Austin, TX
Texas women say ‘houses before spouses’ after buying properties together; real estate expert weighs in
In a wide-ranging interview on ‘Cavuto: Coast to Coast,’ The Corcoran Group founder and ‘Shark Tank’ star Barbara Corcoran addresses market trends and challenges in real estate.
Two friends are taking on the challenge many young adults have faced — purchasing their first home — and attempting to squash the struggle.
Kristina Modares and Stephanie Douglass are co-founders of Open House in Austin, Texas. They work to help people purchase their first home — with friends.
The pair, who originally met through social media in 2016, said they started purchasing homes together years ago in an effort to make ends meet and build equity, they told SWNS.
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“People are shocked about buying with friends, but I think in the next five years it will be normal,” Modares predicted.
Douglass said she started her career as an elementary school teacher. She purchased her first property, a $305,000 home in Austin, Texas, with a friend in 2018 after she was turned down for a loan.
Two friends said they bought their first house together (not pictured) as an investment — and didn’t feel the need to wait until they had spouses to begin purchasing property. (iStock / iStock)
Today, after renovating and renting out the property, she said she nets $2,000 a month from the rent.
Modares purchased her first property, a $130,000 triplex in San Antonio, Texas, with a friend in 2017 after putting a 20% deposit down and splitting the rest equally.
The pair then sold their property over a year ago for $200,000.
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“If you partner with someone, it’s the easiest way to get in and get started,” Modares told SWNS after revealing that she was living on $20,000 a year when she first moved to Austin in her early 20s.
After meeting through Instagram, the pair, now in their mid-30s, became friends and bought their first property together in 2018 — a $240,000 commercial space.
Kristina Modares, left, and Stephanie Douglass, right, met over social media and became fast friends after realizing their views on purchasing homes at a young age were aligned. (Open House Austin / Fox News)
In 2019, the two started a real estate business to help others purchase their first home in an unconventional way as well.
Since then, Douglass and Modares have purchased another home with a third friend for $155,000; a lake house with a third friend with a purchase price of $475,000; and a house with three other people costing $775,000, per SWNS.
“For women in their 20s, it’s common to hear, ‘I’m waiting until I get married to buy a house.’”
With multiple properties tied to their name, the pair said they didn’t feel the need to wait to purchase a home until they found a spouse — something they said is still often heard today.
“For women in their 20s, it’s common to hear, ‘I’m waiting until I get married to buy a house,’” Douglass said.
The pair started their own company to help young adults purchase homes in Austin, Texas. (Open House Austin / Fox News)
“Our mission,” said Douglass, “is to remove those barriers and make it feel possible for women to own homes before they’re partnered — to look at it as more of an investment.”
Together, the pair told Fox News Digital they now own over 20 properties together, each with shared mortgages.
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When asked if they’ve ever run into any disagreements or issues while owning properties together, Douglass said that most of their experiences have been “positive and fruitful.”
Still, they advised anyone else who might be looking to purchase a property with a friend to be cautious.
“You definitely want to be sure that the friends you’re partnering with are responsible and clear communicators,” Douglass noted.
Today, the pair said they’ve helped over 100 people a year purchase homes — and within the last year, 30% of those purchases were done with friends. (Open House Austin / Fox News)
She added, “Credit score is a factor, and so is financial position, cash reserves and buying power. All of this needs to be out on the table before an operating agreement is signed, and especially before a property is bought together.”
Important considerations
Rogers Healy, owner and CEO of Rogers Healy and Associates Real Estate based in Dallas, Texas, told FOX Business that although “the idea of co-owning a home with individuals outside your family or spouse may seem like an enticing offer,” he recommends considering three scenarios.
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First, he said it’s important to understand that purchasing a home with others may mean that you could be financially vulnerable.
“Varied financial circumstances, spending habits and unforeseen expenses may strain relationships and jeopardize the stability of the investment,” he said.
Purchasing a home with others may mean that you could be financially vulnerable, said one real estate professional.
Additionally, he said, “Without clear contractual terms, disagreements over property management, expenses or future decisions may escalate into legal conflicts, leading to further costs.”
He also noted that “conflicting preferences regarding property usage, maintenance or investment strategies can result in conflict and decision-making.”
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Modares said she is seeing more and more buyers purchase homes with friends.
“People are realizing that buying with a friend is possible and is actually not that different from buying with a romantic partner or family member,” she said.
Two women started a real estate business on the basis of “houses before spouses.” It’s an effort to teach young people how to purchase homes without a romantic partner or spouse — but maybe with a friend. (Open House Austin/iStock / iStock)
She added, “Just because you’re not married doesn’t mean you have to wait to buy a house!”
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Since the start of Open House in 2019, Douglass said the pair have helped roughly 100 people purchase homes each year — and about 30% of them were purchased with friends in the past year.
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As flood threats continue across parts of South Central Texas, Austin Pets Alive! has activated emergency response efforts to support animal shelters affected by the inclement weather.
In a social media post, APA! wrote, “We began offering aid last night, working to secure fosters for 10 dogs in the Castroville shelter, an open-air shelter that sits at the bottom of a valley.”
APA! said the situation escalated overnight with additional shelters reporting flooding. One shelter confirmed that floodwaters reached its facility, APA! added.
Communities overwhelmed due to weather include Uvalde, Castroville and Sabinal.
The nonprofit is asking the Austin community to foster, adopt or donate to free up capacity for animals displaced by the disaster. APA! needs to clear out its facilities to assist the animals in need of shelter.
Here are ways you can help:
- Adopt: APA! is offering a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” on all animals.
- Foster: The shelter is seeking foster homes for a minimum of three weeks.
- Donate: Proceeds will fund vans and response teams setting up a staging and triage center at the heart of the disaster zone, along with an expanded stockpile of preventatives, PPE and additional supplies.
If you would like to donate, click here.
AUSTIN, Texas — With heavy rain expected across parts of Central Texas this week and flooding top of mind, the city of Austin is proposing to put more money toward flood mitigation improvements in next year’s budget.
The proposal would invest in new flood infrastructure, add staff, and help move flood mitigation projects forward, according to city leaders. Austin City Councilmember Ryan Alter said the investments are aimed at keeping the city prepared for future flooding.
Residents who live near waterways say they have seen how quickly conditions can change. David Haderspeck, who lives near Shoal Creek, said the creek “fills up pretty fast” and “gets a lot higher than you’d expect.” He said he has watched the water rise dramatically after rain.
“I’ve seen it come up probably 10 to 15 feet to the ordinary high-water mark,” he said.
This week, parts of Central Texas, including the Hill Country, are expected to get heavy downpours. While Austin is not expecting the same impacts as parts of the Hill Country, leaders said the city is using this year’s budget planning to continue investing in flood safety.
Alter said the city has the expertise to address flooding risks but needs to follow through on projects.
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“We have the experts. We just have to put the plans into practice, and that’s what we’re doing in this budget,” he said.
Under the budget proposal, the city would provide about $134.5 million for the Drainage Utility Fund, which helps pay for flood mitigation, drainage infrastructure and watershed protection efforts.
Alter said the proposal would shift more of the funding balance toward building new infrastructure.
“What we’re going to do is shift that balance a little bit more to building new infrastructure so that when we do have large flooding events, we’ve got that infrastructure in place to keep people safe,” he said.
The proposal also adds staff and invests in both new and existing flood mitigation projects across the city.
Asked whether the proposed investments would be enough moving forward, Alter said, “I do…I think we’re doing the right thing and just making sure that our residents have the infrastructure to stay safe.”
Alter said heavy rain cannot be prevented, but the city’s goal is to have infrastructure in place to help keep people safe when it happens.
FILE – LinkedIn logos are displayed on an iPhone and computer screen. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas Attorney General’s office has opened an investigation into LinkedIn over allegations that the professional networking platform misleads consumers with advertising and profiting from misleading or fake job listings, otherwise known as “ghost jobs.”
LinkedIn investigation
In this photo illustration a Linkedin logo seen displayed on a mobile phone. (Photo Illustration by Stanislav Kogiku/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
What we know:
Texas announced on Tuesday it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand (CID) seeking documents, data and internal communications related to LinkedIn’s advertising, marketing, job listing verification practices and its Premium subscription services.
The investigation centers on whether LinkedIn violated Texas’ consumer protection laws by promoting paid subscription services while allegedly failing to disclose that some job listings on the platform may not actually be representative of hiring opportunities.
What is a ‘ghost job’?
An image of a woman holding a cell phone in front of a LinkedIn logo displayed on a computer screen. On Tuesday, January 12, 2021, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
LinkedIn is owned by Microsoft and the world’s largest professional networking platform, with more than 1 billion registered users worldwide.
A “ghost job” generally refers to a position advertised online that either is no longer available or that an employer has no immediate intention of filling. The attorney general’s office cited independent studies estimating that ghost jobs account for between one-fifth and one-third of online job postings.
Texas AG targets Premium Subscription Fees
Photographer: Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images
What they’re saying:
According to the office of the attorney general, LinkedIn does not independently verify the hiring status of most job listings on its platform. Ken Paxton’s office alleges that the company’s marketing for its Premium subscription services does not disclose that a significant number of postings could be inactive, unfilled or not reflect genuine employment opportunity.
“I will use every resource available to my office to help job-seeking Texans find and secure real employment opportunities,” Paxton said in a statement. “LinkedIn has a duty to provide the services it advertises and ensure that consumers paying for Premium subscriptions are receiving access to legitimate job postings.”
Texas officials said LinkedIn’s Premium Career and Premium Business subscriptions cost about $39.99 and $69.99 per month, respectively, and are marketed to jobseekers looking to improve their employment prospects.
What’s next:
The investigation does not include any formal allegations of wrongdoing, and no lawsuit has been filed.
The Source: Information in this article was provided by the Texas Attorney General’s Office.
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