The Best Christmas Gift You Can Give Your Family—One That Lasts for Generations

The Best Christmas Gift You Can Give Your Family - One That Lasts for Generations

In this Christmas season, many families are thinking about gifts - what to buy, what to wrap, and what will bring joy on Christmas morning. Most people know that the most meaningful gifts are rarely the ones that fit under a tree. The best gifts are the ones that create loving memories and quietly shape a family's future long after the decorations come down.

Establishing where we're from and building memories with friends and family are among the most powerful long-term gifts parents can give their children. That foundation comes through stability - and one of the strongest forms of stability comes with homeownership: never having to move because of a landlord's life changes.

Research consistently shows that children raised in homeowner households experience better outcomes across multiple areas of life. They are more likely to perform better academically, experience fewer behavioral challenges, and benefit from greater consistency in their living environment. A stable home often means fewer school disruptions, stronger ties to the community, and a sense of security that supports learning and personal development.

The impact doesn't stop at graduation.

Studies also show that children of homeowners are more likely to become homeowners themselves and to build wealth over time and across generations. Homeownership is an anchor to family and community. It forces a little savings every month, which builds year after year. Much of the wealth in America has been built through real estate.

Transform your family's future. Teach future generations the value of stability, and watch it compound through your children, grandchildren, and extended family.

For parents, the gift of homeownership becomes even more meaningful in retirement.

When a home is paid down - or paid off entirely - it can remove the single largest monthly expense most households ever face: the mortgage payment. That freedom changes everything. A lower cost of living in retirement can reduce stress, protect savings, and allow fixed incomes to stretch much further. It can be the difference between self-reliance and needing help from others. In many cases, homeowners are able to let their home work for them - eliminating the mortgage payment and, with proper planning, helping manage ongoing costs such as county property taxes and homeowner's insurance.

Simply put, owning your home gives you options.

• It gives parents peace of mind.
• It gives children stability and greater success in school and life.
• It creates future wealth for your generation and the next.
• It gives families a foundation that can support them for decades.

References & Supporting Research at the bottom of this page.

This Christmas, as families reflect on what truly matters, remember - and remind others - that homeownership isn't about a house. It's about opportunity, security, and a future that's easier to build from one generation to the next. Encourage your family and friends to become homeowners too.

When you're thinking about buying a home, refinancing, or creating a long-term plan that supports your family's goals, I'm the person to have that conversation with.

My mortgage and real estate career started when I was 16 years old, in the summer of 1981, when my dad and I took a real estate principles class from Lumbleau Real Estate School in San Bernardino, California. Six years later, in 1987, I began my career in the mortgage industry. This has been my lifelong profession, and I want to share my experience with you so you can do even better than I have.

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One small favor: If any of your friends, family, or co-workers are looking to buy, sell, or refinance, can I count on you to introduce us via text or email?

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References & Supporting Research

Note: The findings below generally describe associations observed in research (and in some cases, effects estimated after controlling for many factors). Individual results will vary based on household circumstances, location, and timing.

Homeownership and Children's Outcomes (school performance, behavior, stability)

• Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (Working Paper):
  The Impact of Homeownership on Child Outcomes (Haurin, Parcel, Haurin).

  Summary: Finds children of homeowners have better home environments, higher cognitive test scores, and fewer behavior problems than children of renters, even after controlling for many variables.

  Source: Harvard JCHS Working Paper page and PDF.
  :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

• Wiley Online Library (Journal Article):
  The Effects of Homeownership on Children's Outcomes (references Haurin/Parcel/Haurin findings and duration of homeownership).

  Source: Peer-reviewed journal entry.
  :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1}

• Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Economic Policy Review):
  Effects of Homeownership on Children: The Role of Parents' Financial and Nonfinancial Behaviors (Harkness & Newman).

  Summary: Reviews mechanisms linking homeownership to children's outcomes (parenting, environment, mobility, wealth) and cites evidence that homeownership is associated with improved cognitive and behavioral outcomes.
  :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2}

Intergenerational Effects (children of homeowners becoming homeowners; long-run wealth pathways)

• Urban Institute (Report + Publication Page):
  Intergenerational Homeownership (Choi et al.).

  Summary: Examines how parents' homeownership and wealth influence children's homebuying prospects (1999 - 2015). Reports children of homeowners are more likely to be homeowners than children of renters, controlling for other factors.
  :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3}

• Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (Working Paper):
  Housing and Wealth Accumulation: Intergenerational Impacts.

  Summary: Uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to examine how parents' housing choices relate to children's later homeownership and wealth accumulation.
  :contentReference[oaicite:4]{index=4}

• National Library of Medicine / PMC (Peer-reviewed research):
  The Association Between Parents' and Adult Children's Homeownership (Mulder et al.).

  Summary: Documents intergenerational transmission of homeownership, with stronger effects in higher-price contexts.
  :contentReference[oaicite:5]{index=5}

• National Library of Medicine / PMC (PSID overview + cited evidence):
  The Panel Study of Income Dynamics: Overview, Recent Innovations, and Potential for Life Course Research.

  Summary: Discusses PSID's research uses and notes evidence linking changes in housing wealth to outcomes like college attendance (via cited work).
  :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}

Retirement, Home Equity, and Managing Ongoing Housing Costs (taxes/insurance responsibilities; set-asides)

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB):
  What are my responsibilities as a reverse mortgage loan borrower?

  Summary: Explains that borrowers must keep up with property charges; describes how some reverse mortgage structures may use a "reserve/set-aside" to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance under certain conditions.
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• CFPB (PDF Guide):
  You have a reverse mortgage: Rights and responsibilities

  Summary: Discusses possible set-asides for taxes/insurance and clarifies ongoing responsibilities for other charges (HOA, etc.).
  :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}

• CFPB (Discussion Guide PDF):
  Reverse Mortgages: A Discussion Guide

  Summary: Explains what a set-aside is and how taxes/insurance may be handled in different payment arrangements.
  :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}

• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Advice:
  Reverse Mortgages

  Summary: Notes that lenders may require setting aside funds for costs like property taxes and homeowners insurance.
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