When 22-year-old Lu saved $113,000 for a down payment on her first apartment, she found that her real estate agent couldn't “take her seriously”.
Sydney woman works in tech and saves deposit by living in house with “virtually no expenses”
“I cover essential expenses such as travel, food, health and entertainment. I am able to save and invest most of my income,” she told news.com.au.
“I am also disciplined with my money. When I get paid, I put some money aside for savings so I don’t have to spend it on my daily life. Then I spend the rest of the money for that month.”
Of Lou Her hard work paid off and she successfully purchased her first apartment in Sydney, costing her over $500,000 and now paying $2,722 a month, bringing her weekly expenses to $680.
But even after saving a six-figure deposit, she still faced unexpected challenges that made her homebuying experience a disappointment.
Even though she had a steady job, enough money to save, and was a motivated buyer, Lu said it was hard to find real estate agents and brokers who would take her seriously.
“I try very hard to get people to take me seriously when talking to lenders, agents and real estate agents. Because of my age, they seem suspicious of whether I save money for a deposit or are concerned about my income,” she says.
“I would feel very small when I talked to them. When I went to look, some real estate agents would think I wasn't serious about my offer, or wouldn't answer my questions in detail, or they would imply that I was married, even though I'd never said anything to them like, 'What does your husband do? '”
People didn't express their doubts subtly.
“I remember one agent implying that I lied about my income, saying, ‘I don’t know anyone who makes as much as you,’” she said.
“People assume I’m buying from a partner rather than a single candidate. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a woman or because I’m my age. They also think I don’t know what I’m doing and talk down to me when I explain simple things to them.”
The answer was disappointing to Lou, who had long wanted to break into the real estate market and had to work very hard to get into it in the early days without the help of “Mom and Dad’s bank.”
“I’ve always wanted to get into real estate, but the fear made me a little nervous. I wanted something that was mine, something I owned,” she says.
“In my free time, I often look at properties online and imagine what it would be like to live there and have my own space.”
Buying her own home is a long-term goal for the 22-year-old, and one she has been working towards for years.
“I set a goal to buy a property when I was 25, but with work and investments I was able to reach my deposit goal much earlier. I started talking to lenders and agents and found out that I could actually buy a property this year,” she said.
Lou also did her research and was aware of most of the hidden costs of buying her own home, even though there were some unexpected costs.
“I was surprised at the transferee fees and fees for the condominium, building and pest inspection reports. I was also surprised that I had to pay for these inspection reports even though I did not purchase the property,” she said.
Lou now shares her home buying story online, hoping it will be helpful to other young people.
“I have received many messages from young people who have been inspired by my story and now feel hopeful about their future. With so much fear, many young people have given up on saving money or owning assets. However, seeing ordinary people going to school and working full time inspires them.”
