Two friends from Lloydminster have decided to take the plunge in the real estate market by buying their first home together.
Joey Hurley, age 22 and Richelle Spencer, age 27 have been friends for around 5 years and say they were looking for a home, but the prices made it impossible to purchase one on their own. Spencer says that she has been keeping an eye on the market for the last couple of years.
“Nothing has really been in the right price range or needs too much work to be done to it. So I’ve just kind of been watching for the last couple years and this one came up and I just decided to talk to my friends about it.”
They both decided to go to the bank and get pre-approved for a mortgage together once they found the right one property.
“I think it was the beginning of January that we kind of stumbled upon the house and it would of been the beginning of February that we were in full discussions to actually get the house. The house sold and we just got possession Monday.”
The house they bought is a six bedroom, two and a half bath on the Saskatchewan side. It was on the market for $200,000, but they purchased it for $190,000.
Their realtor Louis de Kock said in an email that millennials are finding new innovative ways to buy homes today. He adds that younger buyers are not afraid to set up legal agreements for living arrangements and often ask their friends and family for advise.
However, one of the concerns that comes with buying homes with friends is the uncertainty of the friendship falling apart. Spencer says that both her and Joey have had discussions about scenarios where one person wants to move out. The agreement between them is to have the person leaving buy out their share since they both own the home equally.
Hurley says that it feels good to be his age and owning a home despite his friends living a more free lifestyle of travel and renting. He believes that millennials are doing more than people think when it comes to buying homes.
“This is what millennials have to do and we are interdependent enough that we can move in with friends that we trust and care about versus trying to have our own place and trying to survive.”
They are in the process of moving into their new home and will have two other people join them as renters.