Young people and the dream of their own home: the way to enter the real estate market

The pandemic has been a mitigating factor for young people to seek access to a home of their own, as has been pointed out by the specialists who spoke with this newspaper and who, in addition, identified what are the factors that bring this social group closer to the possibility of starting a economic life in the real estate sector. The ability to save and a good credit history are some of them.

Jorge Carrillo Acosta, an expert in finance at Pacífico Business School, indicated that the pandemic has caused the State to promote the use of programs and bonds to reduce the down payment on real estate. “You can get financing and buy an apartment when you are young”, he maintains. Susana Sandoval Peralta, co-founder of KlaseUno, a financial education platform for children and young people, reaches the same conclusion, who assures that bank leverage is one of the recommended ways to acquire one or more properties.

For its part, Mivivienda Fund He pointed out four requirements to qualify for a loan: the client must be qualified as a credit subject by a financial institution; You must not be the owner or co-owner of a home; You must have an initial contribution of no less than 7.5% of the house and, finally, your financial history must be free of debt. Furthermore, if a young person wishes to access the Good Payer Bonus, they must not have received any prior support from the State.

Savings as a key piece

Although saving is usually advice that has been passed down from generation to generation, it is also the number one recommendation of specialists. “If you don’t have savings, you can’t buy, or even finance, because for a mortgage loan, the entity asks you for an initial one. You must have at least 10% of what the property is worth saved, ”explains Carillo Acosta, while listing two more steps for a young person to consider owning a home: having a permanent income support and having a good credit history.

“Saving is an essential part of any financial health. (…) The habit must be cared for from the early stage. If a person manages to save at least 10%, then 90% would be leveraged by any bank “, warns Sandoval Peralta. “Prior to that, that young man must be in good financial health, he has to show a healthy credit record. Why? Because banks are going to review how good a payer is and how good a consumer ”, he adds.

“The recommendation is that, as soon as a young person receives income, they should allocate a percentage to savings,” endorses the representative of Fondo Mivienda.

The pandemic context

Fondo Mivivienda clarified that although the pandemic marked a before and after in public health, it also did so in the real estate environment: “Before, we asked the client to have an initial fee of 10%, that measure has changed and now the minimum is 7.5%. It is a measure that, added to the Good Payer Bonus, allows qualifying in many cases for the Mivivienda credit ”.

“We have had a historical record in October of this year. Customers have highly appreciated the increase in the good payer’s subsidy and the reduction in the initial fee. In addition, many people are working from home and finding that comfort to be able to carry out their work is what has encouraged many clients to take the step of buying a home that meets their needs ”, the entity analyzes and highlights that real estate developers They have had an important approach to the public through virtual fairs, a dynamic that has motivated many people to stop postponing the purchase process.

State proposals

Fondo Mivivienda offers modalities that allow both formal and informal young people to apply for a grant and mitigate the initial figure. “You must take good care of your credit reputation. (…) Formality makes your life easier, but it is not that informality blocks you. Being informal does not mean that you can have a good credit history, that you can save ”, clarifies the finance expert.

For her part, the co-creator of KlaseUno insists that there are multiple financial projects for a person to have their own home: the bonds provided by the state. “If a young person does not have a permanent job, he can access a monthly deposit for a period of six months to demonstrate to the financial institution that he has an adequate payment record,” he says.

Main difficulties

“I believe that the first difficulty is in the paradigms,” says Sandoval Peralta. She explains that being young is not an impediment to getting a property, and speaks from her experience: at the age of 22, she started the process to be part of the real estate market. “A real estate asset is very important, because even if it is not used, it can be rented,” he argues.

“Parents must teach children to save so that in the future they can have their financial assets. (…) In addition, you must not only have a source of income. The basket should be diversified so that when there is a problem, a caveat can be had ”, he advises.

The specialist is sure that there are no impediments, because a disciplined person reaches the amount. “You have to have healthy finances: don’t buy what you don’t need. If you consider eating in the street, better eat at home. If you already have a pair of shoes, why do you buy others? They are saving habits that will make you responsible for your expenses ”, he urges and highlights the importance of formulating a list of expenses either in Excel or in a notebook.

Along these lines, Fondo Mivivienda highlighted a difficulty: “The young client, many times, does not have a credit record,” explains one of the representatives. “However, the financial institution offers an alternative, for example, programmed savings. If I do not qualify today, in a period of six months I will have the option of making monthly contributions and, if I make them regularly, I will have a favorable qualification “, Add.

Best time of the year

Carrillo Acosta explains that the best time to acquire a property is the end of the year. “There is certain income that allows you to reach a down payment: the bonus, the CTS … and, for people in the informal sector, there is the Christmas campaign. In addition, it is a time in which there are varied real estate offers ”, he concludes.