You get to choose your own home
Looking back through the history of this blog, I realized that I’ve now been doing it for more than 10 years.
If I’d looked sooner, I might have posted a reflective anniversary piece. But I missed that opportunity.
I came across one of my very early ones, though, that is something I should be writing on now—it’s just as relevant now. But why re-write it, except to avoid repeating myself to those who have been reading this post for 10 years.
That’s very few of you. You see, subscribers come and go. Most get onto the list simply because they checked out the Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own website and signed up through that. Many left when they were unable to get into the rent 2 own program.
Others signed up simply because they wanted to stay in touch with me, or because they enjoy reading my musings, whether or not they are related to rent 2 own. That’s gratifying! (About 1/3 of my posts are directly related to rent 2 own, the other 2/3 less so; you’d get bored quickly if I hammered rent 2 own more than 40 times a year.)
So, while I’ve probably had more than 15,000 different readers throughout the years, the post currently goes out to about 7300 people each week.
So, if you’ve read this post before, congratulate yourself for having consumed my scratch for ten years!
And let me know!
Here, then, is what I wrote ten years ago, and is just as relevant today:
“So, do you have any properties in _____?”
I get asked that question a lot. I always have to respond that, unfortunately, we do not have any properties in _____ ; in fact, we do not have any properties anywhere. But then I get to explain that we are a “client-first” rent to own program, and how that works.
The name is deliberate, signifying a number of things. It signifies the process: we do not start with properties; we start with people. People who are tired of renting, of throwing away their hard-earned dollars every month and not getting ahead. People who would love the pride and opportunity to be homeowners. People who can afford a mortgage but can’t yet qualify for one. (The key word is yet.)
It also signifies our concern to put people, not dollars, first. When we say we are a “program,” it’s not just a cute marketing term; it really is true. We work with the client to create a total package that will get them to mortgage eligibility within two or three years. That includes a savings component, a credit coaching component and job monitoring throughout the term.
The model was developed in Canada and aimed specifically to address the fact that in “property-first” rent 2 own (the kind you hear about in American-styled late night TV infomercials), too often there was not a successful outcome. Too often, the client ended up having to walk away from the home they were hoping to own at the end of the term. It was not a win-win proposition. No one was happy!
But it also signifies the third crucial component of a model designed to produce win-win outcomes. Once we approve you, the deserving client, you get to choose your own property. You are not stuck with a limited choice among properties we are trying to get rid of.
Think of it: Which property will give you more pride of occupancy, the one that you moved into simply because it was available or the home you personally chose from among all of those on the market. Which one will you take more “ownership” of? Which one will be hardest to walk away from? Which one will make you more committed to doing “whatever it takes” to meet mortgage qualifying standards by the end of the term?
That’s why, at Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own, you get to choose your own home.
You can learn more about our unique, Canadianized, client-first model, or get the process started, here.
