How To Buy A House At 25 By An American Girl: Stability Isn’t A Race To Be Won
To this girl, purchasing a house at 25 is neither about settling down nor racing to win. Instead, this is the minimum standard at the richest countries in the world.
She said that in her generation, the chance to see unicorns frolicking in Times Square is more probable than the opportunity to buy a house at the age of twentysomething. Especially for those living in bigger, more expensive cities. Therefore, it is even more difficult for young people to buy a house.
Erum Salam said she also wants to own a house of her own. She's sure she's not the only young woman who spends hours looking at houses she can't afford. She also said that she never believed she could actually purchase one of them.
It was not until when her grandparents settled down that they eventually bought real estate in New Jersey. She said that she always admired her grandparents and wanted to be like them, which is also the reason for her to buy a house.
When COVID-19 hit and caused unemployment across the United States, this girl decided to leave Queens to return to Texas with her family. This helped her fortunately escape the clutches of the economic downturn. If her grandparents had chosen New York or California to live, her story would have turned in a different direction.
She wasn't the only young woman to do it as 52% of people aged 18-29 moved back to live with their parents when the pandemic raged, according to statistics.
She started looking for and compiled a list of affordable homes in Texas. Moreover, at that time, interest rates were at a record low, which was an opportunity for Salam.
Salam stuck hundreds of pins on the map in her room to mark the locations of the houses. This seemed to her like a detective uncovering a murder.
She went into details with terms like margin and equity. It wasn't long before this young woman was also able to distinguish between an FHA and a conventional loan.
Then, this female author made a precedent with a real estate broker and emailed banks and mortgage lenders to see if she was eligible to buy a home.
Salam's total income is about $60,000/year, which is higher than the average in the US but slightly lower than people in New York.
She said that parents are the ones who understand what debt tuition is like, so they decided to never let their children endure it. As of 2018, only 3 out of 10 parents said they plan to pay for their child's full college tuition. Thanks to that, by the time she graduated from college, her student debt was $9,500. On average, millennials graduating in 2019 have to shoulder a debt of $29,900.
It was her low debt that helped her soon surpass many of her peers in the race to wealth. She spent her first year in New York with an apartment rent of $1,150 a month. She compared this room to the size of Harry Potter's bedroom under the stairs.
She later found a larger 2-bedroom apartment in Queens for only $700 USD/month, enabling her to save an extra $450/month for several years. Besides, she also paid off all student loans and saved an additional $14,000 with $1,800/month in disposable income.
Finally, a local bank approved a home loan worth $151,000, which made her think it was not crazy to buy a home amid the pandemic.
Soon there was a house for sale for $165,000, an affordable price for Salam. So she visited before signing the house purchase papers and was very satisfied despite many of its part needed repairing.
It has been several months since Salam owned a house. Sometimes she forgot the house really belonged to her. She said that in the coming years, she will continue to invest in the house so that it gradually increases in value.
House owning at 25, to Salam, should not be considered an achievement, because it should be achievable for most people living in the wealthiest countries in the world. Salam said that it is not necessary to wait until the pandemic and economic downturn for a low-income person to buy a home.
Salam is known for making impulsive decisions, so buying a home might just be a drastic attempt to capture stability.
“If I could go back to the beginning of 2020, I’d tell myself to buckle up for the wild year about to come. Today, I tell myself and anyone willing to listen that it’s important to be financially transparent."
Moreover, according to this young lady, you can totally celebrate every win no matter how big or small it is. If you can pay the rent then you've done well. But if you can't and need help, speak up.
The author also emphasized that: "Stability is not, as I once thought, a race to be won, but rather what should be the bare minimum standard in the world’s richest country."
H/T: The Guardian
The young woman said: "It is very difficult for young people to buy a house in the US."
Source: Twitter
She said that in her generation, the chance to see unicorns frolicking in Times Square is more probable than the opportunity to buy a house at the age of twentysomething. Especially for those living in bigger, more expensive cities. Therefore, it is even more difficult for young people to buy a house.
Erum Salam said she also wants to own a house of her own. She's sure she's not the only young woman who spends hours looking at houses she can't afford. She also said that she never believed she could actually purchase one of them.
Salam decided to buy a house for a very simple reason: Just because she wanted to be like her grandparents
The author said she grew up with a story about how her grandparents immigrated and how difficult it was to move from one apartment to another. They have never owned a piece of land, only rented it.It was not until when her grandparents settled down that they eventually bought real estate in New Jersey. She said that she always admired her grandparents and wanted to be like them, which is also the reason for her to buy a house.
Source: Twitter
Tip #1: Savings and transparency
Lucky thanks to her grandparents’ decision
Erum Salam said she was lucky when his grandparents decided to immigrate to the US in 1960. They attended college and earned a degree to secure a settlement in Texas. This is a state rife with real estate for the takin.When COVID-19 hit and caused unemployment across the United States, this girl decided to leave Queens to return to Texas with her family. This helped her fortunately escape the clutches of the economic downturn. If her grandparents had chosen New York or California to live, her story would have turned in a different direction.
She wasn't the only young woman to do it as 52% of people aged 18-29 moved back to live with their parents when the pandemic raged, according to statistics.
The house-buying idea came up upon homecoming
Source: Twitter
She started looking for and compiled a list of affordable homes in Texas. Moreover, at that time, interest rates were at a record low, which was an opportunity for Salam.
Salam stuck hundreds of pins on the map in her room to mark the locations of the houses. This seemed to her like a detective uncovering a murder.
She went into details with terms like margin and equity. It wasn't long before this young woman was also able to distinguish between an FHA and a conventional loan.
Then, this female author made a precedent with a real estate broker and emailed banks and mortgage lenders to see if she was eligible to buy a home.
Salam's total income is about $60,000/year, which is higher than the average in the US but slightly lower than people in New York.
Saving money thanks to parents’ financial support
Source: Twitter
She said that parents are the ones who understand what debt tuition is like, so they decided to never let their children endure it. As of 2018, only 3 out of 10 parents said they plan to pay for their child's full college tuition. Thanks to that, by the time she graduated from college, her student debt was $9,500. On average, millennials graduating in 2019 have to shoulder a debt of $29,900.
It was her low debt that helped her soon surpass many of her peers in the race to wealth. She spent her first year in New York with an apartment rent of $1,150 a month. She compared this room to the size of Harry Potter's bedroom under the stairs.
She later found a larger 2-bedroom apartment in Queens for only $700 USD/month, enabling her to save an extra $450/month for several years. Besides, she also paid off all student loans and saved an additional $14,000 with $1,800/month in disposable income.
Tip #2: Scrutinize before decision
House-buying decision amid the pandemic
Source: Twitter
Finally, a local bank approved a home loan worth $151,000, which made her think it was not crazy to buy a home amid the pandemic.
Soon there was a house for sale for $165,000, an affordable price for Salam. So she visited before signing the house purchase papers and was very satisfied despite many of its part needed repairing.
It has been several months since Salam owned a house. Sometimes she forgot the house really belonged to her. She said that in the coming years, she will continue to invest in the house so that it gradually increases in value.
House owning at 25, to Salam, should not be considered an achievement, because it should be achievable for most people living in the wealthiest countries in the world. Salam said that it is not necessary to wait until the pandemic and economic downturn for a low-income person to buy a home.
Satisfied with the "impulsive" decision
Source: Twitter
Salam is known for making impulsive decisions, so buying a home might just be a drastic attempt to capture stability.
“If I could go back to the beginning of 2020, I’d tell myself to buckle up for the wild year about to come. Today, I tell myself and anyone willing to listen that it’s important to be financially transparent."
Moreover, according to this young lady, you can totally celebrate every win no matter how big or small it is. If you can pay the rent then you've done well. But if you can't and need help, speak up.
The author also emphasized that: "Stability is not, as I once thought, a race to be won, but rather what should be the bare minimum standard in the world’s richest country."
H/T: The Guardian
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