This article was originally submitted on 04/25/2025 to the National Association of Realtors with the goal of having it published on its web blog. While we wait to hear back, we decided as a team to post it on our site. Enjoy!
Timeless Advice for Home Buyers of All Types
The house you buy will shape your days. Where the sun rises in the morning, how the air smells when the wind changes, what you hear at night when the world has gone to sleep. Whether you are flush with cash or counting every cent, the bones of good decisions do not change. They are quiet truths, and they last.
Here are four truths that have served me well.
Live Below Your Means
There’s no glory in being house-poor. A grand home bought with borrowed money can become a gilded cage. The roof still leaks. The taxes still come. And when the furnace dies in January or the A/C breaks in July, it won’t care about your ego.
Buy what you can afford and less than that, if you can manage it. Keep money aside. Keep peace. The home should serve you, not the other way around. A modest place with a full pantry is richer than a McMansion with chandeliers and unpaid bills. Don't let pride write checks your future can't cash.
Don’t Ignore the Disclosures
The seller tells you what they know. What they’re legally required to say. Mold in the attic. Water in the crawlspace. A hairline crack that came after the last hurricane. It’s all there, written plain—if you care to look. Many don’t. They skim. They trust. They fall in love with the porch swing or the smell of fresh paint. But love doesn’t stop a foundation from shifting or a roof from leaking.
Read the disclosures like your future depends on them—because it does. Hire the inspector. Ask the hard questions. If the answers come slow or sideways, pay attention. Homes have histories, and some of them are written in water damage and old lies.
It’s better to walk away from a deal than to limp away from a mistake.
That School District Matters (Even If Not to You)
You may not have children. You may never plan to. But when it comes time to sell, others will. They will ask about the schools. They will measure the walk to the playground. They will notice the cracked swings, the tired books, the buses that don't come.
Good school districts hold their value, even when markets stumble. A home there is not just walls and windows—it is a future someone else will fight to buy. Think of it like water near a village: even if you don’t drink, the well still matters.
Think Long Term
Don’t buy for the moment. The moment will pass. The granite countertops, the LED fixtures, the deal that feels urgent—these are traps if you don’t look ahead.
Look five years out. Ten. Will the stairs still suit your knees? Will the neighborhood grow or shrink? Will the land hold its value when the world turns and changes, as it always does?
The best homes are not flashy. They are steady. They weather time like a good pair of shoes or a worn coat. Buy one that will still make sense if you still own it when your hair is gray.
Final Word
In the end, buying a home isn’t about clever tricks or short gains. There is no perfect house. Only houses that become homes because someone was smart enough to choose wisely and patient enough to let time do its work. That someone can be you.
Step carefully. Choose clearly. Then settle in and live the hell out of it.
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