Couple Finds First Home in Family Neighborhood
When the couple decided to look for a place to live, George, a financial reporter, immediately ruled out rental units, recognizing the financial value of homeownership.
“We didn’t want to rent because if we ever decide to sell or move, we wouldn’t get anything back. It would be a waste of money,” he explained.
Though they decided to buy, the couple did not seriously consider any properties until a friend put his mother’s house on the market. The home was in the family neighborhood in Quincy, Massachusetts where George and Adrienne hoped to settle.
“We really weren’t looking extensively at first, just here and there in the paper, but we knew the type of neighborhood we wanted to buy in,” George said. “So when this house went up for sale, we decided to buy.”
George and Adrienne did not have enough saved for the 20 percent down payment traditionally required by lenders. However, George had heard from coworkers who had recently purchased homes using other financing options, such as PrivateMI, that enable people to buy a home sooner with less money down.
The couple decided to use PrivateMI instead of a piggyback loan because mortgage insurance is usually cancelable once a homeowner has 20 percent equity, while the second part of a piggyback loan can last for 10 to 20 years and cost more over the life of the loan.
“I would rather pay the private mortgage insurance now until I own 20 percent of the home than make payments for years down the line,” George said.
The couple’s spacious new home has three bedrooms, a family room, dining room and basement.
Overall, it needs some cosmetic work, but the couple looks forward to remodeling. They plan to start with updating the kitchen, and will gradually move on to the rest of the house.
George’s favorite part of his new home is its backyard, where he hopes to build a patio for barbecuing and entertaining friends.
But it was the neighborhood that really sold the place to the couple. Quincy, Massachusetts is just a few minutes south of Boston and is known for its picturesque coastline. In fact, George and Adrienne’s new home is a short distance from the beach as well as a freshwater lake.
“I love that I can step out my front door and walk to the beach,” said Adrienne, a teacher.
The area directly surrounding the couple’s new place is home to many families and is several blocks away from an elementary school.
For now, the couple is content living with their cat Cleo, but they look forward to someday raising a family in their new home.
“A couple of years down the road, when we have kids, we want to raise them in a nice house in a nice neighborhood like this one,”George said.