Underage Homeowner

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October 8, 2009 at 03:30pm

Before she was old enough to legally drink alcohol, Denise Tejada bought a house in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. Her brother Wilmer bought his first house when he was 21 and now he’s planning to invest in a second property soon.

Watch the video to find out how they did it.

Previously:

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Comments

Very Motivating.

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/03/2010 - 20:40.

This is an extremely motivating story to me. Especially being on my own at 18years old and paying my own way through life as well. I would really like to ask everyone that has commented so far to please not be judgmental about Denise's situation, considering you do not know anything about what she has going on in there life. Also I would like to just say for everyone saying Denise is going to go into debt because she "is paying 1/2 her income in mortgage". I don't know if I understood the video correctly or not but I'm pretty sure she said that she only lives off her part-time job salary, and saves her checks from her full-time job. One of her jobs is being a Production Assistant at Youth Radio (the same radio that featured this story),she started low on the employee map, just as anyone would for any job, so obviously she is working hard for what she wants and believes in. This means she may or may not have a higher salary than the average 20yr old employee. But, in my mind if i was understanding the video correctly, if she were to lose a job or end up in a little debt, she most likely has some money saved up that she can fall back on until she recovers from the layoff. And even if she didn't, the main point on the story is to teach use how to save money and not put ourselves or our families in bad financial situations, not to bash someone else's decisions in life. Also to most of the comments posted on October 18th, The economy is not the way it is because people are taking out loans or trying to make a living for themselves/family. The economy is more out of control because of people wasting money on things that they want rather then need. All in all, I applaud you for your ability to have self-discipline with your earnings, as well as being so brave and determined to come to the Americas in search of the American Dream. Thank you for being one of the few in the younger generation that is taking their life even a little serious. Congrats on the new house, and keep up the good work :) Thanks again ! -- Karla

Weighing in from the author

Submitted by denise on Tue, 10/20/2009 - 11:09.

Here is the conversation my story has prompted http://www.publicradio.org/columns/marketplace/scratchpad/2009/10/she_bought_a_home_at_20.html I appreciate this lively and interesting comment stream, and I just want to clarify some of the questions that are coming up. But first something you should know about me. I came to this country to achieve the American Dream. I’m an immigrant and I know the value of hard work and making good, honest choices. I didn’t buy this house on a whim. Buying a house is a risk for anyone, and as a young buyer, I’ve been challenged all along the way. With hard work and sound decisions, I’m planning to prove my doubters wrong. First, my loan is for 183k which includes my mortgage loan of 155k and my remodeling loan of 29,600 minus my initial deposit of $1,500. My mortgage payment of $1,328 does in fact include my homeowner’s insurance and property taxes. Secondly, if you subtract my mortgage payment from my monthly income, I’m left with $1,142 per/month, which is plenty for me. I have two credit cards—that I barely touch—a cable bill, gas, food, and utilities. I’m not scraping to get by. During a time when so many people are losing jobs, of course, I think about what would happen if I lost one of mine. However, I honestly think I am prepared. I have some options. I could find renters for my two additional bedrooms. I’m young and able-bodied and ready to work, so I could probably still get work that other people don’t want. For instance, I could clean floors, windows, etc. I don’t want to be someone that depends on the government to sustain me financially. I was brought up with a work ethic of working hard until the end. If I was really strained financially, I know my family would be there to support me. Many of the comments asked why I’m not in school. I do plan on continuing my college education. By having roommates, I can cover most of my mortgage, which would help me pay for college. Plus there are people who are twice my age going back to school. I’m only 21; I have time on my side. I know that my type of loan is controversial to some people, but I’m confident that my house is a good investment. I got a historically low interest rate and paid far less than market rate. One last thing to clarify, I'm Salvadorean not Guatemalan.

This is terrible

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 21:44.

This video is very sad. There's no way that she should have been allowed to go into debt that much to buy that house. She's in way over her head. The monthly payments on her debt amount to $1328. Her income is $2470, leaving her with just $285 a week to live on. She's paying 54% of her income to make the mortgage payments. The lender that made that loan to her should be thrown in jail.

How much do they make?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 19:26.

Nice how they simplified this "extraordinary" story without going into how much money they "kids" made or what their monthly payments are like. Its not magic to own a home at a young age if your income is decent and stable enough.

How did they get the mortgage?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 19:22.

I wish the video looked at how they funded their mortgage. I just bought a house in the same area 2 months ago. I looked at fixer uppers but many lenders won't fund loans on that type of property. I'd love to know how they got funding and if there were any stipulations on the loan.

calculator.

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 15:32.

Via Henry Blodgett, a guy who knows how to use a calculator: "The monthly payments on her debt amount to $1328. Her income is $2470, leaving her with just $285 a week to live on. She's paying 54% of her income to make the mortgage payments. She earns that income by holding down one full time and two part time jobs. Obviously, this woman has a strong work ethic. But it also means her income is precarious. With unemployment still rising, she obviously should be worried about losing one of her three jobs. A loss of one of them would likely leave her unable to make the debt payments." Her behavior is reckless and government subsidized gambling. Unfortunately, she isn't old enough to understand that her behavior, mimicked by millions across the country, brought our country to its knees. We'll bail her and her brother out when they get in trouble though. Because . . . wait . . . why should we bail out their reckless behavior?

This is why the economy is in bad shape

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 10/18/2009 - 12:44.

Um... if her mortgage is 51% of her income and she lives on ~$250-$300 a week then how does she pay insurance and utlities and food and healthcare? Come on people this video shows why the economy is in bad shape and will be for years.

Interesting

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 19:57.

Nice to know there are regions where you can still get a decent mortgage without being practically rich (presumably they'll be able to build equity at a reasonable rate in that area?). This looks like a good time to buy where the percentage of income required to own has fallen significantly. Get em' if you can! Just watch out for the ones that will cost an arm & a leg to fix up.

AWESOME VIDEO. Denise and

Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 10/10/2009 - 15:54.

AWESOME VIDEO. Denise and Wilmer, you guys are phenomenal.

great video

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 10/08/2009 - 15:58.

Really interesting to see how you guys did it, you make it look easy!

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