SPONSOR - TERRA SMITH (ELEMENT HOME LIFE

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Terra Smith

Real Estate

I am a Realtor, and my goal is to help every client I can. I want to make sure that people who do not believe that they can purchase a home know that it is possible. I like to make sure that I educate and give people the tools they need to make an informed decision. Home buying is important to one’s financial well-being; it’s the main driver of the financial security of someone’s future. So, I try to get in front of people I know who are not sure they can buy, provide them with the information to let them know that just about anybody can buy a home if they can pay rent. It may not be right away, but it is possible. If you follow the steps, trust your process, and trust the experts you’re working with, buying a home can be accomplished.

How often do you work with military clients?

About 90% of my clients are active duty or military veterans.

What are a few tips that you could give somebody who’s looking for a house or might not think they can get one of their own?

I see it this way: many people don’t want the responsibility that comes with ownership. They think that renting is better because you got a maintenance crew to fix whatever problem you have, this, that, and the third. They’re right about that, but every time you make a rent payment, you pay a mortgage; it’s just not your own. Why not pay a mortgage that belongs to you, and the equity in that house will pay for its repairs over time? So, for someone who doesn’t think they can buy, I would say speak to me, let me give you the facts, and let me help you understand the benefit of what homeownership is going to do for that person, their family, their future, and their legacy because it all matters. The black population has decreased in all ownership over the last couple of years. I don’t have any stats on these specifically, and I can get those for you if you want, but last I checked, I think it was down from 43% to 41%. But when that happens to our people, our culture suffers. The average retirement for a black person is about $75,000, while the average for a white person is about $150,000. Then, a person who owns a home has about five times more equitable wealth than the person who’s renting, and our community doesn’t understand that. Again, what they look at is not wanting to cut grass, not wanting to fix stuff, pay a mortgage, etc., when in reality you’re doing yourself and your family and your future a disservice. There are benefits to owning a home. So I want people to know that homeownership is only the beginning to the best life you can live or a legacy you can leave for your children or whomever in your life. It’s important, and I’m trying to make sure I get the word out there every time I talk to someone.

When you think of it, the average rental amount used to be $1,200 in the nation, but now, it’s about $1,500 or could be even higher over the last year of the pandemic. But imagine paying $1,500 a month for 12 months, then multiply that by three years, and you’ve already seen $54,000 in somebody else’s money at somebody else’s house; that $54,000 could go into your home. Right now, home values are increasing. Some of these houses are $60,000 equity in one year, which is insane. If you had a house today and sold in three years and got $100,000, that wasn’t common back in the ‘80s. Now it’s crazy, but it all matters because the more people who don’t look like us are buying in these times, that’s where that equity is going. That’s who’s going to grow their business. That’s who’s going to have a legacy for their family. That also means another less person of color who is not doing those things, and by us doing it is not going to negate another person who’s not black from doing it. It’s going to even the playing field because I think the percentage for a non-black homeowner was specifically white is in the ‘70s, and that’s a big gap.

What would you like to say to our military audience?

I know there are many people out there who tell them don’t buy if you’re only going to be somewhere for a few years, and it doesn’t make sense to buy and do all that paperwork. But I want them to know it is better to buy at your duty station than to rent. A soldier can move into a home, get that equity, and then sell that home when they leave and walk away with possibly $50,000 over four or six years of the time and then go to the next duty station and do the same thing. Most soldiers would want to rent and go for the Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) program, but as I said before, they would still be paying for someone else’s mortgage when they could use the money the government has given them and let it work for them. It could also help to understand it is better to buy a home than to buy a BMW at their duty station. You have to think economically, and I want them to know that ownership in your duty station is important. The government may support them and help them feel secure, but is the government giving them wealth? No. I’m not trying to equate the two, but maybe fewer veterans would be on the street if they were getting the right tools and information to make what the government has given them to be more beneficial. For example, they could buy it at every duty station and turn it into a rental before they leave so they could have passive income in different states, and then when they retire, they can decide which one to go and reinhabit and stay in it. There are several options out there.

Owner of Element Home Life, LLC