ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA — Alysia and I have been renters our entire adult lives. Honestly, we looked around at the housing market in St. Pete and thought we would always be renters. For Millennials like us, buying a home feels like a distant dream. Everything is so expensive, it seemed impossible.
At the same time, we put up with a lot of difficult things as renters. Mold was a big issue in our last apartment, and we had to call the city to try and get our living space safe again.
It was a fight, and apartment living was rough.
When our landlord told us that they wouldn’t renew our lease, we had to think long and hard about what to do next. We had six months to figure out where we were going to live.
Luckily, I had been in contact with Wes Lopez from NextHome South Pointe since 2022. It’s a funny story on how we got connected. I had just come home from a trip and was chatting with my Uber driver. We talked about renting and I wondered out loud if home buying was in the cards for my family. My driver mentioned that he was married to a real estate agent – it was Wes!
For us, the introduction to a quality real estate agent was critical to how our story unfolded. When we met Wes, we weren’t in a great position to buy a home. The things we needed to do would take a long time.
Through hard work and diligence, we were able to fix our credit, take first-time home buying classes, and find the right assistance programs to help us achieve our dream. As a Navy veteran, I was able to take advantage of assistance through VA loans. It took over a year of effort before we were ready to buy.
As we invested all of this time and effort, Wes was amazing. She wasn’t just trying to make a sale. She listened to us, she was patient, and she genuinely cared about helping us find the right home.
It wasn’t easy. We knew we wanted to stay in St. Petersburg, which was a big ask considering what we could afford. Most of the houses here were out of our price range. But Wes wouldn’t give up on us.
We looked at a few places before finding a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath in a neighborhood we really liked. The house had a lot of cosmetic issues. Honestly, it was downright ugly. The former owner said he couldn’t think of one thing he liked about the place.
However, we saw this house’s potential. More importantly, we saw the potential to create longterm financial stability for our family. With this house, we have equity and a foundation for the next home we buy.
Now, as homeowners, we understand why all of those classes were so important. There are many additional expenses that people don’t think about when buying a home. We’ve already renovated the bathroom, and next on our list is the kitchen and backyard. We are also going to repaint the exterior of our house to something less orange.
Like many first-time buyers, our journey is a work in progress—one project at a time, one paycheck at a time. It can get discouraging. All of these renovations make me wonder if buying was worth it. But then I think about our daughter and the legacy we want to leave behind. That’s why we’re doing this.
Now, she has her own space and room to grow. No matter how many home projects need to happen, our family is worth it.
Our advice to other first-time buyers? Go to your local government agencies and sign up for those first-time homebuyers classes and do research on what grants are available. I learned so much about homeownership in those classes. People think it’s just buying a house and paying a mortgage, it’s way more than that.
Don’t be afraid to shop around for a realtor who matches your needs. You don’t have to stick with the first person you meet. Find someone who has good energy and truly listens to you. Luckily, we connected with the best right from the beginning. Trust me, it makes all the difference.
