Chris Browning knew that the time could not have been more better to settle into something that he would be able to call his home – dumping the cramped Modesto apartment in a suspect area of town that he had been living in.
Browning diligently studied his options made available due to foreclosures and dropping home prices.
Like most people he was coming in contact with on these trips to open houses, seminars, and auctions were looking forward to capitalize on the free-falling market prices, Browning knew that this would most likely be his one golden opportunity to land a property of his own and build a house for his wife Jessica and daughter – Lauren – whom they would be welcoming into the world in a matter of months.
After a few short sales fell through and other bids that Browning placed didn’t earn himself the property that he was hoping for, he finally managed to narrow down the search – with the aid of his agent – to several properties right in the Manteca area that he had called his home for the majority of his adult life.
He finally narrowed it down to two properties – a single family home that would have required extensive work (including the replacement of a central heating and air system) and a townhome-style complex just a stone’s throw away from the Manteca Police Department where he would already know one of his neighbors and be able to enjoy the tree-lined streets that additional charm to the neighborhood.
With the help of friends that are also union tradesman he had the property up and running inside of the two weeks. He has made the entire thing a project for when he has free time – opening up the backyard so that his English Bulldog has room to run around and play and rearranging the garage so that he and friends can turn the available space into a rehearsal studio.
Having that freedom that wasn’t available at the apartment complex gives Chris and his wife Jessica the opportunity to take a deep breath of relief knowing that they now have a place that they can call their own – giving them a place to raise their one-year-old daughter.
“Knowing that you own the building that you’re coming home to at night is a great feeling – you get off of a long day at work and you get to go home and spend time with your family inside of your own place,” he said. “That’s a feeling that can’t really be described unless you’ve had that happen to you before.”
Browning said he’s hoping that when his family finally does grow that he’ll move into a larger house and then rent out the townhouse so that he’ll be able to start building a real-estate portfolio that will give him a financial cushion.
It’s all about finding the right time, he says, to realize your dreams and make them happen.
“Sometimes you just have to wait until that perfect opportunity comes along,” Browning said. “When that happens then you have to jump on it and keep looking at what else is out there – that’s the most important thing that anybody can do because you always want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to set your family up.
“That’s the most important thing that you can do.”
To contact Jason Campbell e-mail jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3544.
Browning diligently studied his options made available due to foreclosures and dropping home prices.
Like most people he was coming in contact with on these trips to open houses, seminars, and auctions were looking forward to capitalize on the free-falling market prices, Browning knew that this would most likely be his one golden opportunity to land a property of his own and build a house for his wife Jessica and daughter – Lauren – whom they would be welcoming into the world in a matter of months.
After a few short sales fell through and other bids that Browning placed didn’t earn himself the property that he was hoping for, he finally managed to narrow down the search – with the aid of his agent – to several properties right in the Manteca area that he had called his home for the majority of his adult life.
He finally narrowed it down to two properties – a single family home that would have required extensive work (including the replacement of a central heating and air system) and a townhome-style complex just a stone’s throw away from the Manteca Police Department where he would already know one of his neighbors and be able to enjoy the tree-lined streets that additional charm to the neighborhood.
With the help of friends that are also union tradesman he had the property up and running inside of the two weeks. He has made the entire thing a project for when he has free time – opening up the backyard so that his English Bulldog has room to run around and play and rearranging the garage so that he and friends can turn the available space into a rehearsal studio.
Having that freedom that wasn’t available at the apartment complex gives Chris and his wife Jessica the opportunity to take a deep breath of relief knowing that they now have a place that they can call their own – giving them a place to raise their one-year-old daughter.
“Knowing that you own the building that you’re coming home to at night is a great feeling – you get off of a long day at work and you get to go home and spend time with your family inside of your own place,” he said. “That’s a feeling that can’t really be described unless you’ve had that happen to you before.”
Browning said he’s hoping that when his family finally does grow that he’ll move into a larger house and then rent out the townhouse so that he’ll be able to start building a real-estate portfolio that will give him a financial cushion.
It’s all about finding the right time, he says, to realize your dreams and make them happen.
“Sometimes you just have to wait until that perfect opportunity comes along,” Browning said. “When that happens then you have to jump on it and keep looking at what else is out there – that’s the most important thing that anybody can do because you always want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to set your family up.
“That’s the most important thing that you can do.”
To contact Jason Campbell e-mail jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com, or call (209) 249-3544.
