, sit and wait for the seller's reaction. Once you agree in part to the amount and conditions of the sale, you are sort of on your way. Thorough inspections and appraisals still need to be made, final loan approval is needed. Closing day approaches and before you know it you are sitting in an empty house with dreams both behind you and ahead of you. And the refrain you have in your mind are the words you heard from so many: Congratulations but the one thing you can continue to expect is the unexpected.