Step into the time machine and travel to the mid 70's. Young and in love, my boyfriend and I were engaged to be married. I'm not sure how the topic of buying a house came up; I'm not sure we even discussed it. My parents had always owned a home, so we assumed we would own a home one day, too.
My dad worked for the largest employer in town, the local factory, so he knew a lot of people. He came home from work one day and mentioned an older couple wanted to sell their home. He asked if I was interested. It was an incredible opportunity to own a 3 bedroom, one bath home for the AMAZING price of $9,500! We said YES to seeing the home, and YES to the address.
What is more incredible than purchasing a home for $9,500 is the seller offered us all their furniture for an additional $1,000. So for $10,500 we had a fully furnished home to start married life.
Because we were SO young, Dad put the house in his name until we were of legal age; once we were married he signed the house (along with the monthly payments) over to us. If I remember correctly, the mortgage payment was between $200 - $250, and we wondered how we would make it work.
The house served its purpose of providing a roof over our heads, but it didn't take long to realize I wasn't thrilled with the location. It was outside the city limits and I preferred living closer to town. So after three years, we sold the house and doubled our money in the process. We did it again a few years later. I can honestly say it was the best investment we could have made, and it started me down the path of moving every 3-5 years.
After those first two successful sales, I was HOOKED! I accidentally discovered the path to smart real estate investing at a very early age. Eventually I got my real estate license and the rest, as they say, is history.
I apologize for the awful photos, but that's what you got in the 1970s. You'd aim, shoot, and wait for the film to be developed. And since it was rare to get snow in Mississippi, you had to document the occasion. These are the only photos I have of the first home I ever purchased.
I truly hope you enjoyed this little walk down memory lane. Looking back, my dad did me a HUGE favor by finding this little cottage. I'm sure he wanted me to have a safe, affordable place to live as I started out on my own. It still boggles the mind that we bought a house for $9,500.
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