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This 14-Year-Old Girl Just Bought A House In Florida

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F

freshair

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willow.jpg


Meet Willow Tufano, age 14: Lady Gaga fan, animal lover, landlord.

In 2005, when Willow was 7, the housing market was booming . Home prices in some Florida neighborhoods nearly doubled from one month to the next. Her family moved into a big house; her mom became a real estate agent.

But as Willow moved from childhood to adolescence, the market turned, and the neighborhood emptied out. "Everyone is getting foreclosed on here," she says.

After the collapse, Willow's mom started working with investors who wanted to bid on cheap, foreclosed homes. Sometimes Willow tagged along.

One day, she went to a house that an investor wanted to flip. "It was filled with all kinds of stuff!" Willow says. "I was like, 'I can sell this stuff if he'd want to let me have it.'"

That was fine with the investor. So Willow sold the furniture and appliances from the house on Craigslist. She did the same thing with a bunch more houses. After a while, she was clearing about $500 a month, and saving a lot of it.

One day, Willow's mom, Shannon, saw a two-bedroom, concrete-block home on auction for $12,000 — down from $100,000 at the peak of the bubble.". Shannon was telling her husband about the house, when Willow piped up.

"I was like, 'What if I bought a house?'" Willow says. "That would be crazy

Willow wound up splitting the house with her mom. Willow plans to buy her mom out in the next few years, and put her name on the title when she turns 18.

The place was a mess when they bought it — "like there was a riot or something," Willow says.

They cleaned it up and rented it out to a young couple for $700 a month.

As I was working on this story, I kept thinking that when a 14 year-old kid can buy a house, the market must have hit bottom. I kept saying this to Willow, and she'd sort of vaguely nod.

But It's hard for Willow to see herself as symbolic of anything. To a 14 year-old kid in Florida, the housing collapse is basically the only world she's known. It's the landscape. It's a Craigslist hobby.

She's thinking she may save up for a second home
Click to expand...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012...rl-just-bought-a-house-in-florida?sc=fb&cc=fp
 
U n i o n 0015

U n i o n 0015

Member
Very cool! It really depends on the area. I can probably buy a city block in Detroit, but I'd be lucky to get a closet in NYC.
 
D

Darklord

Banned
One day, Willow's mom, Shannon, saw a two-bedroom, concrete-block home on auction for $12,000
Click to expand...

Wait...what? $12,000? Really? Holy shit, I'd be lucky to find a place in my city for under $600,000, close to the city probably $900,000.
 
S

Switters

Member
Shit, all of NeoGAF could not afford 1 house on Bird Key. It would be cool to be Brian Johnson's neighbor though... maybe.
 
Z

Zzoram

Member
Hmm, so the housing bubble collapse just created tons of cheap property for people with money to buy and hold, and become uber rich in 10 years when things are better?
 
M

Mr. B Natural

Member
Zzoram said:
Hmm, so the housing bubble collapse just created tons of cheap property for people with money to buy and hold, and become uber rich in 10 years when things are better?
Click to expand...
That's step 1 and 2. Step 3 is to bubble it back up so you can sell it and then buy it up again when the process repeats itself.

And there's a secret step 4 which is to deny you had any factor or control over the bubble. Do not go to jail and do collect your 200 dollars.
 
A

Aylinato

Member
If you guys come buying everything in Detroit we are naming our part of the city GAMING SIDE. I will not let you secede from Detroit. WE WILL RISE FROM THE ASHES. can't beat that motto.
 
Z

zap

Member
I remember when I was a kid around 8-10 I saw a $15,000 house with sea views, but it was in a bad neighbourhood. I tried to convince my parents that they should get it, as the worst that could happen is they sell at break even. Right after that we had a big housing boom, that same house would have been worth 10x its value.

My parents wouldn't have a bar of it though :(
 
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