My mom: (((deep nervous sigh))) Okay.
Realtor: "Sign here...here...sign here...initial there...congratulations here are the keys to your home.
My mom: Oh, oh my God! (((look of shock))) That's it.
Realtor: Yes that's it.
My mom: Oh okay.
And BOOM! Just like that, my mom was a home owner. She was more shocked than excited or happy. I was only 17 had absolutely no clue as to what had just taken place as it was my first encounter with real estate.
One mantra that my mom taught me is that you don't sign anything not knowing what you're signing and here she was at the instruction of this real estate agent doing the very same thing she taught me to never do.
When I think back now being a Realtor, I now know why she was more nervous than excited. I now understand why this process was so scary...to the point where she loss nearly 25 lbs during her home buying process from stress and nerves. And why her reaction when handed the keys was more of shock than excitement. Simply put, she had a horrible agent. In fact, I believe the agent may have been the list agent. See my mom had just purchased a bank-owned property using a fixer upper loan. Her rights and obligations were not explained, she was not given a synopsis of the process nor had she taken a home buyer workshop. The realty is my mom didn't know what she didn't know.
This is unfortunately the case of many home owners. In fact, this was the case for just about every home owner I'd known growing up as a little girl.
Remembering my mom's home buying process and hearing horror stories from home owners sent me into a tailspin while taking my pre-licensing class. Hearing even more horror stories and experiences from my class instructor sealed the deal for me. I was going to learn the process and put an end to the horror stories in the real estate game.
Of course my mom, my aunt and a host of other family members and friends who shared similar experiences had an impact on me and my view on the home buying process and home ownership.
Full disclosure, although I was college educated, I had no idea of the home buying process and was in no rush to purchase a home. I didn't know it was possible for me. I thought I had to wait a certain age to do so. Crazy, right?
The birth of my son was my motivation to think about obtaining assets such as home ownership and other investments alike. Like my mom and others from my community, I didn't know what I didn't know. I literally thought I had to have a 1,000+ credit (FICO) score and 1 million dollars in the bank in order to qualify to buy a home.
The first time I applied for a mortgage, unbeknownst to me, I was highly qualified...and had been for years. Due to lack of education and good listening skills from my mom, who told me to never spend over half of my credit card(s) limit, I acquired bad credit during college and thought I would have bad credit for ever. Therefore, I buried my head in the sand and just assumed I had bad credit and simply learned to live with it. That was, until I started reading books about investing, saving and spending money wisely. Even having a career as a Chemist, making "good" money, paying bills on time, depositing a minimum of $100/week into my savings and paying my new credit card balance off every month for roughly 8 years, I still thought I had the same bad credit from college.
Fast forward from then to now, knowing what I know as a licensed Maryland Realtor, I can't help but to imagine there are many others who may have a similar thought process about buying a home. Whether its the importance of credit, knowing that home ownership is an option, to knowing the difference between a Realtor and a Real Estate Agent, to understanding why they should hire a Realtor, to understanding that the seller will typically pay their Realtor (not them).
I've since volunteered my time partnering with various housing agencies teaching home buyer workshops. I'm also currently serving as Vice Chair of Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors (GBBR) Equal Opportunity Committee where our goal is to educate the consumer about their rights and obligations throughout the home buying process.
If you've been curious about home ownership or would like to have a conversation about buying a home, you may call me at 443-845-1137 or e-mail me at tomekagivensrealestate@gmail.com
Tomeka Givens, Realtor®
(443) 845-1137 direct
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