Trusting wife on ‘whimmette’
If the purchase of a home is the biggest investment the average American will ever make, the resulting equity in it may be the most abused investment.
Few homeowners buy their homes on a whim. While my wife and I did not buy ours on a whim, it was close. Let’s call it a “whimette.”
The year was 2002. Home prices in Orange County were climbing by the minute and it seemed that every new listing garnered several offers, all higher than the asking price. All, that is, except for the condominium we wanted to sell — that took 45 days.
Eventually, we got very close to the asking price for the condo, but we did not let the delay in selling it prevent us from buying our new home. With the help of real estate agent Mindy Sessions, we actively sought homes around $400,000.
At the time, $400,000 was on the lower side of prices of the nicer homes where we wanted to live in Costa Mesa. Plus, my wife, Cay, had two criteria for the new home: She did not want to live on a busy street and she did not want a fixer-upper. Me? I just wanted to get out of the two-bedroom condo. Our kids were a boy, 10, and a girl, 12, and they were busting out of their space. It was time. I recall thinking that I would have moved into an empty refrigerator box because it seemed to have more space than our condo.
Since Cay had a clearer picture of the home we should buy, she worked closely with Sessions to find it.
On a hot August afternoon in 2002, I got a call from my wife telling me that Sessions had stumbled upon a home that was just about to have the “for sale” sign planted in its lawn and that they were there looking at it.
“It’s perfect,” said Cay. “And the right price, too.”
“OK,” I replied. “When I get off work I’ll go have a look.”
“We can’t wait that long,” said Cay. “You have to come over now. This house is going to go fast, and we have to make an offer right now.
“I can’t,” I said, “I have a department meeting starting in 10 minutes that will last the rest of the day.”
Here’s when the whimette happened. Knowing that at the time my wife had a far better understanding of the Costa Mesa housing market than I did, knowing that she had a clearer idea of what our new home should look like, and knowing that I wanted to maintain a happy marriage, I said, “If you like it, make an offer.”
“Really?” Cay said. “Really.” Cay’s instincts turned out to be perfect, not that I ever doubted her. But once the offer was accepted, that’s when I took over. I was the new home money guy.
Cay’s outstanding management of the condo mortgage gave us enough equity to put down more than $200,000 on a new house if we chose to do so. Because were in our late 40s and not planning to move again, it was time to start looking at the new house as our last house.
I ran the numbers up, down and sideways and figured that if we made such a sizable down payment, not only would our monthly payment be very low, we’d have the option of adding principal each month and pay off the home by our anticipated retirement ages of 62.
That is just what we did, and it has turned out to be the best financial move we’ve ever made.
That down payment was made possible by adding principal to the condo mortgage payment each month and because we never, ever cashed out.
Today, many mortgage experts are recommending a line of credit instead of a cash-out refinance for those considering a move or remodel. Check first with a mortgage broker to determine what makes sense for you. Or play it safe and let your wife decide.
STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to smi161@aol.com.
