Debunking three common myths told to single women homebuyers

Hello ladies, as a first time homebuyer who's recently bought her first house this year at 23, I thought I'd debunk a few common myths that women are told when going about purchasing a home by themselves. I’d also like to point out that I’m an American, so my post might not apply to everyone. But for my American girlies, listen up!

Myth Number One: You'll need a 20% down payment and a credit score in the 700's to even qualify.

This isn't true at all! I personally had a mortgage credit score (we all have a specific mortgage credit score, it’s different than FICO) in the lower 600’s and got approved. My downpayment all in all ended up being 3.5%. While it’s true you’ll have to pay mortgage insurance if your down payment is below 20%, the average down payment since 2018 has been between 6-7%. This is completely doable for a single woman who’s looking to purchase by herself.

When it comes to credit score my FICO score is in the high 700’s, but the mortgage credit score isn’t something we as regular consumers will see on the FICO, Experion, or Transunion sites. It’s based on different metrics because those are credit card scores, not mortgage scores.

More importantly, there are a LOT of helpful programs out there to help people purchase their first home. Personally, I went with the First Time Home Buyer’s Loan (FHA) through a local credit union and they covered a TON of expenses at closing for me as well as had a great rate. There’s other loans and programs, too, like the USDA loan which also is worth looking into. Some states even offer incentives for moving there by offering to pay a portion of your student loans. If you’re looking to purchase, look up special loans and see if you qualify for any. Also, be sure shop around with more than just one bank at the beginning to see which one can offer you the best rates. My credit union covered so much it was insane while other banks wouldn’t have done so. Don’t worry about the credit hits, either, because if you do them within a short time period of each other they’ll count as one.

Myth Number Two: You’re selfish and taking a home away from a family that deserves it more.

This one makes me laugh because the buying process is very straight forward: the person with the best offer wins! If you as a single woman make an offer there’s an equal chance another offer could be picked over yours. Your status as a single woman has no weight when accepting offers. In my experience, I was rejected countless times before my offer on a home was accepted. Most of the homes I got sent by my realtor were also off market the very next day. Being rejected is NOT personal. The market is hot right now and there’s a lot of competition, but don’t let that stop you nor make you discouraged. It’s very normal for the buying process to take months or even a year. Life is not reality TV where everything happens in the course of a week or two. As a matter of fact it took from the end of July to mid September for my offer to be accepted, the contracts to be signed, the survey and inspections to be completed and then finally to close. It’s also normal that your closing date will be pushed back a few times as some inspections will dig up things that require fixing and then a re-inspection is needed to pass. The process is slow and thorough but that is in our best interest! Like, my offer was accepted the very next day, but everything after that initial contract took almost two months to fully process.

Also, there’s nothing selfish or bad about choosing to purchase a home for yourself. These rent prices are CRAZY and homeownership is a great tool to slowly build your wealth. We as single women are no less worthy than families to buy and own property. There is no good reason a single woman shouldn’t own a home by herself if she wants to and to say otherwise is misogynistic drivel. No one questions when a man owns his own home, yet everyone has a comment when a woman does. Unless the comment is cheering you on ignore them.

I’ve heard the selfish line from SEVERAL scrotes and their lil pickme sidekicks who’ve claimed my two story house is “too big” for me and that I’ve “stolen” it from a family who deserves it more. These people are jealous and bitter and if they’d had the choice they’d have bought a house, too. Do not listen to people like this who just want to tear you down. You're not being selfish, you're being smart. The people around you should be supportive and happy for your wins, if they’re not they need to be cut out.

Myth Number Three: It’s cheaper to own than to rent.

I cringe very hard when I hear people say the statement above. It is not true. I know what you’re thinking, “But Saturn, why are you saying this? Zillow, who has none of my personal financial information, says my mortgage payment every month after 20% down will be hundreds cheaper than my rent!”

No. Owning a home is NOT cheaper than renting. And no, just because you have successfully paid $2,500 a month for years on rent does NOT mean you can afford a $2,500 mortgage payment every month. While I agree rent prices are insane and it’s BETTER to own a home than to rent, owning a home is NOT cheap. I hear this narrative a lot from disgruntled Millennials who’ve been denied a mortgage because they don’t make enough money to qualify and while I understand it’s their own ignorance to the world of homeownership, it’s something a little research would go a looong way on debunking. Owning a house is more than just paying the mortgage, it’s nothing like paying a flat fee of rent every month. Owning a home means every broken appliance, every drafty window, every bad thing that can (and will) happen to your home is on YOU to fix. You gotta make enough money that the costs of maintaining a home won’t immediately put you into bankruptcy nor foreclosure.

Something everyone who goes to purchase a house should know and understand is that a house is more of a liability than an asset. The house isn’t an asset until you’ve paid off the mortgage and, even then, unless properly maintained it will drastically lose it’s value. I bought my house for thousands of dollars under appraisal because it wasn’t properly maintained.

Like, I’ve owned my home less than a month and already have a $10,000 bill because three of my mature cedar trees are actually dead! I had no clue, I bought my home in the Summer and now it’s Autumn and the vines (yes, vines) that were all over it are dead, revealing three large, dead trees. That’s $3k a pop plus another $300 per tree to grind the stumps down. Am I happy about it? Nope! I’m furious. I really loved the shade those trees brought. But in the long run it’s cheaper to pay $10k now and fix the problem than wait and end up having to spend $25k on a new roof or $35k on a new car when the trees inevitably fall and make my life worse.

You might be wondering if I regret my purchase and the short answer is no. And I can happily say that because I knew coming into home ownership that my house is a liability and not an asset. I have the correct mindset when facing these expensive maintenance needs because I can see how it'll hurt me more in the long-term to not fix them now. Owning a home isn't all sunshine and butterflies, but it is a worthwhile endevor for those who go into it with the right mindset.