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By Susan Cooper

Buying a home

Purchasing a home is one of the biggest, most important ownership investments moves you can make. It is an opportunity to build equity, generational wealth and leave an inheritance and legacy your family. Knowing the right time to buy, sell, rent or stay in your home is very important.

Understanding when to buy and what you can afford: Your first step in buying a home is to fully understand your finances. It's not as fun as looking at homes, but it's important and necessary when to buy and determine how much you can afford.

It was 1990. My husband and I were in our 20’s. My husband a U.S. Army military solider at the time and I started looking at homes. We quickly realized that the interest rates of over 10% made the payments too high for our budget which meant it was out of reach and unaffordable. Therefore, the dream was quickly cut short. After the reality check we quickly pulled back, regrouped, sat on the sidelines, saved money and then got back in the game. We built our first 4 bedrooms. 2.5 bath, 1882 sqft home from the ground up after the interest rate went down to 7.75% with a payment of only $784. This was nice compared to today’s prices and payments. That same home would be worth approx. $250,000 today with a payment of $2,200. We built equity and sold the home 7 years later in 1999. We cashed out and realized our equity for a down payment, paid off debt, purchased the land and built our second home which we still own and live in today.

Know where you want to live. Establish a timeframe. Make a plan and develop a strategy for purchasing a home, making payments and borrowing money.

1. Budget

2. Save for down payment, closing costs and reserves

3. Do the math, know your budget and stick with your price range.

4. Take a Hud approved first-time homebuyer’s class

5. Gather your financial documents

6. Build a relationship with a mortgage banker/loan office/mortgage broker and/or a realtor or real estate and mortgage broker

7. Get pre-approved

8. Find a home

9. Make an offer

10. Do your due diligence. Get a home inspection from a qualified, certified, licensed home inspector. Also pull crime reports. Inspect the neighborhood at night, on the weekend and during the work and school day.

11. Close on your home and your loan with a real estate closing attorney

12. Get the keys and move in.

Testimony from a grateful repeat client. “In 1993 Susan Cooper was working at one of the local banks and selling real estate over 30 years ago when my husband and I purchased our first brand new home. I was twenty-one years old. Now I'm 51. I have purchased three homes. Buying a home gave my family and I a home and place to be proud of. It also gave us a placed to live and raise our children. It gives us stability. We built equity and wealth through homeownership. We have over 100,000 in equity and an asset that's almost paid for. In 2009 during the financial crisis our home was unlawfully foreclosed on. The bank hired a listing agent to put our household goods and furniture on the street. I called Susan. She partnered with an attorney, congress, a local nonprofit and time away from her own business to help successfully modify my mortgage, save and rescue our home from foreclosure and had the bank put our furniture back in our home. I refer everyone to her”. ~RHM

Susan’s Motto " If I can make money off financing and selling you a home then I can help you save it for free. " -SGC

Her Experience: Over 35 years of simultaneous banking, finance, real estate, mortgage lending and housing counseling experience wrapped into one.

Today's Average Home Price

Columbus, GA housing market

In June 2024, the median listing home price in Columbus, GA was $230K, trending up 2.7% year-over-year. The median listing home price per square foot was $126. The median home sold price was $233.3K.

Today's Average Mortgage Rates are between 6% & 6.5%:

30-year fixed rate mortgage trends over time

For some perspective on today’s mortgage interest rates, here’s how average 30-year rates have changed from year to year over the past five decades. https://themortgagereports.com/61853/30-year-mortgage-rates-chart#current

Year	Average 30-Year Rate	Year	Average 30-Year Rate	Year	Average 30-Year Rate
1976	8.87%	1992	8.39%	2008	6.03%
1977	8.85%	1993	7.31%	2009	5.04%
1978	9.64%	1994	8.38%	2010	4.69%
1979	11.20%	1995	7.93%	2011	4.45%
1980	13.74%	1996	7.81%	2012	3.66%
1981	16.63%	1997	7.60%	2013	3.98%
1982	16.04%	1998	6.94%	2014	4.17%
1983	13.24%	1999	7.44%	2015	3.85%
1984	13.88%	2000	8.05%	2016	3.65%
1985	12.43%	2001	6.97%	2017	3.99%
1986	10.19%	2002	6.54%	2018	4.54%
1987	10.21%	2003	5.83%	2019	3.94%
1988	10.34%	2004	5.84%	2020	3.10%
1989	10.32%	2005	5.87%	2021	2.96%
1990	10.13%	2006	6.41%	2022	5.34%
1991	9.25%	2007	6.34%	2023	6.81%