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Today, a single, 24-year-old woman shares how her search for her first home landed her in Central Florida, where she found a property that was not only in her budget—but also gave her the chance to start earning an income by renting parts of it out.
While soaring prices and inventory constraints are consistently keeping young homebuyers from stepping onto the property ladder, Tiffany—who does not wish to share her last name—found that by shopping for one property that brought in several income streams, she could make the numbers work.
Having bought her first property—an abandoned piece of land—at the age of 18, Tiffany was on the lookout for another parcel that would serve as the perfect location for her tiny house, but also had an existing dwelling that would enable her to get financing.
Speaking to Realtor.com®, she explains how she started her search, what she was looking for, and why she decided to take another look at a property she hated at first.
Tiffany, who shares about her real estate investments on Instagram @beautyandabuilder, explained that her journey started with buying a property at a tax deed auction and that acquiring more properties allowed her to leverage her way into her dream living situation.
Who is the homeowner?
Age: 24
Household setup: Single
Occupation: Real estate investor and content creator
What is the home like?
Location: Central Florida
Property type: Single-family house
Rooms: Three bedrooms, two bathrooms
Square footage and lot size: 1,008 square feet; 1 acre
What was the budget and how much were the final costs?
Maximum budget: $500,000
Asking price: $135,000
Closing price: $135,000
Taxes: $1,080
Inside the homebuying process
What was your home experience when you were growing up?
My parents moved here from Brazil 20 years ago. They bought a home in Connecticut, and within the first five years in the States, they bought several investment properties. My brother and I helped paint and pull weeds. I grew up learning about real estate, but buying property wasn’t something I had considered until later.
When did you buy your first property?
I was 18 when I bought my first property at a tax auction. I had been watching TikTok and saw a video about tax deed sales. At the time, I was working three jobs and had some savings. Right away, I looked up my county’s auctions. I found a property 10 minutes from where I was living, so I knew it wasn’t in a bad area.
My parents gave me a second opinion and, within a few days, I bought my first property—[a piece of] vacant land—for $12,000.
What led you to start thinking about buying again?
I had built a tiny house and was looking for something very specific to park it on. People asked me why I didn’t just put the tiny house on the land I bought at the tax auction, but zoning laws for that parcel wouldn’t have allowed it.
What led you to build a tiny house?
I was very interested in tiny homes after I did a high school project on them. After graduating, I bought a trailer to build it on, and talked my dad into helping.
It took three years and cost about $20,000. It took so long because I was going to college, working three jobs and renovating another property, so I worked just one day a week on it. We finished in 2022, and I needed somewhere to park it. RV parks aren’t too friendly about letting tiny homes rent spaces.
Did you have any non-negotiables?
I wanted to be close to my family in Central Florida, and I wanted at least an acre. I wanted land with a house, as that way I could get financing (it’s very difficult to mortgage land). The purchase price didn’t matter so much. It was more about the spread—as in, how much I would make from collecting rent, less the cost of the mortgage.
How long did you look before finding your home?
Longer than a year. In this area, it wasn’t hard to find properties, but it was hard to find a property that needed work. I wanted something where I could add value so if I had to sell, I would make my money back in profit. It also took longer because this was an investment property, and it was where I was going to live.
How many homes did you see in person?
Quite a few. There are two I still think about.
Did you make other offers?
Yes, two. There was a property that had been on the market a year and a half. It was 8 acres with two houses, and land that the owners leased to horse people. It was perfect for an investor. I made an offer but there were three others, and I lost.
I made a second offer on a listing that had been live for 30 days. It was a home on five acres, and the owner had died. It was listed at $369,000. I submitted a full-price offer. The next day, they dropped the asking price to $269,000. Not only did they not take my offer, they never even responded. I saw later that they sold it for $259,000. My real estate agent and I are still confused by that.
How did you know this was the one?
I didn’t. I hated it at first. It’s on a main road. The house was old and needed so much work. Then I reran the numbers from an investment standpoint and saw that this property made a lot of sense, so I went back with my contractor.
What offer did you make?
Initially, $125,000. I found out someone else had placed an offer higher than mine, so they said no to me. But those buyers were from out of state and when they learned the house wasn’t in good enough shape to qualify for financing, their deal fell through. When the sellers came back to me, I offered full ask.
Where did the down payment come from?
I did a cash-out refinance on one of my other rental properties. That gave me enough money to pay cash.
Tell us about the renovation of the home.
We took the home down to the studs. The second bathroom became a laundry room. We reconfigured the layout of the kitchen and the bathroom—and sacrificed a closet in the process. All in, the renovations cost $55,000. On top of that, I paid $10,000 for a new septic.
What does the home rent for?
It rents for $1,800. The whole property is one acre. I rent out half of the acre to a landscaping company that pays $400 a month to store equipment.
I also own another tiny house on this property and it rents for $950 a month. Together, that brings in $3,150 a month. Half of that is profit, but half of that goes to the mortgage for the first property, the one I refinanced to buy this place.
How much did it cost to get the tiny house set-up?
About $5,000. When I bought this place, there had been an RV here previously, so there was already a 30-amp cable set-up. They had knocked over the electrical box, so I had to replace that, but I didn’t have to run lines. That would have been so expensive.
What do you love most about your home?
I get to wake up every day and greet my neighbor—a horse. I love my other neighbors, as well. They’re also from Brazil. For Christmas, we had a big Brazilian barbecue. We’re also building a community garden together. That’s one of the best parts—to live next to people who feel like family.
