By Ron Sandison
After writing my fourth book Adulting on the Spectrum I felt like I had one thing I had not yet achieved which my brothers and friends had accomplished, own a house.
Ron Sandison
Autism has made life a challenge for me. Only 3% of people with autism are gainfully employed, 85% of autistic individuals with a college degree are either unemployed or underemployed, and the average life expectancy is 54 years old.
Every milestone in my life took me longer then my peers and brothers. I graduated from high school at 20, I was 35 years old before I had a long term relationship, 36 when I moved out of my parents’ home, 37 when I got married, 41 when I became a father and my first book was published, and I just purchased my first home at age 49.
Reaching my goals with autism like buying a house and publishing books required two things a great support team of family and friends, and self-efficacy. My support team consists of my wife, parents, and older brothers Steve and Chuck. They help me make wise decisions and take healthy risks. Self-efficacy has empowered me to have confidence to accomplish my goals.
I bought my first home in November and paid two thirds of the price in cash making the mortgage low. My dad had a protestant work ethic, “If a man will not work, he shall not eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). I learned life skills through employment and my dad taught me to save money to purchase a house. At age 12, I had my first job cutting our acre lawn with a push lawnmower. I had my first job outside the house at age 14 bussing tables at Bill Knapp’s.
Employment from an early age helped me gain skills like budgeting and saving money, dealing with angry customers, and making friends with coworkers. My dad had 3 rules for saving money. First 10% goes to God or charity, next 10% goes to my saving account, and the final 80% I can spent on what I want. There was twist on the 80%. If I desired to buy a pair of expensive designer jeans like Levi’s or stylish shoes like Air Jordon’s, I had to first go to Kmart and write down the price of the off-brand jeans or with shoes go to Payless and write down the price of a comparable brand of shoes. After I wrote down the prices, I’d minus the price of the brand name item from the off-brand. My dad would then give me the amount for the off-brand and say, “You could have saved money if you would’ve bought the Kmart brand of jeans or the Payless shoes.”
This encouraged me to save money by buying off-band items, clothes when they are out of season, or on sale. The lessons I learned from my dad and my support team empowered me to overcome the challenges of buying a home.
First, challenge and biggest was the price of a home. The average price of a house in Michigan varies widely by location, but the median home price is about $230,000, with the median sales price at around $235,000. According to data from the National Association of Realtors, the median price for an existing home one that’s already standing, not new construction in the United States is $404,500 as of September 2024. As the data shows housing in the U.S is extremely expensive and for many unaffordable.
For me to buy a house I had to save for thirty years and have gainful employment. My early employment in restaurants and telemarketing prepared me for my career in the mental health field and as a national author and speaker.
Anita Lesko, a nurse anesthetist and author shares:
The job market is highly competitive for everyone, even neuro-typicals.
For those on the autism spectrum, it’s far more difficult. But it’s up to
parents to get your kids out there doing various jobs at an early age.
Start them at home doing chores…
Having autism and working a career-type job is like going to a foreign
country, not speaking their language, and trying to survive. To this day,
all these years later, I still feel like a foreigner in a strange land. Yet I’ve
built enough experience and “learned the language” enough to have a
successful career. I know without a doubt in my mind that I would never
have made it as an anesthetist if I hadn’t had all my previous jobs.
Without living within your financial means, saving money, and employment, you will have difficulty affording a house in this stressful market. For a 240,000 dollar house the property taxes is about 3,000 and you will spent about 2,500 to 3,000 on annual home repairs and maintenance.
Second, the challenge of hidden cost. When you buy a house you need to have money saved for the hidden cost. These consists of a home inspection, closing cost, down payment, maintenance costs, and some homes like townhouses and condos have a HOA monthly fee (homeowners association). Our home inspections was 400 dollars and closing cast was about 6,000 dollars, and living in a townhouse we have a HOA of 378 a month.
We on the spectrum often fail to consider the hidden cost. The average down payment on a house varies depending on a number of factors, including the type of loan, the state of the housing market, and the home’s price. In 2023, the average down payment for a first time homeowner was 8%. A support team can help you consider the amount you will need to save to buy a house and the value of the house you’re planning to purchase. When buying a home make a list of the different costs.
Third, the challenge of good credit. The higher your credit score the lower the interest rate on your mortgage. You’ll typically need a credit score of 620 to finance a home purchase. This was a challenge for me because I never had a credit card so I had zero credit but plenty of money in the bank. I overcame this challenge by purchasing the home in my wife’s name and using her credit score of almost 800. You’ll need to get a credit card to establish a credit score; make sure each month to pay off your balance so you don’t incur interest and debt. The average credit card interest rate in America is 24.43% so use your credit card with discretion.
Finally, the challenge of navigating the hidden rules of buying a house—this requires a professional, experienced, and honest realtor agent who will act as your advocate. Last year in November of 2023, I almost purchased a home with major foundation issues because I had a dishonest realtor representing me. Before I decided to purchase the house, I asked this realtor is there any disclosure on the home or anything I should be aware of, and he said no. Five minutes after I dropped off the 5,000 earnest deposit I received a text from him stating there was a disclosure and the home had foundational issues. This dishonest realtor wanting to make a quick profit lied to me about the disclosure and he had a friend do the home inspection who was involved in the scam and this cost me 500 dollars. I immediately called the realtor seller agent and got my earnest deposit back and declined the purchase.
My support team helped me get an honest realtor to represent me. She confirmed that there were no disclosures on the house and helped me research and hire a reliable home inspector, and she negotiated the price down. You can find a good realtor agent by asking friends, family members, or coworkers who recently bought a home to recommend a realtor. Most important when buying a home check that there are no home disclosures.
Proverbs 24:27 says, “Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” When buying a home you need to be financially secure and learn skills for regular home maintenance and repairs such as changing the furnace filter and removing leaves and debris from gutters. A hone requires a ton of work and money set aside for unexpected repairs.
By overcoming these challenges my family and I are enjoying a new home and I am learning skills for home repairs and maintenance. My support team’s insight and encouragement helped make the process of buying a home smother. My brother Steve gave me great advice, “Before you move into your new home have the carpet and vents professionally cleaned to prevent allergies.” Best of all I have an office for my library of 5,000 books, a place to write my articles and books, and my daughter Makayla has a Bleuy bedroom.
Video of me sharing about my new home
Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of America. Sandison has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom, published by Charisma House and Thought, Choice, Action. Ron has memorized over 10,000 Scriptures including 22 complete books of the New Testament and over 5,000 quotes. Ron’s third book Views from the Spectrum was released in May 2021.
Ron frequently guest speaks at colleges, conferences, autism centers, and churches. Ron and his wife, Kristen, reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with a baby daughter, Makayla Marie born on March 20, 2016.
You can contact Ron at his website www.spectruminclusion.com or email him at [email protected]
