Jan. 6, 2020

This paid piece is sponsored by The Tony Ratchford Group.

By Tony Ratchford

“Action is the foundational key to all success.”

— Pablo Picasso

The end of a year is an interesting psychological time. It feels similar to reading a book, and as we finish the last chapter, we close the book and look forward to another. This new book is ours to write.

The beginning of a new year can be powerful as we celebrate our accomplishments. Unfortunately, our thoughts often are drawn to what we didn’t accomplish more so than what we did. It’s an odd occurrence, and it destroys our confidence. It’s better to spend energy working on improvement rather than wasting time talking and thinking on things that don’t help us move forward. It’s a new year and time to set a new path toward new goals and desires.

So what’s on that bucket list you’d like to do? Is there something you put off last year or the year before? I heard a song the other day by Lee Ann Womack; she sang about giving her children advice on life and how she hoped they would dance when the opportunity would arise rather than sit it out. How many times have we said no when we could have said yes? How often do we pass on opportunity when it was just as easy to embrace it?

In our world of real estate, we believe the house a person lives in should match his or her lifestyle. We know this offers the best opportunity to enjoy not only the home but life itself. Yet we see too many people hold on to something that doesn’t work as well as it could. We suspect there are many reasons, but the primary reason is fear of the unknown plus the inability to see clearly their desires and the path it takes to go from here to there.

Those of us at the Ratchford Group use a trademarked and proven process, The Dream Home Vision, to help people find great clarity about the things that are most important to them and discover solutions to improve their joy of homeownership.

It also lets them maximize their dollars, minimize inconveniences, save valuable time and gives them greater peace of mind knowing they are doing the right thing at the right time.

The economy is as good as it has been since the 1980s, and it will continue as it did through the 1990s. The key has been jobs. Household annual income is up 10 percent over the past two years, with the bottom income brackets performing better than the average. This drives consumer spending and capital investment by corporations, creating demand for more workers and higher wages.

Today’s low mortgage rates, rising home values, high employment and increasing wages lead us to an ideal market for people wanting to sell and purchase homes.

Time continues to pass by, leaving us less than we had before. We hope you’ll grab hold of an exciting era of high prosperity and opportunity, and find that new house that fits your lifestyle better and ultimately makes your life more enjoyable.

We invite you to call or text 605-359-4100.