For college students, owning a home seems like a far-away, hypothetical dream we only speak about in terms of, “When I grow up . . .”
The scary thought is, we are almost all grown up. Many of us are staring out of the window at a great, big world beyond our make-believe safe haven of college. Our realities are looking at a cheap apartment or moving back in with our parents. These seem to be our only viable options because our wallets look more desolate than the Sahara.
A survey in USA Today, conducted by Nerdwallet Analysis, looked at millennials born between 1980 and 2000 who are choosing to wait to buy homes until after college or getting a job.
“Contrary to popular belief, millennials still view homeownership as a desirable goal, just like previous generations, but a lot of them simply don’t know they have options to get their foot in the door,” according to the survey.
It went on to explain that there are actually more loan options than we realize, and that’s the main issue. Resources are at our fingertips, and the Internet is the best mode of finding them.
You’d think that with millennial’s experience with being Internet-savvy, we’d know how to do a little research.
Many who are new to the professional world find searching for mortgages too overwhelming to even begin. So we take the easy way out and can’t be bothered with the knowledge of research.
If you’re a new homebuyer, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a helpful page to guide your process and give informational overviews of home buying, according to the USA Today article.
The article also listed an online-mortgage calculator that takes you through monthly payments.
Personally, I know I’m fearing life after graduation and all of the adult decisions I’ll have to make. Some of us have a true avoidance lifestyle and genuinely convince ourselves that life can wait.
A lot of life consists of misconceptions that act as roadblocks. A lot of millennials will blame their wait to find a home on student loan debt. Though that may be true, studies conducted by Pew Research Centers show that the more education you’ve had, the more likely you are to afford a home. It seems counter-intuitive, but more education puts you at a higher likelihood of getting a job which puts you in a good position for affordable loans.
Of course millennials are going to want to ease into an apartment when they’re fresh onto the job scene, but at that point, they may be the farthest from being financially stable, and that’s considering they get a job right out of school.
However, millennials are waiting an average of six years after graduation to consider buying a home. We reached adulthood in the midst of a recession and housing market collapse, so it’s no surprise we’re timid about looking to buy, but it’s important to be able to separate myths from facts.
It’s a misconception that millennials don’t want to buy homes. They do, but the wait revolves around the fear of not being able to afford a home and having no means of putting a down-payment on a house.
The USA Today article mentions three resourceful options to help bust these myths including a link to comparable mortgage rates, Nerdwallet’s home affordability tool and an in-depth analysis of how income-based student loan repayments work.
Life is a little less terrifying with the right kind of help and research goes a long way. This is an especially useful lesson for those who are graduating in a few short weeks. Whether it’s buying a house, renting or simply packing up your childhood bedroom and deciding where to go, the Internet can be your best friend. The information we seek is out there and very readily available to help us in our next big move.
Email Courtney Casey at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
