You can’t predict illness or accidents, but you can predict they will be costly.
Yesterday I wrote about how some of our tenants would really like to buy the houses they are living in. Sure, there are lots of people who, in the current economy, prefer to rent, but there are others who would rather put their money into property, because as you know, they aren’t making any more land!
Wanting to buy a home and actually being able to do so are two very different things. Unlike the people you see on House Hunters, who always seem to have money for million-dollar homes in their late twenties, a lot of people have barriers to coming up with the all-important down payment, or they have such bad credit that lenders will not let them buy other than with cash. Too often, both of these situations are caused by people having the misfortune of becoming injured or ill, which in this country means anyone not mega-rich or lucky enough to be able to afford good insurance will owe lots and lots of money.
Here are a couple of examples of people we are currently working with (details are vague to protect their privacy).
Small Business Owner Gets Hurt
One of our tenants was a small-business owner when they first leased one of our houses. Small business owners often have trouble buying a house, because they don’t have the proof of a steady income that’s needed. Then, our tenant became badly hurt in an accident while engaged in a sport they loved. Of course, this prevented them from being able to work for a while, and of course, large hospital and doctor bills piled up (it’s also really hard for small business owners to afford insurance; that’s why I have a job in Corporate America that will insure me and Lee).
This tenant had always intended to buy this home from us. But, who will lend them the money? No one, so far. So, they keep paying us for the house they’d like to own and renovate for themselves.
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