A "Cherry-Picked" Story of Homeownership
Graham Tracey
Leader of Greater Reston Living at Compass Real Estate | NVAR Platinum Top Producer | GRID Agent Investor Advisor | Certified Probate Real Estate Specialist | Digital Marketing Specialist
Allow me to do some “cherry-picking” here while I tell you this story.
Last night, I met one of our clients for a glass of wine and was just so inspired by what she had to say.
She and her husband are first-time homebuyers, and I helped them buy a townhouse in Reston just as the pandemic hit in early 2020.
They stretched to buy this home but were tired of throwing their money away on rent.
They put 3% down, and to help offset their mortgage payment, they decided to “house hack" by renting out the bedroom in the basement to one of their best friends.
Fast-forward a couple of years, and that friend is now a homeowner herself.
No longer with a tenant offsetting the mortgage, my clients are looking at other ways to trim their costs, so they thought, “What if our home has appreciated enough that we no longer have to pay the Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)?”
Based on the recent comparables in their neighborhood, their home has appreciated more than $100,000 in just three years. Enough to cross the 80% loan-to-value ratio, eliminating the need for PMI.
This should save them a couple hundred dollars monthly and thousands in future payments.
It was so great to see how one homeowner realized that their net worth increased by $100,000 because of homeownership.
Now, they are dreaming of ways to make their home value work for them in the future.
Perhaps a larger home, an investment property, the possibilities are endless…
If you want to know how much your home has appreciated, you can start here.
Reach out, and let's strategize!