“I have found me a home…Yes, I have found me a home…You can have the rest of everything I own…‘Cause I have found me a home… The days drift by, they don’t have names, none of the streets here look the same…There are so many quiet places…and smilin’ eyes match the smilin’ faces…Yes I have found me a home…” Jimmy Buffett
I purchased my first home in 1976. I was 22 at the time and was “pushed” by my parents to buy. Admittedly, I was scared. After all, it required a financial commitment the likes of which I had never made before.
But when I walked into my first home, those fears all but disappeared, and I immediately felt pride, security and a sense of “having made it”. That feeling of accomplishment never goes away – no matter how many times you move or buy. That is the best part of homeownership.
After painting my new home, cleaning up the yard to my liking (mowing the grass in two directions to create a letter “X” in the grass is the best) and washing my own car in my own driveway, I sat on the porch and had a cold beverage. When I think back, I can easily remember that feeling as though it was just yesterday. It is – and should be – an emotional feeling we carry with us forever.
Recently, my son and daughter purchased homes. Both houses needed work, and my kids dug right in. And, just like me, they have both expressed their pride in ownership in ways that one could only do when you own your own home.
Everyone should have the opportunity to find their home – a place of peace, somewhere you can go for solace, to be with your family and to feel secure and proud of the life you have created.
As usual, Jimmy Buffett got it right. He didn’t sing about his mortgage or the money he would make on a home. He sang about quiet places, smilin’ eyes and smilin’ faces. That’s the true value of homeownership.
I’m currently looking for a new home. When I find it, everyone will know. I’ll smile more, feel more pride and know, once again, that the American dream that REALTORS® work so hard on each day means as much to us as it does to that client, customer or family we just helped – Jim Helsel, 2010 NAR Treasurer
