255. I Bought a House! What It’s Really Like to Buy Your First Home Solo

0:00Tiffany Aliche:I have infamously been the multi-millionaire who rents. There have been national articles written about this phenomenon. And I just bought a house.

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1:47Tiffany Aliche:We knew this day would come eventually. Maybe I knew it. You might not have known it, but I did. And I have said for years that renting was a better decision for me than buying. But I just bought my first house at age 31. So I'm telling you everything about the home buying process. What made me decide to actually buy a home? All of the emotionality of the home buying process, how much things cost, everything that went into my decision. So if you're thinking about home buying, this is the episode for you. And also if you're just sneaky and want to know why I changed my mind. We're talking about that.

2:19Tiffany Aliche:Okay, so first, let's talk about the I'm a multimillionaire who rents. So I became a multimillionaire at 27. I went from 100k net worth at 25, which was kind of the impetus of starting her first 100k to being a millionaire and then a multimillionaire at 27. Through that process, I've taught millions of other women how to be better with money. Obviously, our entire company and organization focuses on being better with money. One of the narratives I was fed over and over and over again is that you are not financially successful unless you are a homeowner. And specifically, the moment you can buy a house, you should buy a house.

2:57Tiffany Aliche:Now, if you are new to the show, if you are watching on YouTube and you've never heard my story before, first of all, welcome. Hi, you can subscribe if you feel like it, is that I almost bought a house when I was 22. I almost bought a condo an hour outside of Seattle because it was the only thing I could afford. And when I reflect on that decision, it was one of the best things I ever did. Backing out was one of the best things I ever did. And there's more in that episode. I can direct you there. It's in the show notes. But basically, what it came down to was it did not fit the season of my life.

3:29Tiffany Aliche:If I would have purchased that home, I would have been spending every weekend with my parents. No, thank you. Not when I was 23. I would have been living so far outside of where I worked that I would have been commuting in at least an hour and a half one way each day, which would have been exhausting and left me no room to hang out with my coworkers or to make friends in Seattle or to have a life where I got to go to the gym and take care of myself. And I also don't think my business would be here in the same way. I don't think I would have had as much business success because the networking opportunities weren't there.

4:10Tiffany Aliche:The feeling of a city would have been different. And so me backing out of that home buying decision at 22 was one of the best financial decisions I've ever made. And from then on, not only was I okay renting, I couldn't afford anything else. I definitely couldn't afford to be a homeowner in Seattle. I could not have afforded to even buy a condo in Seattle because I was making$55 ,000 a year and then$60 ,000 a year and got these incremental increases. And before we even go any further, I want to acknowledge that the only reason I was able to buy a house now is because I went from 100K at 25 to multi-millions at 27.

4:53Tiffany Aliche:That's the only reason. I have talked so much on this show. I have talked so much in my work about how homeownership, this expectation of success for Americans, this American dream, is no longer accessible for the vast majority of people. So not only did it not fit my lifestyle, but I was just like probably most of you watching. I couldn't afford to buy where I wanted to live. Even when that financially changed, it still did not fit the season of my life. When I was 27 and now had a little bit more money, maybe a lot of it more money, I was like, I like renting. At 27, I packed up all of my stuff in my one-bedroom apartment, put it in storage, and traveled the world for nearly a year living out of Airbnbs.

5:42Tiffany Aliche:That would have been a lot harder if I was a homeowner. I would have had an additional mortgage plus that Airbnb cost, right? And even if I had one or two million dollars in the bank, that's still pretty expensive to pay double a mortgage, right? I was also writing a book that then became a New York Times bestseller. I was running a multi-million dollar company. I had a lot of other focuses besides home ownership. I didn't want to be weeding my yard. I didn't want to be painting. I didn't want to be worried about something exploding in the basement and I don't know. Like, I just didn't want the hassle of home ownership.

6:17Tiffany Aliche:So what changed? Well, I started feeling more harmony in my life. And the reason I use harmony and not balance is because balance is bullshit and doesn't exist. But for the first time ever, I was writing in my journals last year that I felt like I had a good harmony between my life outside of work and my work. I had never experienced that before in my entire life. School always took precedent, and then college always took precedent, and then my job always took precedent, and then my company. Like, everything in my life revolved around work. And I had to do a lot of work, I guess pun intended, to create a life for myself and relationships for myself and interesting things to do that did not have to do with work.

7:12Tiffany Aliche:and I got to the point as an entrepreneur where I could start saying no to opportunities that I didn't want to do even if they were quote-unquote smart business decisions I got to have more of this understanding of where and when I liked to do work and like to pour in my company and when I wanted to say no. So first of all, my life just kind of opened up. I think that comes with your Saturn return. I think that comes with turning 30. But the biggest impetus was that I got kicked out of my apartment. That's what happened. So my first solo apartment that I lived in in Seattle, I lived in for three years.

7:58Tiffany Aliche:I loved it. It was 650 square feet. It was everything I needed at the time, I was in my mid-20s, and I started her first 100K out of that apartment. I lived during COVID in that apartment by myself, and I probably would have stayed in that apartment. But then my landlord decided to sell the condo. She decided to sell that apartment. That was the impetus of me packing up my stuff and saying, okay, I'm going to travel the world for a while and see what happens. When I returned from that year of travel, it was June of 2022. I moved into a different place, a little bit bigger, had a designated home office.

8:33Tiffany Aliche:It was really nice. It was like, oh my gosh, I have all this space. It was a townhouse in Seattle. I would have stayed there. But in January of this year, I got a call from my landlord and he told me that he was planning on selling the house. So I was right back where I started. I had to ask myself, okay, do we want to find a new place to rent? Do we want to pack up all our stuff again and travel the world? The answer to both of those was no. Because I was frankly sick of having somebody else decide where I was going to live every single year. And I didn't like that lack of stability. I was creating all of this stability in the rest of my life.

9:16Tiffany Aliche:I had been in my relationship for nearly three years at that point. The business was doing really well. Again, I was able to say no to certain opportunities. And I was like, I want to be able to make a decision of when I leave, when I stay, and what I want my life to look like. And that's when I went, okay, I think it's time. I think it's time to buy a house. So when we come back from this word with our sponsors, I'm sharing the parts of the home buying process that shocked me the most, including the home I almost bought, but didn't, and had an absolute conniption over and cried and why. We'll be right back.

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12:14Tiffany Aliche:So I've decided I think I want to be a homeowner. Was this an overnight decision? Kind of. I'm gonna be honest with you, kind of. I think I was ready. I had done all the emotional prep work where I was like, okay, I think I'm at the point in my life where I want a garden to tend to and want some home projects and want to make a space my own and don't want somebody deciding how long I get to stay. Again, I know the privilege in that. Most people don't get to decide when and how they live or how long they get to stay. I know. But I was at the freedom point to say, okay, I think I'm ready to do this.

12:55Tiffany Aliche:Let's talk about the timeline here. So I knew in January that my landlord was planning on selling my house. My lease was not up until the end of June. He told me that if I found a different place to stay earlier, we could figure that out and he could put it in the market sooner. But I was planning on staying until the end of June because I just didn't want to hassle with moving out sooner. So a couple months went by just normal and I just kind of had it in the back of my head. And then around March or April, I think it was like, okay, we're going to do this. It's about time. Let's go. I connected with a friend of mine whose partner is a real estate agent and his incredible team.

13:36Tiffany Aliche:We had talked actually many years prior about buying a house because about every year he got a phone call from me where I was like, I think I'm interested and I think I'm ready. I was not ready. And he was very kind enough to walk me through the process, but never up to going and looking at houses. I think I looked at one house and kind of considered buying it, but got a total feeling of dread every time I walked in there. And that's how I knew it wasn't my house. So he was so patient with me. He and his team were so patient with me. And finally, I called him and I knew I was like, okay, I'm ready.

14:16Tiffany Aliche:And the reason I knew why I was ready is because I had tempted myself with the idea of buying a house. And every time I thought about it and actually got into the process, I was like, nope, I hate it. I don't have the focus that this needs right now. Because my focus was on other things. My focus was on building the business. So I knew I was ready. So I called him and he lives in Bend, Oregon. He came up for two days. And along with his incredible side, I was going to say sidekick, but business partner, Chelsea, these two realtors showed me around some houses. Now, here's the first lesson I have for you.

14:56Tiffany Aliche:If you're thinking about buying a home, what you think you want is different than what you actually like, okay? I knew I had a couple must-have things, okay? I wanted a bathtub. I'm a big bather. I love them. I knew that I needed a bathtub or at least a way to put a bathtub in the house. I also knew that I wanted a house with some charm, but I didn't want it to be a fixer-upper. I knew I had some time, but I was not prepared to take on a vast home improvement project. The other thing that I wanted was the ability for us to continue running her first 100K out of my house. So definitely in a dedicated office space and potentially some really, really nice areas for when our team was here to be able to host them.

15:43Tiffany Aliche:So I knew like those were three basic things I wanted. In these two days as we start looking, they take me to these really nice modern built homes. These are like brand new in the past five years. They were built from the ground up in the past five years. And these are beautiful homes. These are like, you know, waterfall countertops and like beautiful fireplaces and crown molding and just like lovely. But I had no feeling of excitement while I walked to them. I was like, okay, these are pretty, but they felt like houses, not homes. Then I would go into the ones that had a ton of character, but were just like quirky.

16:27Tiffany Aliche:Like I remember one of the houses I saw, it was like two different dining setups and then a library next to the kitchen, like in the kitchen, basically. it was like all one room and there was like a lot. It was just a weird setup, but because it was an older house, it was built in like the sixties. And I was like, okay, even that two days of looking informed me a ton about what I actually wanted compared to what I thought I wanted. I realized I wanted a older house if possible. So I got some of that old school charm, but that had been renovated with those modern appliances, with the modern paint, with the modern touches.

17:13Tiffany Aliche:I didn't want a fully modern house and I didn't want a fully quirky house. So as we start looking, we're probably in this, I don't know, three or four days. I see this house in the neighborhood of Madrona. Now, if you're not familiar with Seattle, Madrona is a beautiful neighborhood full of what I call father of the bride houses, okay? If you've ever seen father of the bride, you know these houses. These are beautiful craftsmen and colonial houses. They're not all as big as the father of the bride house, but they just feel like a house or like a home. Not even a house, a home, right? They feel like, oh, there's going to be tulips in the front yard and people are going to be walking their dogs and there's going to be children on bikes running around the neighborhood.

18:04Tiffany Aliche:Like they feel, it feels like an idyllic neighborhood. So I end up seeing this house on a Tuesday, the week after we did our first round of home looking. So this is probably the sixth or seventh house I've seen, which is not a lot, right? And I walk into this house, and I really like it. And for the first time, I start having that feeling of, oh, I think this could be my house. And I'm going from room to room, and the kitchen's really beautiful, and there's some things I would change, like, oh, I don't like the backsplash on the kitchen, or, oh, I don't like this paint color. But for the most part, I really like it.

18:51Tiffany Aliche:and I saw it, I think, at like 11 a.m. or 12 noon, and it had just gone on the market earlier that morning. I know enough about Seattle real estate to know that this is going to be competitive. This house is beautiful. It has a porch swing. I didn't need to say anything else. This house is a porch swing, okay? And so I'm walking through this house, and I'm like, oh, gosh, okay. what is this my house and I'm there with Chelsea who I'm going to continue talking about and we I she did not pay me to do this this is not a sponsored thing Chelsea became my therapist through this whole process if you need a realtor in Seattle there is no one better to work with this woman and I have become now friends she is she was so great she could anticipate what I wanted or what my thoughts were going to be about a house before I even vocalized them.

19:43Tiffany Aliche:She was just so great. And she never pressured me. She never was like, you need to buy this house. She just gave me honest advice and kind of always mirrored back to me what I was thinking. And so I was like, this is really nice. I think this is really great. But one of the biggest things I told her is that I really didn't want to get into a bidding war. And I know that me saying that living in Seattle, one of the most competitive real estate markets in the country, was a little crazy. I told her, if we can, I am not a person who wants to make big life decisions under a ton of pressure and also a competitive environment.

20:29Tiffany Aliche:Because even if I don't necessarily feel like the house is mine, I was worried I might try to outbid somebody just for the thrill of the competition. so I was like if I really if we can avoid it I would really like to not be in this back and forth bidding more and then I saw this house and I was like okay oh boy I got a call on the troops so I brought my partner with me I brought Karina who's our COO I FaceTimed my mom and guided her throughout the house because we had gotten word now it's Wednesday morning we had gotten word that they were a bunch of other people interested and that they were doing, they had just now decided they were doing what's called an offer review where there was a designated time to look at all the offers.

21:14Tiffany Aliche:And that was happening Friday morning. So now we're on a ticking clock. Okay. So Wednesday goes by, I bring in my partner Karina on Thursday, they go through the house. They're like, yeah, I think it's good. This is the time where my partner is not being very vocal. We end is so sweet. And he's like, this is your purchase. I don't want to sway you. And I'm like, no, idiot. That's literally what you're here for. I want your opinion. I need your help. Give me your perspective. Give me your advice. And it came time to decide, are we putting an offer in or not? So in less than 72 hours, on the sixth home I ever saw, I had to decide if I wanted to buy this house.

22:02Tiffany Aliche:Now, there was not a pre-inspection, meaning that the homeowners had done a approved inspection before. It was now crunch time. It was end of day Thursday night. It was like 4 p.m. And I was trying to figure out, do I want to buy this house? Do I want to buy this house without an inspection? Absolutely not. And is there even going to be an inspector available to get out in that time. Chelsea moved mountains for me. She called every single inspector on her list. And if they didn't know anybody or they didn't have anybody, they gave the 12 other people that they contract out to. She found somebody for me.

22:42Tiffany Aliche:I am at a Mexican restaurant with my partner. I probably take 15 phone calls that night from my mom, from Chelsea, my realtor, from my mom again, from my partner's father, who is also a realtor. I am just trying to counsel a million different people on the biggest financial decision of my life. And that, dear reader, is how I know, looking back, that it was not the right decision for me. the fact that I am a very decisive person and was not decisive about this meant that this was not my house now I think I would have been very happy in this home I think it would have been lovely but it was the timeline that freaked me out specifically the pressure to have an offer and get the inspection have everything go in basically 12 hours but also I didn't know what I didn't know at that point in the process.

23:50Tiffany Aliche:I didn't feel like I had seen enough. I kind of felt like I was going to marry the guy I went to prom with once. Now, people do that. They have great relationships. I did not feel like I could do that. I didn't feel like I had dated around enough. So I went back and forth and back and forth and I called off the inspection that night. I said, you know what? I'm not going to do it. And then 45 minutes later, I had the biggest feeling of regret I've ever had in my entire life. I don't have a lot of regrets, no regrets, but truly like I don't, I'm not the person that regrets a lot of things. All things for me are like learning moments, but like truly authentically, that's how I feel about most things.

24:40Tiffany Aliche:that was like oh I fucked up and I woke up the next morning after I slept on it and I was like that was my house and I fucked it up and there's not going to be a better house out there and what have I done I felt that way for weeks even as I saw other houses and I saw a ton of other houses that kept reminding me of like oh you had it really good oh that prom date it was really cute. That prom date treated you really well. And you've been on a ton of dates with guys who are just not great or just not right for you or plain terrifying. I walked in a house, everybody, oh guys, this house. I walked in a house that I swear to God was haunted.

25:20Tiffany Aliche:Okay. It was terrifying. It had like a devil doorbell and a grand piano on the balcony outside that was like half broken down and two staircases on either side of the house that both went to the same place, but only one went downstairs. This house was haunted. And after I saw that house, especially, I was like, oh, I done fucked up. I did it. I should have bought the house. I should have done it. And I felt that way for a really long time. And Chelsea, the sweet angel she is, kept going, it wasn't your house. It wasn't your house. it wasn't yours and we're going to find you your house however and yes i'm going to take an ad break right here because suspense the clock was ticking it is now may end of may my lease ends at the end of june i have not found a house yet so when we come back let's talk about it

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