Boomeranging Your Path To Homeownership
Friday, May 7th, 2010
We all relish the milestones our children achieve: their first steps, the first day of kindergarten, high school graduation. The day they leave for college is an emotion-filled day followed by another a few years later as they attain a college degree and the amazing opportunity to live at home again! According to the Pew Research Center, multi-generational households bottomed out in the 1980’s and have been growing ever since. While there are many groups driving this trend, including immigrant groups where multigenerational households are common and parents moving in with their children, the largest group is young adults returning to live with their parents. For many, the choice to move back in with parents is part of a plan to achieve homeownership.
Experts encourage parents to help mentor their children through the process of buying their first home. Shortly after graduating and beginning a new job, a formal meeting with a mortgage professional is advised to review the graduate’s situation and to lay out each of the steps necessary to purchase a first home. This will include a review of the child’s credit report and financial situation. Having a professional explain the details of how to strengthen and maintain a good credit score is as important as executing a plan to save for a down payment. Depending on the situation, there may be assistance programs that could benefit the future homeowner. Parents can help accelerate the process in many ways, including helping the child build credit, providing down payment assistance as either loans or gifts, and, of course, there is always the option of buying the home together.
If you have a recent graduate living at home, or know of anyone looking to buy their first home, please give me a call. I can help develop a specific plan for that first home purchase. Perhaps we can even make it a reality before you thought possible.