“I Want It… But I’m Afraid to Do It”

This is a sentence I hear more often than people realize. Sometimes it’s said out loud. More often, it shows up in behavior.

We want the change. We’ve thought it through. We’ve run the numbers. We’ve even taken steps toward it. And then we stop.

Not because it’s the wrong move — but because it feels safer to wait.

There’s something about the end of January that makes this especially visible. The energy of a new year starts to wear off. The excitement fades. Real life creeps back in. Doubt gets louder. What felt possible a few weeks ago suddenly feels risky.

We tell ourselves we’re being cautious. Responsible. Patient.

But often, what’s really happening is fear.

I think about this every year when I look back at January. Last January alone, I had roughly 30 loan applications from people who genuinely wanted to buy a home. They were qualified. They were thoughtful. They had done the work.

Only two of them actually bought.

Not because the others couldn’t. Because they waited.

Fear has a way of disguising itself as logic. We tell ourselves we’re waiting for the perfect time, more certainty, better conditions. But the truth is, certainty rarely arrives first. Confidence usually comes after we move, not before.

Right now, the data points matter. We’re seeing the market shift. Rates are meaningfully lower than they were a year ago. FHA and first-time buyer rates are hovering in the mid-5s to low-6s. Even non-QM options are a full point cheaper than this time last year. Inventory dynamics are changing, and buyer leverage won’t last forever.

I don’t say that to create urgency. I say it because it’s real.

Markets don’t send announcements when they turn. They shift quietly, and by the time it feels obvious, the advantage is already gone. Buyer’s markets don’t disappear overnight, but they do close slowly — often while people are still waiting to feel “ready.”

What I see, over and over again, is the gap between knowing and doing. We know the next step makes sense. We know the numbers work. We know staying frozen isn’t actually protecting us. And yet we hesitate.

That hesitation usually isn’t about money. It’s about fear of regret. Fear of making the wrong move. Fear of committing and finding out later we could have done better.

Ironically, waiting carries its own cost.

Stagnation feels safe because nothing changes. But nothing improves either. The opportunity cost of not acting doesn’t show up immediately, which makes it easy to ignore — until it’s too late to recover.

This is where the right support matters.

Most of us don’t need someone to push us. We need someone to help us think clearly when fear starts driving the decision. We need context. We need to understand what’s reversible and what isn’t. We need to know whether waiting actually improves the outcome, or just delays it.

At Pomeroy Lending, this is often the real work. Not the paperwork. Not the rates. The conversation that helps someone move from “I want this, but I’m afraid” to “I understand the risks, and I’m choosing to move anyway.”

Sometimes that leads to a loan. Sometimes it leads to a plan and better timing. Either way, the goal is the same: replacing fear with clarity.

If you’re feeling stuck right now — especially as the momentum of January starts to fade — it might not be because it’s the wrong time. It might be because you’re waiting for certainty that only comes after action.

A conversation doesn’t commit you to anything. But it can help you understand whether waiting is actually serving you, or quietly holding you back.

And that clarity alone is often enough to move forward.

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Liana Pomeroy

Senior Mortgage Loan Advisor

NMLS #295506 | Powered by Xpert Home Lending NMLS #2179191

Equal Housing Lender | Licensed in CO, FL, CA, TN & TX

All loans subject to approval. Conditions apply.