The Beginning

I bought my first house in Boulder Colorado while I was still in college. This was back in 1978 and my economics professor was telling us about the slow growth laws that had passed in Boulder County that he felt were certain to cause significant increases in home prices.

I thought about it for awhile, I was living in the dorms and I liked the dorms, but I thought I might enjoy owning a home as well. So I looked around, figured out the math and called my father to borrow $10,000 for the downpayment.

"Son, how much is that house gonna cost?"

"Well dad, it has 4 bedrooms, and 2 full bathrooms and an attached 2 car garage." Note from my sales side: Always talk about the benefits before getting into pricing!

"That's great son. Now how much is the house gonna cost?"

"Dad, it's $55,000 dollars"

"Expletive Deleted! NO HOUSE THAT SIZE IS EVER GOING TO BE WORTH THAT MUCH MONEY! ANOTHER EXPLETIVE!"

I will skip all of the whining and pleading on my part. My father did eventually loan me the money, and his cosignature, and I bought my first house. I lived in that house while I finished college, rented it while I was living in other states and returned to it later after my divorce. When I sold it in 1998, I got over $200,000 for it. Turned out it was worth $55,000 after all.

Till next time...Jack