Aug 6, 2024
Charly Bass-Davis moved to Wilmington, Delaware, when she was 10 years old. At the time, there were thriving businesses and a solid sense of community.
But with the increase in housing prices, she watched her beloved neighborhood lose its luster in recent years, filling up with unoccupied homes and vacant lots.
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Bass-Davis, who had previously worked as a laborer and restauranter, decided to change that.
She started working with the Jumpstart Wilmington program, which helps local residents own and revitalize property in their neighborhood through community-focused real estate development training and financing options.
Now, she has her own business, Steel Development, which renovates and sells these newly revitalized homes to people with lower incomes.
“We have that power and that community union that it takes to uplift and revitalize an entire system,” she told 6abc Philadelphia.
Even if you don’t have a Bass-Davis pitching in to revamp your city, there are other paths to affordable housing.
Co-buying with family or friends
Bass-Davis’s business model leans on the community to make housing more affordable. Consider researching similar avenues that you may be able to access within your own community.
The Federal Reserve’s latest numbers show that the median sales price of a home is $412,300.
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If you plan to put a 20% down payment on a home — the traditional amount — then you’d need to have more than $80,000 on hand.
That’s over $20,000 more than most people make in one year, according to the latest salary data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This startling statistic has inspired some Americans to get creative when it comes to homeownership.
Kristina Modares found a way to get around these high prices. The Austin, Texas, resident pools her savings together with friends to purchase properties around the city. Since age 25, Modares has purchased six homes with her friends.
According to a survey from U.S. surety bond provider, JW Surety Bonds, 13% of Americans had purchased a home in recent years with a non-romantic partner, such as a sibling, friend, or parent.
This is because 25% of those who have bought homes with non-romantic partners said they couldn’t have afforded a home on their own.
However, there are downsides to this approach. People change and friendships can fall apart, putting your money and property at risk.
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To hopefully prevent this from happening to you, it’s crucial to have frank discussions about money and property before you make any co-buying decisions with non-romantic partners.
It may be wise to involve a lawyer to ensure that everyone has proper legal protections in place should the plan fall apart. Think of it as a prenup, but for friends.
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An alternative real estate investment
If you’re wary of co-buying a home with friends or family, alternative real estate investments offer a low-cost entry into the housing market.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) generate passive income and are bought and sold just like stocks.
If you’re looking for exposure to real estate without the actual hassle of homeownership — no need to stress about broken furnaces or leaky roofs — REITs are a beginner-friendly investment that doesn’t require large amounts of money to invest.
It also allows you to diversify your portfolio across property types (apartment buildings or shopping centers, for example) and geographic locations.
Publicly-traded REITs offer the advantage of liquidity because investors can sell their shares at any time. This may be a preferable avenue for those who want to avoid any possible protracted legal struggles with a non-romantic co-owner down the road.
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Sabina Wex is a writer and podcast producer in Toronto. Her work has appeared in Business Insider, Fast Company, CBC and more.
