Tis the season for engagements, almost a 1/4 of them happen over the next two months every year. Something about the brisk air, family gatherings, and the new year approaching that have created this proposal sweet spot.
This got me thinking. Once you get engaged begins this incredible journey to the aisle. So much to do, so little time. I couldn’t help but find immediate parallels to the journey to home ownership. Something that definitely crosses couples’ minds once they say ‘I do’. Here’s a few examples of what I mean.
Choosing Your Vendors :: The Home Search
Nothing kicks wedding planning into gear more than setting your wedding date. This begins the harrowing quest of finding your wedding day team: the insanely creative wedding cake baker, the properly mic’d officiant, and the least cheesy DJ available. Even more the setting your team will assemble, the very important wedding venue. This search is not unlike the searching process for the home of your dreams.
You start off naturally by asking friends and family members for advice and referrals. It’s natural to do this as these people will understand your vision and the vibe you are trying to create for your wedding day. The home search is no different, what better way is there to help find the right wedding planner AKA REALTOR® and what venues AKA neighborhoods you’d want to celebrate AKA live in. Your loved ones will point you in the right direction to insure a successful outcome and most importantly helping you avoid any severe pitfalls. Most wedding industry professionals and real estate agents will tell you that they depend greatly on the referrals of their past clients. I can’t tell you how much of an honor it is to have a past client connect me with a friend or family member to help them, there is no greater compliment.
Just like the search for your wedding team of professionals, it will take ‘kissing a few frogs’ to find the perfect home. The housing market is just as competitive as the wedding professional market. The other engaged couples out there are just as hungry for the perfect wedding and move quickly to secure their nuptials dream team. Brides and grooms sometimes change their wedding date to get their dream venue or entertainment at the reception. The housing market now is no less forgiving as you must compete against other buyers looking to find their dream home with the same fiery passion. This requires good planning, just like your special day, to make sure you are ready and armed with a pre-approval letter from a lender, deposit money ready to go.
The Groom’s First Look at the Bride :: Finding the Perfect Home
The best moment of a wedding, hands down? Not to take anything away from the beautiful brides on their wedding day but I always direct my attention to the groom as they watch their bride slowly approach them down the aisle. There is nothing better than to see their face go from nervous smiling to sheer awe. You can almost hear their thoughts as they say to themselves, ‘how did I get so lucky?’ and even ‘geez, I better not screw this up’.
Some grooms get overcome with emotion, others I’ve seen get strangely calm. Some have to to put their hands on their knees and gather themselves, others have to literally pick their jaws up off the floor. However they show it, the groom’s reaction sets the tone for the entire marriage. Our body language says so much more than words can ever say.
This is no different than when I take those newly married couples home shopping. In this case, however, the groom is the couple and the home, is the bride. That special moment happens when we first walk up to the home together. Their eyes widen, spontaneous clapping occurs, and sometimes an enthusiastic touchdown-like celebration on the front lawn.
Just like I know that groom is going to be devoted to his bride making her approach to him down the aisle based on his gleeful reaction, the home’s first impact gives me complete confidence that they will do whatever it takes to make it their own. It’s time to write the offer.
The Vows :: Signing Loan Documents
This one was almost too easy. Just like the lifelong promise you are making to your partner, so goes the same promise you must make to your lender when purchase a home.
Your partner has given you everything. Love, happiness, and hope. Your mortgage banker is giving you a place to have that happen, a roof over many special memories you will make as couple. Since most of us don’t have 100s of thousands of dollars laying around we seek the help of a lender to make home ownership possible.
To make this financial vow possible, just like the dating process, the lender will be looking into your background. What skeletons might they find? A picture with an old boyfriend/girlfriend? A bankruptcy? Should the skeletons be minimal and far enough in your past this process of approval can continue.
Your loan documents are lengthy and have many conditions in them. Your wedding vows might not carry the same amount of detail, but the similarities are there. In good times and in bad, you better pay your mortgage. In sickness and in health, you better pay your mortgage. For richer or poorer, you better pay your mortgage. Maybe not the most romantic thought, but many pages you are signing carry the same level of commitment as a marriage as the bank, just like your partner, is taking a risk on you sticking it out every month regardless of the circumstances of your life.
Will you love and cherish your partner and send in your home loan payment all the days of your life? When you think about all the amazing things that will happen and how your life will be enriched by your partner and your new home the correct answer should be, I do.
You & Home Ownership :: A Marriage Made in Heaven
With the planning of your fabulous day already underway (congratulations by the way) maybe it is time to start planning on buying your first home together. I’m definitely here for you and will make it very easy so you can spend less time stressing and more time planning your ‘soon-to-go-viral’ wedding party flash mob.
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