A Letter from Chris Suarez
YOUR LIFE: RENT vs SALE
There is a point in every person’s life when renting makes more sense than owning.
Seems a strange statement from someone who has built all of their businesses around the mission of delivering the dream of home ownership. Today though, I am not talking about renting a home, or renting a condo, or renting an apartment. I'm talking about renting the “space” that we may find ourselves in. The space that we may be occupying at the moment. The space that we are certain doesn’t belong to us.
Yes, our space is a very physical thing. I often say I love the real estate industry because I love spaces. I love designing and creating spaces. I love experiencing spaces. I love sharing spaces that I enjoy with others. I don’t buy very many things, however I buy a lot of real estate - or spaces. Space is incredibly important to me.
But the space we inhabit, the space we find ourselves in, and even the space we take up isn’t just physical. Space is personal. Space is mental. Space is emotional. Space is spiritual. And at times we may find ourselves in the wrong mental space. In the wrong emotional space. In the wrong spiritual space.
In 2007 I found myself in a bad space. It started out financially. I was struggling to get my business up and running in a brand new city. I was struggling financially. Then my first daughter was born. I wound up having to sell the house I was in. My physical space was disrupted and I let that affect my health space. I stopped exercising and eating well. That began to affect my emotional space. It was not how I imagined I would provide for and take care of my new family. I signed a month to month lease for an apartment I was certain would be very temporary. A couple months turned into over a year. Before I knew it, one month I was on government assistance, relying on other people to provide milk, cheese, and cereal for the family I knew I was responsible to take care of.
This was not the life I wanted to own. This was not the space I wanted to hold the deed to. I was convinced I was just renting this space - physically, personally, emotionally. This was someone else’s space and I would not make it my own.
Don’t buy the real estate you are in right now if you are down, if you are broken, if you are in debt emotionally. Go ahead and rent that space and be prepared to move on. We all get “there” - at times unsure of how - but know “there” isn’t where we are supposed to be. “There” isn’t where we belong. We don’t own this space. So pay your rent. You are just a tenant and not the owner. No need to mortgage that space and add debt to that space.
It is easy to let the weeks turn into months turn into years. And slowly that short-term lease you signed turns into your lease on life. What can we do? Be careful, curious, and committed.
Be careful. We all know the benefits of home ownership. So move. Move quickly out of the space you are certain you are just leasing right now. The space that you don’t belong in. The space that isn’t yours. We all have moments or times in our life when we struggle, when we don’t feel ourselves, or when we end up in the wrong space. Do not get comfortable there.
Be curious. Explore new neighborhoods looking for the space in which you belong. Find the community, the people, the environment, the mindset that you can plant your roots in. Often we get stuck when we stop asking ourselves questions. Curiosity creates movement and momentum.
Be committed. Be looking for the real estate or the space you want to buy and make your own. Get back to the core values that have grounded you. That is the ground you want to build your forever home on top of.
Chris
