Basketball vs. Guitar
Basketball vs. Guitar
I was a decent high school and college basketball player, not great, but decent. Guitar? That’s another story. Let’s look into some real estate matters with sports and music as our guide.
The gym held 3,500 people. A small gym where everything got noticed. Our season opened with the Blue/Gold inter-squad game.
He was our starting point guard. Two years hence he’d be the 53rd pick in the NBA draft. Our center was the 15th pick. Me? I was a freshman point guard covering the future NBA point guard.
I got noticed. How? The junior point guard put a move on me at half-court and I fell flat… on my ass. (A small gym where everything got noticed.)
Notice was served. If I was ever going to be able to play at this level I needed a process for improvement and small, consistent efforts to do things right, not wrong and improve my chances of winning playing time.
What about guitar you ask? Unlike basketball I’m not a good guitar player. I make small efforts but not consistent efforts. I hope to someday be a better guitar player, but hope is a preferred future condition which requires small and consistent effort.
It’s 2026. Resolution time. If you’d like to buy a home this year, decide if you’re Michael Holloway (MDH) the basketball player or Michael Holloway the acoustic guitar player.
Buying a home is a competition. To win the homebuying process requires effort on our and your part. If you are just playing at buying a home, join me as I mangle John Prine’s “Angel from Montgomery.”
In this housing market, success comes from following a process and small and consistent efforts, which is equivalent to the power of compound interest.
Thoughts as we enter 2026.
Basketball MDH: A home purchase involves money, your money. Since it’s your money, ask questions. Ask questions about anything real estate related that’s not clear. Be an informed buyer, not an emotional buyer.
Guitar MDH: Blindly trust what the industry says in print and other media. If it’s noisy and from a large company it must be true.
Basketball MDH: Understand who works for who in the real-estate process, how agents are paid and where potential conflicts of interest exist that might cost you money.
Sample Basketball MDH question: How am I protected if my buyer agent is part of a team that sells real estate? Will two agents from the same team be working at cross purposes?
Guitar MDH: It’s a mystery how agents are paid and I don’t have the time to understand who gets paid what and how or where conflicts may occur. I just want a home.
Basketball MDH: What monthly housing payment (principal, taxes, insurance) am I comfortable with that will allow me to lead a normal life?
Guitar MDH: Well, my lender and agent said I can afford X. That seems high, but I guess they know what they’re talking about.
Basketball MDH: Define your wants, needs and goals for your home purchase. How much space do you need as opposed to want? Is the goal of home ownership more important than the cosmetic look of the home?
Do you want your neighborhood to reflect your lifestyle, i.e. walkable, bikeable, car dependent? Define your areas of interest based on what is affordable.
Guitar MDH: Sure there’s a vacant lot across the street but the agent said no one will ever build anything on it. I just want a house.
Basketball MDH: Understand how home prices are set and why the asking price is most often not the value price. Ask for a list of 3-5 recent area sales for comparison before making an Offer.
Guitar MDH: Well, my lender and agent said I can afford X. That seems high, but I guess they know what they’re talking about.
Know that buying a home is hard yet the long-term benefits outweigh renting in terms of building wealth. A Federal Reserve Study and Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing noted:
“Renting only offered the potential for comparable wealth building if renters invested the difference between the cost of renting and owning. Most renters don’t invest the difference. It’s human nature.”
To win, even if in doubt, you need to do something. A poster of a basketball court hangs on my wall: You’ll miss 100% of the shots you never take.
How to get started in these noisy and uncertain times? Well I’d not place value in real estate sites that pretend to be portals of information when in fact they are selling a product. This isn’t objective information, it’s selling.
I’d suggest a coffee talk, that is, meeting over a cup of coffee giving you a chance to ask questions. We can also talk by phone while drinking coffee. Coffee is our metaphor for conversation.
We are the anti-HGTV folks. Consider our coffee talk an act of real estate discovery.
Please forward this newsletter to at least one person who needs it.
Selling? We don’t list homes for sale so contact us for an objective, independent opinion on price and the process of selling in today’s market. We’ll give you the inside scoop on the good and bad practices in real estate.
Having helped over 1,800 homebuyers you learn a lot about the selling side. The goal: Make educated and informed decisions.
Thanks for reading,
Michael D. Holloway