For many a home is a significant component of your overall financial picture. While it provides shelter, enjoyment and covers our daily necessary needs, it also has a large financial component. Traditional banks operate on the blanket assumption dating back decades. Piles of paperwork commit you to little understanding of what is exactly going on below the surface. 30 years later, you own your property free and clear and the bank walks with a healthy profit. That is where we are different. We take a slightly different approach, unfortunately this strategy isn’t part of what your lender many present.

I believe we need to look at the larger picture, understand the short term/long term and craft your financing to meet your needs. Understanding life today WON’T be the same as life 30 yrs from now. 1st priority is you – not the bank. For example, an interest rate is much more than simply a number – it has many more details that tell a story.

Short example: Homeowner Suzie signs up for a ‘loan’ aka a mortgage for 30 years, during that time the bank ‘lends’ Suzie the money to complete the transaction and collects their profit. During that time, each month the bank’s investment (Suzie’s home) becomes more and more secure financially. Ideally the property appreciates in value, and Suzie makes a monthly payment to lower the loan balance. All of this worked fine when the world as we know it operated at slower pace.

Fast forward to today – arguably we live in a different world today. Yet the evolution of finance hasn’t evolved. To pick up the story above several challenges occur for your traditional bank.

• The 30 yr mortgage you signed off on essentially takes the assumption your life today would be the same as it is 30 yrs from now. Nothing would change.

• The bank’s vested interest is to have you in your loan for as long as possible

• The bandwidth to service your personal scenario into the future simply isn’t possible for a bank

Fast Forward 20-30 yrs from now – Suzie has followed advice from some reputable financial thinkers across the market. Fill in the blank of who you like. Arguably done the financially prudent thing, Suzie pays off her home. Let’s say the home is now ‘valued’ at $500,000. No mortgage payment, also $500,000 generating 0% return on a daily basis. Should Suzie want some of Her OWN money back out – she’ll need to ‘qualify’ to access that money. Yes, HER money. For some that is fine, others we need to set down a different path.