Living in Serenity: Life After a Foreclosure

Imagine having an easy commute to work every morning where your eyes' view is filled with farmland, wooded areas, horses, maybe even a few cows grazing as you drive by. The relaxing drive and atmosphere gives you just enough time to clear your mind, and prepare for another hectic day at the office, giving you a chance to start the day in a nice way. Then, imagine coming home after work, looking into your backyard, and seeing a ravine with many trees, and the sound of birds, crickets, and so many fireflies in the summer that they look like twinkling Christmas lights. You have my own personal retreat where you can go, and truly unwind at the end of the work day. To finish it off, imagine not having a lot of heavy stress day to day in your life worrying about paying for a house you cannot afford, and everything that goes along with it.

Yet, this kind of lifestyle doesn't seem like a reality when being faced with major financial difficulties becoming the norm in the United States. Let's face it, in our society, if you are able to afford a big home in a suburban neighborhood, and drive just the right car, and have all the toys to go along with it, you have made it in the eyes of your neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family. This is where our society has convinced people especially in their twenties through forties age groups that our self worth, and success should be based on our financial status. With this sort of pressure to live up to, and having expectations that are not very realistic in our current economic situation in the United States, middle class families are seeing their dreams shattered while going through the embarrassment of foreclosing on their dream home, and settling for less than impressive homes and neighborhoods.

The impact of the recent economic circumstances resulting from high interest residential home loans in the United States is leaving many families no choice but to foreclose on their home mortgage loan. One can only imagine the emotional devastation affecting the families, who have worked so hard to provide a perfect home in a nice neighborhood. Where will these families move to, and can they get another loan to purchase a house, which will probably be less ideal compared to where they were living last year before hard times hit?

Believe it or not, many families are able to bounce back quickly after a home foreclosure, and actually put themselves in stress-free situations, which makes them happier then they ever could have imagined. By consciously making a few life changing decisions, re-assessing life priorities, and asking a few questions about what truly brings them happiness, people can transform a bad situation into a life-transforming one. Many middle class families are making the decision to adjust their lives, and find a less expensive place to live, which can be a very frightening yet liberating situation. Basically, what other's think of our income status is always at the forefront of most of our minds when choosing a place to live, and of course if you have children, you want a good school system, and a safe neighborhood to live in.

Considerations When Choosing a Place to Live

As many homeowners are learning through their journey of dealing with keeping up with the Jones's, and balancing financial situation with the reality of what they can truly afford, and trying to be happy can be a now win situation. Happiness is the number one factor for all of us in life, and finding it without worrying about keeping up with the Jones's is the first step to realization in order to decrease stressful lives. When choosing a place to live, whether you are able to qualify for a residential mortgage loan, or renting a home, ask yourself this question, "What can we live with, and what can we absolutely not live without?" Another key question to consider asking yourself is, "How can we choose a place to live, which will decrease our stress, and make our lives a rewarding experience on a daily basis?

One family in Kenosha, Wisconsin found themselves faced with foreclosing on their $300,000 suburban home after their Adjustable Rate Mortgage loan almost doubled their monthly house payment after the first two years of the loan. After their foreclosure, the Jim and Linda Norman realized they would not be able to qualify for another home mortgage to purchase a less expensive home. So, they decided to find a home rental, and take the time to improve their credit rating damaged by the foreclosure. Not to mention, the current home market is flooded with homes for sale, which are not selling, so many homeowners are choosing to rent their home after months or even years of trying to sell it, allowing renters the option to purchase the home in the future. The Norman's searched for a house to rent in the City of Kenosha, and found that the prices were more expensive than their home mortgage loan. On the other hand, the houses that were less expensive rentals were in less than desirable neighborhoods with higher incidents of crime.

Serenity Doesn't Have to Come with a Price

One area to focus on when making major life changes, such as moving to a less expensive place to live is to think about your most favorite family memories, which were enjoyable and less stressful, and use those memories as a way to capture what you want in your life permanently. One common family memory that comes to mind easily for many people is spending time with family on vacations, where they would relax, and retreat in a cabin or cottage on a lake, in very natural surroundings. When conjuring up vacation memories, many families find that their vacation memories were the happiest and most tranquil moments of truly being happy. Besides, the most obvious fact that vacation memories are usually filled with relaxing and fun experiences, since the family was off of work, and school during their time together, however you can take that same concept, and apply this idea to make more time to spend together as a family, and not focusing on continually trying to maintain a materially competitive lifestyle.

The next step in choosing a less expensive home where your family may be happy living is to determine how to increase those happiest moments in your lives, and make them happen on an ongoing basis. One idea may be to search for a modest residence, such as a cottage-style home with natural surroundings, or a home near a small lake with a more rural, relaxing, vacation style setting, which can be far less expensive than living in a suburban neighborhood. Even though your next home may not be located in a cookie cutter subdivision, there are many less expensive, yet desirable residential living options located in relaxed and friendly communities, with very little crime, and some really great school systems.

Living options located in less suburban areas with more lakes, ponds, and trees sometime have more perks than suburban neighborhoods. One example is the private beach located in the Norman's neighborhood, within walking distance from their home. "Paying an annual association fee of $70 seems worth every penny to me," Jim Norman says, "Residents in my neighborhood who pay the annual beach association fee have full access to their own private beach, and are also able to dock their boats on one of two private piers for the entire summer." The benefit of a small lake front community is having an instant vacation atmosphere right outside your own front door.

Many of the Norman's neighbors enjoy: boating, fishing, and swimming in the summer, and snowmobiling and ice fishing in the winter, and it's all available to them right in their neighborhood. No one has to drive two hours to reach their vacation cottage hideaway every weekend like many people do to escape their beautiful home in the suburbs. Enjoying nights around a backyard bonfire, going horseback riding street side is an activity enjoyed by many people living just outside cities, which is normally illegal in most city suburban neighborhoods.

On the other hand, there are always going to be some few adjustments when moving from a suburban neighborhood to one outside of a city. For instance, some areas may own have private well water, which is not chemically treated like city water. Well water also has a different smelling than city water. Learning to deal with minor adjustments will eventually lead to the realization that you're happier now than you were when you lived next to the Jones's. The major advantage to forgoing a few city perks, such as access to city water, or having sidewalks and curbs is that annual property taxes can be significantly lower outside of a city than a similar property with the same square footage, and lot acreage as one located in a city.

By consciously making a few life changing decisions, re-assessing life priorities, and asking a few questions about what truly brings you happiness, and letting go of the need to compete with people to make yourself feel successful, you may find your true happiness in places you never expected, and realize your life is so much rewarding now that you let go of all the pressures of keeping up with the Jones's.