HoweEnterprise.com
February 3, 2020
Buying a house: What you need to know Hey Taylor My wife and I are thinking about buying a home, but we aren’t sure whether or not Taylor it’s the right Kovar time. I’m a PhD student, she’s a nurse, we bring in about $70,000 annually and we don’t have any debt. We’ve got $70,000 saved up and both contribute to our retirement accounts. The main variable is that we wouldn’t plan on staying in this house for more than four or five years. Is buying now a good or bad decision? Dylan Hey Dylan - I’ve got a great, straightforward answer for you: it depends! It might be a sound decision, but there are a lot of things to think about. Here are the main three: What’s the real estate market like? Where you live and the current housing trends in that location are important. It’s hard to predict what will happen in five years, but real estate analytics can offer a little bit of guidance. If you’re in a big city experiencing affordability problems, now isn’t the best time. If you’re in an area with a growing market and reasonable prices, it’s a more reasonable consideration. Additional costs. You also have to think about maintenance, taxes and other fees associated with homeownership. If you drive your monthly cost much higher than what you’re currently paying in rent, you could end up with crippling debt. You have to look past the price tag when buying a house, because there are lots of expenses you don’t see right away. However, if you understand the additional fees, you have the time to handle maintenance, and you get a good mortgage rate, you
could end up with a solid piece of real estate to either rent or sell down the road. Don’t overextend. What’s most important is you don’t take on a bunch of debt for a house you’re not planning to immediately rent or sell. Buy a home because you can afford it and have a plan for its future use, not because you love the idea of owning instead of renting. It’s easy to get caught up thinking that buying a house means you’ll make your money back later, but you have to make sure you aren’t leaving lots of variables unaccounted for that will sneak up and bite you later. I always tell people not to take out loans for non-assets. This house, even though you may plan to sell it in five years, isn’t an asset you’ll be making money off in the immediate future. However, if you feel like you can afford it and will be paying close to what you pay now in rent, then homeownership might make sense for you. Good luck finding your new home! Taylor Kovar, CEO of Kovar Capital. Read more about Taylor at GoFarWithKovar.com Disclaimer: Information presented is for educational purposes only and is not an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any specific securities, investments, or investment strategies. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. To submit a question to be answered in this column, please send it via email to Question@GoFarWithKovar.co m, or via USPS to Taylor Kovar, 415 S 1st St, Suite 300, Lufkin, TX 75901.
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Living with children One of the “secrets” to a happy, healthy emotional life is to identify one’s bad, nonproductive habits and John replace them Rosemond with habits – slowly built – that are functional. That same principle is of the essence when it comes to a parenting life that is satisfying. Most parents who want to do a good job but feel frustrated in the attempt are making a finite number of mistakes – ten, to be exact. If a parent who is making these common mistakes eliminates and replaces them with behavior that works. Arguably the Number One Biggest Parenting Mistake is explaining oneself to one’s kids, giving them reasons and explanations for parental decisions as if a parental decision isn’t valid and can’t be put into practice unless the child in question approves. Explanations also assume that parent and child are peers and that the parent’s authority in any given situation is open to negotiation. Of course, it goes without saying that the “negotiations” in question aren’t constructive dialogues; they’re debates that often devolve into yelling, threatening, and guilt. Can you say, “Because I said so”? Those much maligned four words simply affirm that the parent’s authority is authentic, and let me assure the reader that a parent who would give up his seat in a lifeboat to save his child possesses unassailable authority over said child. Number Two is striving for blissful relationship with one’s child. A parent’s job is to provide leadership. When relationship is the priority, effective leadership is impossible. Why? Because leaders must be willing to make unpopular decisions. Can you say, “Well, Billy, I am sorry to have to tell you that I really don’t care what you think or how you feel about any decision I make, or me
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for that matter, and the sooner you accept that, the better for you.” Relationship is the result of proper leadership. Put it first and you will be forever gnashing your teeth over disciplinary matters. Number Three is giving children lots of choices. Again, mental health professionals don’t know what they are doing as regards children. It’s quite simple: children do not know what they truly need; they only know what they want; therefore, their choices are generally bad. They don’t need practice making decisions; they need parents who make good decisions for them. Eventually, if said parents stay the course, their kids will figure it out and thank them for it. Number Four, implied in Numbers One, Two, and Three, is believing that people with capital letters after their names know what they’re talking about. A fellow asked me, “Do you think psychologists and people in the mental health community in general have said anything worthwhile?” No, I don’t. That’s right, nothing, zero, nada, zilch. Their foundational premises concerning children and parental responsibilities are a mess. When one’s premises are faulty, one’s recommendations will be faulty as well. It’s certainly an ironic thing for me to say, but if parents – mothers, especially – would boycott all parenting books, children would be much better off. Well, not ALL parenting books. Next week, three or four more of Postmodern Psychological Parenting’s Biggest Boo-Boos. Stay tuned! Family psychologist John Rosemond: johnrosemond.com, p arentguru.com. John Rosemond has worked with families, children, and parents since 1971 in the field of family psychology. In 1971, John earned his masters in psychology from Western Illinois University and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.
