I Bought My First House at 27, Right After a Spectacular Breakup. Here's Why I'd Do It Again.

Everyone told me I was crazy. I had just moved from California to Denver for a boyfriend. That relationship blew up in spectacular fashion. And instead of slinking back home with a broken heart, I did something nobody saw coming. I bought a house. 

"You just went through a breakup." "You're not settled." "What if you meet someone and have to move?" I heard it all. And I bought the house anyway. 

I am a real estate agent in Westchester County, NY. Before that, I spent years as a media executive at CBS Television and Univision, negotiating multi-million-dollar advertising deals. I know numbers. I know strategy. And I know what it takes to build something valuable from nothing. 

That Denver house was my foundation and what happened next is why I now work every day to help people do the same thing. 

The Numbers Don't Lie 

Four months after I bought that house, I got a dream job offer back in California. Did I panic? No. I kept the Denver property as a rental, and when I eventually sold it, I used the profits to buy a home in California. 

Then I was transferred to New York City. I sold California and bought three rental properties in Colorado with the proceeds.  A place where I thought I would eventually settle. 

I never did return to Colorado; but, over the years, I sold one to help fund my wedding. Sold another to buy our family home in New York. And I still own the third, the one I plan to collect checks from every month in retirement. 

Here's what that first "crazy" purchase at 27 did. It was the cornerstone of every investment that came after. Each property funded the next. Every move I made created more options, more flexibility, more wealth. Meanwhile, if I'd been renting that whole time? I'd have spent nearly 20 years paying someone else's mortgage with nothing to show for it. 

This is what real estate does. It's a forced savings account. Every mortgage payment builds equity. Every year, your property (generally) appreciates. And in markets like Westchester County where I live and work, appreciation consistently outpaces inflation over time. Add in the tax advantages and the power of leverage, and you're looking at a wealth-building tool most people dramatically underestimate. 

The Barriers Are Mostly In Our Heads 

I see it constantly: people talking themselves out of homeownership before they even start. 

“What if I can't afford it alone?”  Buy within your means, not what the bank says you can borrow. Be conservative. The bank will approve you for far more than you should spend. 

"What if I need to relocate for a job?” You can sell. A house isn't a life sentence. Or, you can keep it as an investment property and use the equity to purchase another home in your new location. 

"What if the market crashes?" Real estate is a long game. You're not day-trading. Markets fluctuate, but over time real estate has consistently built wealth. 

"What if it's not the perfect house?" Forget perfect. Wealth-builders buy “potential.”  They buy what they can afford now, build equity, and trade up later. 

The confidence gap is real. It's also expensive. Every year you wait is a year someone else is building equity while you're building nothing. 

Your First Home Is the Foundation, Not the Finish Line 

Once you own property, doors open. You can use equity to buy investment property. You can have others help you make the payments by renting out a room or buying multi-family. You can refinance to fund other investments. 

I have clients, many of them buying solo, who bought a starter condo, built equity, upgraded to a house, and now own both as income-producing properties. They're teachers, HR professionals, marketing managers. Not real estate moguls. They just started, and they kept going. 

The mindset shift is from “homeowner” to “real estate investor.” Once you realize property can work “for” you, instead of you just working to pay for it, everything changes. 

Stop Waiting and Get Started 

Don't put off the big decisions waiting for the right age, the right job, or the perfect moment. The market doesn't care if you're ready. But your future self will absolutely thank you for starting. 

Real estate isn't just about building wealth, it's about building a life where no landlord can tell you to leave, no one controls your housing stability, and you have real options no matter what life throws at you. 

The only person who needs to approve this decision is you.