Similar to graduates her age, Vanessa Jones’ first inclination after leaving university at age 22 five years ago, was to purchase a brand new car. However, her conscience, in the form of a prudent mother, helped her to maintain a level of sobriety.
“I was 22. I didn’t think about owning a home, I wanted a car,” the now 27-year-old corporate professional reflected on her life over the past five years. However, somewhere in her DNA was her mother’s frugality, which it became clear Vanessa had inherited.
“One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to save, therefore, I started to work towards that,” she recalled, acknowledging that her work environment, a financial institution, also influenced her decision to become more financially aware.
“I would constantly hear about saving for retirement and I increased my deductions immediately, contributing the maximum, and saved more than 10 per cent of my salary each month,” she continued. And, instead of purchasing the Suzuki Swift she wanted so desperately, she purchased a reliable used car, which she financed by “throwing partner” separately from her savings.
“I knew I wanted to also move out of my parent’s house badly, so I saved in multiple ways,” she said.
Two years into her job, Vanessa began her hunt for her first home.
“My mother identified the property. At first I was hesitant, because it wasn’t my dream location. It was not a new development, and wasn’t exactly what I wanted; however, my mother insisted,” she recounted.
The apartment was inexpensive, and although not in a prime area of the city, was a comfortable and peaceful residential area, with easy access due to the low volume of traffic.
“I needed 10 per cent for the deposit, and I had saved most of that,” she related, “I did not have any debt, because I used cash to purchase my first car. But, there was a shortfall of about $100,000, which I borrowed from my mother and paid her back,” she recounted, noting that the rest of the financing came from a drawdown of her benefits at the National Housing Trust (NHT).
Now a two-year-old homeowner, Vanessa, at 27, is preparing to make the deposit for a second home, which will become her new residence. She plans to earn rental income from her current property when she moves into her new house.
Acquiring real estate early is a fantastic way to create personal wealth at a young age, Petal James head of Mortgage Sales at JN Bank opines.
“When you purchase early you give yourself time to build a portfolio,” she says. “You can sell the property and purchase a larger one; or earn from the existing property either by renting it; or repurposing it for some other kind of investment,” she explains.
In addition, for young people, acquiring property early means a longer repayment period and, therefore, lower monthly mortgage payments.
“You receive up to the full 40 years to repay; therefore, your payments are much lower than if you decided to wait until in your 30s or even 40s,” Ms James indicates.
However, she acknowledges that it takes discipline and sacrifice for many young professionals to acquire property at an early age.
“The truth is many young people are focused on repaying debt, such as student loans, and their salaries are small,” Ms James acknowledges.
However, she notes that by saving at least ten per cent of their earnings, regularly, and finding ways of supplementing their income, young professionals can achieve the deposit to purchase their first property.
“You will also need to manage your income wisely by controlling spending on non-essential items, and avoiding debt. So if you don’t need to purchase a car now, take the bus or taxi; or purchase a cheaper phone, and delay large purchases with your credit card, so that you can achieve the deposit at an earlier stage to purchase your property,” Ms James advises.
Vanessa agrees that being frugal is a necessity if one wants to achieve homeownership as a young professional under 30.
“The first thing young people need to recognise is that you need to make a sacrifice for the long term. However, over time, your income is likely to increase; therefore, you will be able to manage the payments which come with acquiring assets,” she recommends.
Ms James notes that choosing the right mortgage provider is also important, and pointed out that currently interest rates are low, and more options are now available to purchasers than a decade, hence, accessing financing is much easier.
“There are graduated mortgages which young professionals can benefit from, where the payments start off low and increase as their income increases. There are also the options to mix NHT benefits with funds from other financial institutions, so that one can maintain some of their benefits for future purchases,” Miss James explains.
“Yes, there are sacrifices that you will need to make, but, it is easier today to become a property owner than it was some years ago,” she maintains.
“Therefore, I encourage young professionals to consider purchasing early, as it will be an excellent way to build wealth,” she affirmed.
