Sometimes the aftermath of international disasters can have a negative impact on a family’s financial situation. That was the case with Jim and Cindy Smith, who were enjoying a normal middle income lifestyle until the tragedy of September 11, 2001. After 9/11 Jim’s line of work in aviation mechanics dried up across the country, making it hard for him to stay in his chosen field of experience. The result was accumulated credit card debt during long periods of unemployment that occurred when there was no other way to be able to feed his family. After a few years the debt was nearly overwhelming to their tight knit family of four.
Finally, after three tenuous years, as the aviation field began to return to more of a normal activity level, Jim was able to find a good paying job. They began chipping away a little at a time at the insurmountable debt that had accumulated.
Though they wanted to own their own home, the Smiths just guessed that it would be many years before they could repair their credit enough to be able to become homeowners. After a couple of years at his new job, Jim thought it might be time to explore the possibility of obtaining a mortgage so he could see his dream come true of providing a nice home for his family. What he was told was alarming for Cindy and him. The loan officer told them that the only loan they could be approved for was a sub-prime loan with a high interest rate. When they saw how high the monthly payment was going to be, they had to decline moving forward with the whole plan.
At first they felt hopeless. A few months later they saw a public announcement in the local paper for a homebuyer seminar that my brother, John and I conduct in our community. One of the issues we covered was how to buy a home even with bruised credit. They attended and based on what was being taught, thought why not try again at the homebuying process.
A week after the seminar Jim met with me for a homebuyer consultation meeting. We both knew how vital mortgage pre-approval was and so I connected him with John, who is a loan officer with Allied Home Mortgage. John discovered that Jim was eligible for a VA (Veterans Administration) loan. He gave Jim a plan of action on some lingering credit issues that needed to be resolved in order to get an approval. Jim followed the plan of action to the “T” and then a few weeks later John was indeed able to get them pre-approved.
We then looked at about ten homes until we found just the right place for the Smith family. We made an offer and it was accepted. I’ll never forget the look on Jim’s face as he sat there in amazement in our office over the fact that John was indeed able to get him approved with a government guaranteed VA loan. “I thought it would still be many more years before we could own our own home.” He was under the misconception that he would have to pay off all his debts before he could own his own home.
It very well could have taken a number of years had the Smiths not been willing to get the homebuyer education, inspiration, and plan of action needed to accomplish the American dream of owning their own home. Willingness to sacrifice plus a reachable plan leads to goals accomplished.
