When We Wish Upon A Star

This song was a hit when I was a kid.

Have you ever listened to the lyrics? To refresh your memory here they are:

When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires
Will come to you

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Fate is kind
She brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of
Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue
Fate steps in and sees you through
When you wish upon a star
Your dreams come true

Now you are saying to yourself, ok, this is out in left field where is the connection to Real Estate? Lets see where she goes with this and the connection.

Every person in North America has a dream, a secret longing, a wish when they grow up and that is to work hard and gather enough money together for a down payment for, wait for it... a HOME! Its the thing that says you've arrived, your're secure, right? Every economic engine, even oil is tied into the Real Estate industry. Our GDP counts on it. Not so in Switzerland by the way but that is another blog.

This dream, whether you wish upon a star, plus, plan and save for a home it will come true. It can and I am here to tell you people out there in blogosphere that you can't live at least in Canada inside an RRSP. If you have an RRSP great, but with our winters a home with a warm, safe roof over your head is necessary. I believe there are some folks that  are happy to rent, be perfectly happy and will even prosper financially without the status of owning a home. A home doesn't make the person, don't get me wrong, I am a firm believer in that and understand the underlying reasons why some people prefer to rent, however a home, and owning a home is still the best investment on the planet, at least in Canada.

Trends go up and down. The trend is your friend so they say. Lots of opinions out there from chief economist to CEO's of corporations with many buzz words and double speak for us to listen to.In my opinion follow your common sense.

Here are my points to consider when Wishing Upon A Star to purchase a home:

-Save for a home that is within your means.Your mortgage should not be taking every bit of money you have so you can't go out once a month for a family treat or be able to keep your equity looking nice if something needs fixing. Think people first, money second. Saving the old fashion way of putting 10% of you pay every week away and budgeting for needs not wants still works regardless of the economic situation of the day. It takes discipline and a dash of patience mixed with faith.

-Purchase a home that gives you an ahaa feeling when you drive or walk up the street to the front door. If the neighbourhood gives you that feeling super but the feeling you get when you approach your house is the most important.
-Buy for your future plans depending where you are in life. For example I bought a three bedroom home so my daughters could have their own room and one for me.Now they are grown I turned one room into my office and the another became a guest bedroom.
-If you haven't already established a relationship with a lawyer, a banker, an insurance  broker, a mover before you start looking, I suggest you do because not only will they be on the look out for you but when you do find the right home. (this is the Fate is Kind part of the song), people are good and will come through for you when the time is right. This becomes Their Secret Longing of the song, because people who are partners with Realtor s in the Real Estate industry do want your business but more importantly they do want to see you happy. Its a normal human need to full fill that journey for their clients.
-Lastly, I believe that every person deserves a clean, safe, home to live in.. It Makes No Difference Who You Are. If you want to own a home, Realtor's like me can make it happen and navigate the other details. Just like the song says  No Request Is To Extreme if your heart desires a home, Dreams can come true.

Cheers,

Kim