Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116APPLIANCES, BEDDING, SALES & SERVICE Ask us about financing options. Route 302 - 54 Bridgton Road - Westbrook 800-797-3621 - www.lpapplianceme.com Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm | Saturday 9am - 12pm A P P L I A NCES ★ BED D I N G ★ S A LES ★ SERVI C E LP A p r i l 2 0 1 7 4 5 Real estate taught how to grow personal wealth.” According to the Washington Post, homeownership rates among those of us under 35 are at an all time low–a mere 34.1%, half the national average. While ba- by boomers are anxious to offer their theo- ries on so-called ‘lazy, entitled millennials,’ the figure has more to do with the aftermath of boomer home buying habits through the early 2000s and eye-watering student debts than a lack of ambition or “buying too much avocado toast” as Australian colum- nist Bernard Salt recently claimed. F eeling overwhelmed myself, though at least vaguely intrigued, I ask Gena to walk me through a typi- cal 101 class over coffee. “People think you can’t talk to anyone before you’re ready, but the ideal time to start planning is a year or two before you’re ready to buy. The first step is pre-approval, a 20-minute process that tells you what you can afford. Once you have that number, you can break it down into a monthly budget. Many young buyers may be concerned that student debts affect their loan approvals, but you’ll find many lenders are willing to work with you to get around this issue. After all this, you’ll likely be left ask- ing, “When is a good time to buy?” Ac- cording to Gena, the time is now. “Inter- est rates are low, and prices are staying steady. No one can predict if there will be another housing crisis.” On the oth- er hand,“lenders are being more strict, which is good for buyers’ protection.” While I’m still trying to convince my fi- ancé to get pre-approved, Button and Hoch- muth are in the final stages of buying their first home–and they couldn’t be more ex- cited. After getting outbid on a place earlier this year, the two weren’t about to let it hap- pen again when they found a gambrel-style house that was just right. To ensure they’d come out first in the bidding war, “We had to think outside of the box,” says Button. “We wrote a very sincere letter to the sell- ers with photos (including the huskies) and links to videos to show them how we’d ap- preciate the home they’d spent 15 years in. That letter made all the difference.” The couple moved in at the end of March. “No one thought we stood a chance at ending up with this house! Even if they’d declined our offer, we could walk away knowing we dared to try everything.” n