Solano Real Estate Scene: Remember this: Time is money

Solano Real Estate Scene: Jim Porter

Article By: Jim Porter – March 17, 2023

After we sprung forward last Sunday, the next day I was asking myself, did we just lose an hour of life or just sleep? This inspired me to write this week about time and how important it is to make the most of it and not let it get away.

I coached my son’s Vacaville recreation team, the Blue Devils, to a championship game in 1992 against the undefeated and stacked Dream Team. These two basketball teams were seventh- and eighth-graders.

The Dream Team was missing one of their stars, a 6-foot 13-year-old, but still had nine great players and were heavily favored and very confident they would beat my 10 kids. We won that game by 2 points and shocked the crowd at the Duke Center in Vacaville.
Time flies. I remember the game like it was yesterday and yet it was 31 years ago. Eight of the kids from the two teams went on to play high school ball and a couple played all the way through college.

Today, these kids are now men and most of them are still friends with an estimated 30 kids of their own, wives, careers and I would bet at least 13 of the boys are homeowners with a mortgage. I hope all 20 are homeowners but only 62% of Americans 35 to 44 years old own a house, so odds are seven of the Blue Devils and Dream Team players are renting.

I know my readers are aware that I sell mortgages and help Realtors sell houses, and I have a lot of friends and family who I love and care about in the real estate business who have been suffering through this tight market, but I have been consistent over the past 30 years about my passionate belief that successful homeownership is required for long-term financial security.

If in fact, seven of those 20 Vacaville kids are still renting at 43 years old, time is getting away from them because before they know it, they will be 63 renting at $5,000 per month and wishing they had purchased a home back in 2023.

Heads up, folks: Volatility in the market continues this week because of the Silicon Valley Bank closure and the contagion with a few other regional banks. This created a flight to quality in the markets and a bond market rally. Mortgage rates came back down to January levels, which is great news for buyers and sellers today in Solano County.

Jim Porter, NMLS No. 276412, is the branch manager of Solano Mortgage, NMLS No. 1515497, a division of American Pacific Mortgage Corporation, NMLS No. 1850, licensed in California by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the CRMLA / Equal Housing Opportunity. Jim can be reached at 707-449-4777.