Co-Buying a House with Friends: How Alex & Amber Made It Happen

Today's episode is with Alex Reyna, an Open House Education community member, who shares her journey of buying a home with her friend, Amber. After facing numerous roadblocks during her three-year quest to purchase a home on her own—largely due to credit challenges from co-signing a mortgage for her sister—Alex partnered with Amber to finally make homeownership a reality. Together, they navigated everything from financial hurdles to creating agreements and learning how to live together after their purchase.

Alex, who also runs her own short-term rental management company, Your Cohosts, offers insight into the benefits of buying a home with a friend and how co-buying helped them double their buying power. Their story highlights the importance of communication, trust, and creativity when it comes to making homeownership possible.

In addition, the episode offers a glimpse into the growing Open House Education community, a nationwide group of women learning and supporting each other in real estate, and how it's empowering women to explore alternative paths to homeownership. If you’ve ever thought about buying a house with a friend, co-buying, or finding creative strategies to make real estate work for you, this episode is packed with inspiration and practical advice.

Chapters

02:59 The Journey to Homeownership: Alex's Story
05:58 The Decision to Partner: Trust and Skepticism
08:57 Finding the Right Partner: Amber's Proposal
12:04 Understanding Roles and Responsibilities in Partnership
15:01 Communication and Conflict Resolution
17:58 Living Together: Adjustments and Challenges
21:07 Financial Agreements and Operating Procedures
24:08 The Importance of Communication in Co-Ownership
26:58 Creative Solutions and Home Improvements
29:49 Long-Term Plans and Future Investments
33:00 The Impact of Community and Education on Real Estate
35:57 Reflections on the Experience and Lessons Learned


Get in Touch

Comments, suggestions or feedback? Email Kristina at kristina@openhouseeducation.com

Here is our new Instagram account! It needs some love, please follow :) 
@OpenHouseEducation

Check out our new website & join our new community waitlist! We are officially launching in early November!  OpenHouseEducation.com

If you know of any ladies I should connect with about this new venture for potential partnerships, please send them my way.   Email us! 

Transcript

0:03

Welcome back to the open house podcast for women talk real estate. I'm Christina Moderas and welcome. Hi ladies. So, in today's episode, we'll be talking with open house education community member, Alex Raina about her unique experience of buying a home with a friend. after encountering multiple hurdles in her three year journey to home ownership, Alex actually teamed up with her friend Amber to finally make it happen. So we're going to dive into the challenges she faced, the dynamics of buying with the friend and how they successfully navigated the process together. It's really a unique and inspiring story. So Alex also owns her own property management company and is honestly the best I've ever worked with. She helps me with my sneaky duplex and has always gone above and beyond for me. And you'll hear from her episode just how kind and thoughtful she really is. I also wasn't expecting our conversation to turn out how it did. Many of you listening probably love to do lots of due diligence and research before jumping into things that are new, but that's not really Alex's style. Before we get into it, I want to share something really exciting that's been kind of happening behind the scenes. In August, I officially launched my online community specifically for women interested in creative real estate. So we started with 100 founding members and I was really blown away by the enthusiasm and interest. I couldn't be more thrilled with how it's going so far. Even though we're just getting started, it's already become such an amazing space for women to connect, learn, and support each other. We've had some really incredible online events so far. For example, we had a fantastic meetup for people who are new to real estate and just starting to explore their options. Our first member led event was led by Courtney, who led a discussion on furnished finders, which is kind of like Airbnb, but for traveling professionals like nurses. I had never used it before and I really learned a lot. Another member named Erpy walked us through a fascinating discussion on investing in land, something I personally haven't done before. It was a bit overwhelming at first, but that's how things feel when they're new, right? Most people who've never bought a house before feel intimidated. But once you do it, everything gets a little easier each time. It's been so empowering to see young, super knowledgeable women of color leading these conversations and showing us that we can all do this. I mean, if we want to. Honestly, most real estate platforms, even the ones led by women, don't have this vibe. I've been looking for this kind of community since my early 20s and finally decided to just create it myself. We're building something really different and I'm so excited for more women to join us. The community is nationwide and we're opening it to the public at the end of October. So if this sounds like something you're interested in, make sure to get on the wait list for all the details. We've also got some really fun and informative events coming up. I'm planning a speed dating session for women who are ready to take action, but might not know what the next step is. The idea is to connect like-minded women and hopefully help them start the conversation. maybe even buy a property together. We're also going to do a deep dive into a few Airbnb listings from members, giving them feedback on what's working and what could be improved. and actually this week, Allison from our group is presenting a deal that she's been eyeing. There's just so much happening. My goal is to create what the group needs as we grow together. I'm here to listen and we'll continue to shape events based on what's most helpful to the women in this community. So if you've been wanting to connect with like-minded women and explore creative real estate strategies, this is the group for you. You can get on the wait list and I can't wait to see you in the community. Okay, let's get into today's episode. Okay, let's do it. So hi, Alex. Yeah, tell everyone a little bit about who you are and even... Yeah. How you got on the topic of even buying a house. Yeah. So, my name is Alex Marina. I am born and raised Texan. It's important to note. And I own a business called your co-host, which covers fill in and full-time Airbnb property management. so yeah, that's what I do. Topic of buying with a friend. So that was actually like never something that I thought about doing. You know, it was, okay. Let me backtrack. It's interesting because it was something I knew quite a bit about, but it was not, and it was something that I pushed to other people too, but it was not something that I had considered for myself. So I had, you know, been going to a lot of events about like buying a home with a friend and kind of learning the ins and outs of that and the like of house hacking. And for some reason I was still really dead set on buying on my own. I don't know. what it was, maybe it was because like the first property that I technically owned was, you know, co-assigned with my sister. So maybe like in my head, I was like, I have to own my own home. So it wasn't until, gosh, I had been on this journey to buy on my own for about, I would say like three years. And I had put offers down on a home, on two homes, they got accepted due to like kind of the restraints for. the type of loan I could get because of my sister, I kept running into issues. So, I spent like, just buried, like, I put my head down and I was like, working with a lender to do whatever I could to make it to where I could get my own loan. And then literally, it was this past February, I was like, my gosh, like I increased my credit, like, my debts almost paid off. I'm on the right track. And then I find out that my sister made another late payment, which I'll have mortgage, which was the reason that I had to wait a year in the first place. hold up. I feel like I know a lot of the context here, but for people listening, so you and your sister a while back had, you would co-sign for your sister to buy a house, right? And so now you helped her out. but you were still attached to that loan and that was kind of what was holding you back from buying on yourself because she wasn't paying her maybe her mortgage on time. so was a pretty unfortunate situation. So the reason I had even agreed to co-sign for her was so she had it was it's funny because even in retrospect it kind of is the same situation I fell into later on. But so she had the cash to put down. but she never had proof of income because she had worked for my parents for so long and they were paying her in non-traditional methods. So she had the cash, but she couldn't get a loan because she didn't have that proof of income. I had that proof of income. I had a W-2 job at the time. She was pregnant with her first daughter and she was like about to be newly married. So I was like, I really want them to be in a home, right? Like they had been trying on their own and it wasn't happening. So then, Yeah, I co-signed and I was like, Hey, you guys like refinance after the first year and like, we're good. Fast forward. My sister actually ends up getting a divorce before like around, I think it was like around a year and a half after being in the home. And so we were kind of back in the same situation, right? Where it's like on her own, she cannot refinance. So we were stuck, right? And we were looking for different ways that, you know, I could get my own loan, but it was just really difficult. You know, she was researching ways to kind of get me off of the mortgage, but you really can't do it without refinancing. Like, I'm sure there's some way we probably didn't think of, but we just weren't coming to any great solution. So during that time, she had made three consecutive late payments on her mortgage, which then basically put it back on to my debt to income ratio, despite me not paying anything towards the house, that's like the markets to which like the co-signer is now again like liable. I would have like- Were you part owner in that home? No, I don't think so. This is actually a really great question. I need to find out because I I did sign when we closed on the home, but for some reason, I feel like I'm not on the deed. I don't know. I need to ask. I'm not asked because it's going to touch you subject, but- Yeah, I wasn't ever going to be like an owner. Like my contribution was here's your way into the home and then you guys find a way to get me off of it. Wow, that's so interesting. I did not even consider this conversation going this way because you I you you did this again, right? You well, you partnered with someone else to buy and I'm interested. You know how after going through this, you know what broke like what made you want to do it again? think a lot of people might be hearing this and be like, would never partner with anyone again. I would never trust someone to do that again. Why do you think change your mind? well, that was kind of the difficult part. So right around this time that I was going to put down an offer, literally, I was like that week going to put out an offer and I got an email from Credit Karma saying that like my credit had dropped 75 points and I was like, what happened here? So I look and of course it's the mortgage and I'm just like, ugh. So I, you know, at that time Amber had been visiting because she was traveling back and forth from Virginia. would say like once a quarter and staying for like a month in Austin. And this is your friend. Yeah. So Amber is my friend who I ended up buying with and she would just happen to be in town and we were actually both staying at the same place. Like our friend Russ is who has this like amazing house in Zilker that he like kind of houses people like in between homes. We were both there and so she saw how upset I was and I was just so devastated and I had only moved into Russ's so that I could go easily into a home without getting into a lease for an apartment. And so I'm sitting there like, well now what? Like, do I go get another apartment and just wait this out for another year? Like, what does this mean for me? Like, I very quickly connected with my lender and I was just like, what does this mean? Is this another year delay? Like, is this a month delay? Like, what does this look like? And so in the midst of trying to like figure this out, and again, I was just so upset because I'm like, I've done everything. And again, like, I feel like this is probably a lot and I was, and I think this is probably a lot of the reason that people are skeptical to partner with people, right? It's like, I'm doing all the right things, you're not, and in turn you're affecting me. Right? So when Amber approached me, because she had been looking on her own, because she wanted to finally like make the leap to move here, she had been looking on her own, but her like price point constrained her to basically condos and things like that, which is not what she wanted. She was just leaving that in DC and you know, we both didn't want an HOA. I honestly had only been looking in Canyon Lake. San Marcos and Bastrop because I was in the same position. I was like, I don't want a condo. don't want anything tied to an HOA, but my price point does not afford me to live in Austin right now. So I had kind of thought about like, I was really going to do like a sneaky duplex. I didn't lock off one of the rooms as my own and still rent in Austin. So it was very complicated. So Amber approached me like, listen, like, would you want to partner? And I was just kind of taken aback because she's, you know, I don't know, she's like, I think we're very similar. Like she doesn't strike me as somebody who would, you know, want to partner with somebody else and like take that risk. So I just remember I was like, I was like, maybe like, and I really thought about it. was like, let's think about it, Amber. also make sure I want to make sure you're not making a bad decision for yourself. Like I would hate for you. And it was a conversation that we had multiple times where I was just like, Amber, like, I know you're saying this right now, but how about you think about it? Like really think about it. You know, write down any concerns, like let's talk about money and then like, let's come back because I would hate for you to be in a situation like I'm in, like I trust myself to do right by you, but also I can't come, I can only convince you so far. We don't know each other. And that was another thing. We only had known each other really like. within the time that she had come back to come dancing, right? Like everybody assumes we're like best friends for life, known each other forever. No, Amber and I hadn't probably known each other for a year, but her being here, maybe like a total of two months the entire time, right? So. Wow. So you, you connected over like you guys do. Yeah, two step me. were both in the dance scene and we had just kind of, again, she was staying with a mutual friend at the time. So I had really like, immersed myself in that community and she was around and we would take little like dance, we call them field trips together and you know her and I would ride together sometimes and we just like that's the level at which we knew each other was like talking between dances and on these like gatherings. how many times do think you had met before you she brought this up to you? I'm like with picture proof, I can recall probably a handful of like eight times of us being that over the course of a year. again, no conversation. Like the deepest conversation we'd ever had was when I drove us both to San Marcos for a show. we I was like, what do do? Like, what's your last name? I'm like, what? Yeah. my God. I love that. And like, I I'm very curious is like, how did she get you to take her seriously? Because I think that is from the community that I started on Slack and that's the question a lot of people ask is like, I bring this up to friends all the time and we're drinking wine and chatting about it, but then I'm like, okay, but I really want to do this. How did she get you to take her seriously? She just approached it very seriously. There was no, feel like typically, even whenever people have approached me about partnering before, it's very like send me like. A link on Instagram to this home and they're like we should partner and I'm like, yeah for sure sounds great, right? Like she know she very seriously was like listen. I've seen how much like this is kind of set you back and I really want to be here right? Like I want to be here too. Here's my issues that I'm finding in my own home search. I know the issues that you have in your own home search. Why wouldn't? it makes sense for us to do this together, we would double our buying power. It gets me here quicker and it gets you into a home that you've been trying to do. Right. So literally how she said it. that. Yeah. Yeah. I love that so much. And I have a similar situation where, you know, when I've bought with friends, it was always with people that I had to seek out or they sought me out. And it was because my immediate friend group wasn't super interested in this or maybe, you know, Even if some of them were like right we just chatted chatted about it. They're like, I want to buy a mountain house one day like cool But never like took it seriously So I really love that you had that experience to where someone that you kind of had like known but like She knew that you were going through a similar situation to her you guys were vibing like you both were serious people about this situation and Yeah, like so you decided to do it. Yeah kind of one of those things like you see like, when the group makes it out of like, the chat, it was like, that's the way I feel like it's the same thing with like partnering on real estate, right? I'm like, I have this conversation with tons of people. I've had coffee with people I've had, you know, so many conversations and we're like, sure, right. But it's like, it literally is like that same kind of mentality of like, no, no, no, like this is for real. So I knew she was serious. And that was the great part is like, I knew she was serious, but kind of like leading into thought processes I had, right? like our situation was gonna be incredibly unique. And part of the reason I didn't want to bring anybody into it was because I knew for myself that I only had X amount of cash, which was less than 20%. I knew that I was about to leave my full-time job. So I wasn't gonna have. a W-2 job anymore, right? And like my business was only in its first year of business and you have to have two years typically to get a loan on your own. So I'm sitting here going, okay, if this happens, like is Amber gonna have to pull most of the weight as it pertains to the loan and what kind of partnership? I remember I was talking to my mom and I was like, she was like, this is really nice of her. And I was like, I know, I was like, what kind of partnership is this? Like, and I honestly for a bit felt like a bit of imposter syndrome and a lot of guilt because I was like, it ended up having to be where she was the only one on the loan to push it through. Cause I would have had to have like a job offer in order for them to like, and we thought about it. was like, maybe I should just start applying for jobs. And she was like, listen, she came in more cash heavy and she came in with the W-2 job and she came in right with the person going to be on the loan. In my head, I'm like, you don't even need me. Like, what am I here for? Right? Like what, you know, how do we protect this? It added an entire different level of things to consider because one, she's putting in more money and I'm like, okay, does this money get paid back to you if we sell? Does it get paid back to you if we make money off of a sneaky dupe? How does this money come back to you? You're already steps ahead of me in your investment. She couldn't have done it without you either. That's what makes a really good partnership. I like that you are being really honest with us about having like being having imposter syndrome, but she couldn't have done it without you either. Like you were the other half of this equation. But I've done that before where I've been on the loan or I'm not on the loan. And you like, work out the agreement after that, where it's like, you know, I've not been on the loan before, but then I'm carrying more of the weight after where if you know, we do create something like a sneaky duplex or somehow house hack, like I'm managing that but How did you guys deal with ownership? Do you have an operating agreement? What kind of like? So you have a really good point, right? And this is my thought process then, but when I brought it to her, she was like, no, listen, I don't have any of the experience that you do with running Airbnbs if that's what we're gonna do. You are very well versed in, do the numbers make sense? How much can we make off of an? tiny home versus making the garage a studio versus house hacking the primary. I also we realized I was like I did realize very quickly that most people are not going to pay the amount that we that I pay for my mortgage to live in a shared space. So there was that, but it this is also very interesting. I was so dead set on meeting the operating agreement, but mostly as a protection to Amber, right? And I told her that I was like. you're coming in like with putting in more money, you're the only person on this loan, like we need this operating agreement so that we make sure that you get out of this what you're supposed to get out of this if it's even just your money back, right? Or figuring that out. We to this day don't have an operating agreement. When I tell you that was like bucket list item number one for me, and now we're like, we'll do it someday, right? We will, and I know we need to, but it's just like we're so wrapped up in other things like renovations and figuring that out, having garage sales. So the operating agreement, think like there was a few things that we talked through to our realtor and she was like, well, listen, here's a really good positive for this. Amber currently owns two homes, right? One in DC and one here. Alex technically owns a home, but not really. So if you guys even want to invest in more property, then that opens up your buying power because Amber's gonna have to pay a very much higher percentage than you need to now on that third property. So that was another thing we've considered. And I think that's why we've kind of held off on the operating agreement is because we're still trying to work out like at first we were immediately going to create a studio garage. And then we kind of went backwards on that, which has been really interesting the way that we've navigated how we're gonna spend our money. of go back to some of the things you were saying of, so your realtor told you essentially that Amber was on the loan before and now next time you guys buy, you could potentially be on the loan, then Amber doesn't need to be. So you guys could continue buying properties together. that's exactly, yeah, I've done that in the past too. I will say, I'm like, Alex, you've got to have an operating agreement even for this property. learn like I have done that as well with the properties where I haven't created an operating agreement. And, you know, when one person wants to leave, then you're like, we'll figure it out now, I guess. And it's like, it kind of you'll I mean, you guys both seem like very sane people. And like the fact that you are even like, are you sure you want to do this, Amber? Like, think you're you guys are going to be fine. But you know, I just be like, you got to do that. But I understand you have a lot of things going on as well. it's kind of cool for people to hear about this, where I think a lot of people do so much research before they jump into something like this. They have to look up all the facts, they could miss an opportunity. And you have to weigh your pros and cons. you do need to do a certain amount of research, but like, not too much where you're waiting like 10 years, right? So you just dove into this. Okay, so you live with Amber now and you but you are on the title or the deed of the home? How? No, so here's the whole thing. Like, and again, it's funny because as much as I wanted to like, take the risk from Amber, I've now put myself in a risky situation. But again, it's something we're working towards, right? Because it's like I'm paying half mortgage consistently. You know, I've been helping progress along like any work that we need done at the house, but I'm not yet on the deed. And we have not done the operating agreement. So I mean, it's the same we've already talked to a lawyer, like it's kind of all in progress. But it's again, just so funny to me, we're in the beginning, I was like, you know, this needs to happen now. And now it's like, Amber is at risk. And now I'm like, wait, I'm actually at risk. Like she could probably kick me out anytime if she wanted to. But like, I also could leave anytime, right? Like, so it's a very interesting situation, but we are, before the end of year, we will have all of this ironed out. I think we just started prioritizing, prioritize more of the fun stuff, you know, of the house. will say you can quickly go on busy.com and just like, throw something really quickly together, at least having your name and writing. You can do this really quickly. anyway, so I... Well, no, that's good to know. And honestly, large part of the holdup was lawyers. Like I was reaching out to so many lawyers and it was just such a delay and responses from them. So that was the biggest part. Like when I was ready to move and we were ready to really move on creating this operating agreement, we were at a standstill due to slow lawyer responses. So it's good to know that because I also too, was like, Can I just do this in chat tpt? It's obviously the deed part we can't. We have to do that legally. Well, not legally, through it's probably best to do through a lawyer. you definitely need to. I will be on the deed. Okay, so you'll be on the deed. You're working on the operating agreement. I would say that you could probably do the operating agreement in 30 minutes getting on busy and just throwing it together and you guys do DocuSign, at least a temporary one until you... both hire a lawyer and like have something looked at. you know, I kind of I mean, I have definitely done things like you've done before. But I know that a lot of people listening are probably like, my God, I'm so stressed out by this situation. like, but it is so new. You you did just figure this out. And you're just do this and you're figuring it out as you go. And, know, I That's why this community also is here for you to like, here's a solution, very simple, go do it. And you do have to do the admin sometimes like that. think that is, that's something that for me personally, like with my sister too, we bought a house together and we were like, kind of getting, I was getting like feeling weird about it. And I was like, it's just cause we haven't been meeting regularly to talk through certain issues that keep coming up. So the admin is important when you buy a house with a friend. And I know you- just kind of dove into this, you're gonna definitely start figuring this out. But how has it been like living with Amber lives there, right? With you at the house. How's that been? She does, we do both live together, which was another adjustment. Yeah, that was honestly gonna like the biggest thing for me, right? Was like, I preferred the idea of having this sneaky duplex with like people who are rotating out of the home than I did having somebody consistently in the home. swore up and down that I would never live with anybody ever again. I've lived on my own for like six years. Amber's lived on her own. You know, she works from home. I am mostly home. mean, so it was gonna be like a big adjustment. I thought it was gonna be a really big adjustment. And I was like, we don't really know each other, right? So like, how will it be living together? It's been interesting, I would say even splitting, figuring out it's kind of twofold, right? Because it's Figuring out how each other lives and how we operate the home on a daily basis, right? Like, who is taking out the trash? Like, something's broken. Who's calling a contractor? hey, like, how do we have conversations about you're not washing your dishes? Or, you know, how are we splitting things? Like, are we splitting all the groceries? Are we, you know, how are we splitting bills? I will say that because she was the one on the loan, I put all of the utilities under my name. So I've been doing that right and then just like figuring out how is this deducted from the part of the mortgage or do I pay my half the mortgage and then this totally separate right which is what we've actually been doing. I found it that it would be a little more difficult when we do come to operating agreement to be like okay well you've paid this much but not really because you've been paying for this and not this. So It's been really interesting. I will say that it's just about communication. And I know we hear this all the time and it sounds so easy. Sometimes it's not, right? Because it's like you're living with this person. If you bring up something and for some reason it's like triggering to them or like it could make for a very uncomfortable situation. Like you had an uncomfortable situation yet. And what was that? Yeah, we just did this past weekend. I mean, you don't have to, but if you're willing. We have. will say there's been a few, there's been a few times, right? Like there's such interesting situations because it's like, I am somebody who, you know, I like, I don't like clutter on the counters. Like Amber will leave stuff on the counters for days. And I'm like, kind of like moving it closer to like her room where I'm most like, here's your stuff, right? And it's like, I leave laundry in the dryer all the time and I'll come out and Amber will have folded my laundry, right? Like, because she needed to use the laundry this sounds like roommate problems. Like, it doesn't even sound like a, you know, like we just bought a house and we made this huge, this huge thing together. Like, what about like navigating the home buying process? It's roommate problems. Yeah, like what would I need? So again, I feel like it's kind of both because we've had these conversations rolled into one. So here's a really great example. The way Amber is my, Amber's a very logical person, but sometimes I feel like the way that we think through things are so different, right? So like, for example, how we spend money on the home, right? Like, again, I was, I wanted to spend the money on the operating agreement, like right from the jump. And then I was like, wait, this is about a thousand bucks. Like where could we really use it though? Like, can this hold off? until we get this garbage disposal fixed, right? Or something, right? These were things that's like combination like roommate, but also just part of the home. So when we moved in, there was a few things that we absolutely had to get done. And that was replace the roof, get the garbage disposal fixed. We also had to trim the trees and, and then just things like lawn maintenance, right? Where it's like, we had to like, get some electrical outlets replaced, right? And like, I started looking at like the electric bill and I was like, is this high? Like, I can't tell and Amber's like, let's replace the windows. And I'm like, Amber, that's like multiple thousands of dollars to like potentially save us like 50 bucks a month. Does this actually make sense? Like, does this is, is this the best way to spend this money? Or should it be renovating the kitchen? Because we've gotten a quote and it's about the same price, right? So These are interesting situations in which like we've had to really, I've like having to listen to her side and make her feel heard and not like I'm just instantly like shutting down the idea of vice versa. And then being like, I hear you, but does it make sense for this? Right? Cause Amber's mind goes to like, how do we save money? So to her investing 10 K and replacing the windows over time would help us save money or I don't want to mow the lawn. We don't have a lawnmower. She was like, let's buy a lawnmower and then we don't have to pay these people to come every two times a month, one time a month. And I'm like, well, Amber, like, that's not going to pay itself. That lawnmower is not going to pay itself off for probably four months. I'm not mowing the lawn. I'm telling you right now, I'm not mowing. I had to the lawn every weekend my whole life. Like at home, I'm not mowing anymore lawns. Right? So I'm like, if you want to mow the lawn, So this sounds to me like you guys, know, we're both like we want to do this We like the concept we want to buy a house together and we're gonna figure it out as we go and like How has that been do you feel so yeah like for anyone else who's interested in buying a house with a friend? You know would yeah, what would you recommend? Would you do the same thing? Just jump in or would what do you think? Yeah, so I think you brought up a really important point earlier. You know, I'm typically somebody who likes to have all the research, all of the answers done, like ahead of time. There is no way that we could have anticipated the things, most of the things that we would have had to work through, right? And again, like I think if I would have presented my cards to people and I had been the one pushing the partner, think most people would have been like, right? But I think my suggestion is like, Don't overthink it. I know it's like a really big thing, but at the same time, it's not like it isn't it is it right? Like there's so many ways that this can be done in a way that potentially makes somebody else feel more safe about the way that they're doing it. Right? Like maybe you're just a partial investor or Hey, maybe you're just living there and paying some rent and you know, finding equity within this or Hey, like maybe you're the one running the Airbnb and you're making all that money, but she's purely the owner, right? Like There are so many different ways and I absolutely do suggest it. feel like had this not been the opportunity for me that I would have been waiting a few more years to get my own piece of real estate. Right. So it's like that's true. Yeah. And what's your long term plan with this? guess like what are you guys going to live there for? Maybe that was helpful, too. Did you have like a set plan before? Yes. So we had only really planned to live there, live in the house for about two to three years. And then at that point, we don't plan on selling. we're zoned for this was all went into what we look for in home, but we're zoned for duplex. Our lot size is big enough to hold an ADU. And we have like, three options to create like a stinky duplex or like house hack, right? So we essentially were like, let's do what gets us in. And that's like, this is not our forever home, because that was kind of a struggle in house coming to is like, Amber was just like, I just care about the numbers. And I'm like, no, we're also going to live there like how sweet kind of cute we have to like it, you know? so yeah, I think. Just knowing that that was our plan, like, and I think with the operating agreement too, that's probably why, like we've been more willing to like hold off on it and listen, I know it sounds crazy, but it's really only been like four months, right? It's not like we've been sitting on this house for a couple of years, no operating agreement, but, but I think it's just that. And then. Also, as time has gone on, right, like I've been able to put more money into the home in various ways that kind of gets that total number that Amber came in more cash heavy. So I think that like back then that was really stressing me out and weighing on me. like, I want her to get her money back. Like, or I want to be able to like at least get like half, like how do we do this? And since then I've been able to find ways to do that, right? Whether that be, be a sweat equity, like I'm the one handling all the contractors. or doing this. And I guess if it feels fair to both of you right now and you're working on this operating agreement, I can see how you all are moving forward. Are you tracking any of this on a spreadsheet or you just like- We track everything. are, Yeah, so we track everything that we spend. actually use this app called Try Count. It's pretty cool because we'll both put it in and how we split it and then it'll say who owes who what. we're trying to try count TRI count. So it's been pretty cool. We'll make one of those every month. and obviously that's something that we have to give to a lawyer too, once we come down to the operating agreement. So we've been just making sure that we track all of that. But overall I'm like, I know I've hopped around everywhere, but I think buying with the home, but buying a home with a friend or friends is like such a viable option. And I think once you get the first one out of the way, it just makes so much more sense, right? And again, I just feel like typically most people are going to overthink it when I tell you that I hear so many people, I'll read comments about people buying like on on Instagram and people are like never makes business with family or friends. And I'm like, okay, well, I'm going to prove you wrong. Right? Like, yes. And I think I know it's only been four months. Like I would love to talk to you again. Yeah. You know, in a year and see like, How's it going now? What did you figure out that operating agreement? What are you doing? But I do think that since there's a time limit on it, you're like, this is not forever. This is two to three years. We can all do quote unquote hard things for a short amount of time. We all have that in us, especially knowing what that's going to get you. You'll have this asset that you were able to get in sooner than you thought possible. And you also are navigating something so like courageous and really cool. Like you're gonna learn a lot through this. You probably already have also a lot of patience, like project management. There's like so many skillsets here that you are tackling, right? Yeah, a thousand percent. Like I think we've each learned like right now we are in the process of figuring out how to pull a cabinet down. Like we're like, we have pulled this cabinet down so that we can start fixing some of this kitchen and then just realizing how much more like hands-on we want to be, right? Like in the beginning I was like, we're going to pay people to do all of this. And I'm like, well, one, we should probably not spend that money. And like, maybe it's good to learn, right? Because then if we buy something that does need a little bit more fixing up, then we have that capability to do it ourselves or, you know, at least have a good understanding even if we are working with contractors about whether or not it's being done right. So it's been, yeah, it's been really cool. I've not regretted it. I don't, I... would hope Amber doesn't feel feels the same. think she does. I think like, it just is such a good way to work with people in a way that you typically don't have to. And I will say that one of the best things that we have found because we didn't know each other that well, and we didn't have that same emotional connection as like a lifelong friend, it has been so much easier to have conversations. in a more business minded way, then gosh, are they going to be upset with me? Right? Like as it pertains to decisions on the home or even just more of these roommate conversations, like we're very like able to be like, I mentioned we had one this weekend. It was over a garage sale, right? Like Amber's working from home. And I'm like opening it. I'm like, it's all her stuff in here. I can't even do anything. And I told her later that day, cause I was kind of like throwing like a silent tantrum. And she was like, okay. And she literally like stopped me. She was like, I can tell you're frustrated. What, like, what do you need from me here? And I like, right. And I was like, I just need you to sort your stuff. Like I can do the rest of it. You sort yourself. And she was like, okay. And she like grabs her box, goes in, starts sticking her stuff. Right. then later on, I just was able to tell her like, Hey, I've taken some time to think about this. And I feel like the reason that I was so upset by it is because I felt like I was really doing the majority of the work and I didn't feel super supported in this like joint venture of having a garage sale, right? Like art, this place has been stuck to the berms since we moved in. And like, I felt like it was such a productive conversation. And I always joke that we're like husband and wife, like we switched now, but I definitely more of like the wife figure, like She walked in one day and we were talking to contractors. She was supposed to be on a meeting and I was like, and we want to redo this and the cabinets and the flooring and this. And she walks in she's like, I didn't realize we were doing all of those things, Alex. And I was like, don't you have a meeting to be on, Amber? I was like... This is so, I love this. You guys are like the best. This is how friends can be, right? We can have these harder conversations. We can talk to each other. Like directly, like it's so I love hearing this so much. I think that's the biggest thing. Yeah. Communication. I would say don't overthink it. I would also say like, you know, I've heard this a lot from you, Christina is like, be ready to share like what you have to offer. Right. Like in a partnership. And for me, it was like I had to sit there and be like, why am I so against this idea? Like, what is it really? Is it that? I'm scared I'm going to be screwed over. Like is it that I'm scared of what people are going to think? Right? Like what? What is the actual fear here? And you know if it's something that's pretty trivial, that's just standing at. Maybe it's ego, right? Like for me I was like when we were sat we were like at the title signing and I didn't get to sign and I was like I'm not even a real homeowner like I remember I called my mom. I was like I'm not even a real homeowner. Amber's a homeowner like I'm not a real homeowner like I'm not and so. And then was like, this is all just ego, right? Like, and Amber was like, no, this is our home. Like, no matter what you think, agreement or not, this is our home. This is like, we're partnering. And I think, again, just finding somebody who you can be honest and open with and super communicative with, and then just like having the willingness to learn and be creative. Like, I think it's taken a lot of creativity to figure out like, How do we make this work with somebody being more, you know, coming in more money heavy or being the only person on the loan, right? It's like, it doesn't always need to be exactly 50-50 in the way that seems most logical. Like, Amber would love to not have anything to do with Airbnb. Exactly. You figured out your skill set, her skill set. You're both bringing a lot to the table and it looks like you guys both found like great partners in each other. And that's really inspiring because I think a lot of people don't think that they could do this, but it is a lot of internal work, like looking at yourself like you said. Before we have to hop off, know you're in our, you've been in our open house community for a while. You're in the open house education online group right now. How has your experience been so far? Like I, I know you're going to speak to us also in the group about your buying experience. Yeah. So. my experience in the group you're asking? Yeah. Or just like with the open house community, like how, what? I owe like everything to the open house community. It's like so interesting because I feel like it changed the way I look at real estate, like so deeply, like the things that I've learned through the community are so like deeply ingrained in me that like I will look at a home and I'm like, that would work because of this, this, this, and this. No, Christina, I'm not lying when I tell you that I don't think I actually looked at the interior of this home until we moved in because I was like, where could a sliding glass door go? Where could like I moved in? was like, right. just think about it. I think it's something like I like, I always call it like I'm preaching the gospel of open house because like, anybody who will listen, I'm like, you need to like, I'm like, you really need to like think about this way of like, you know, buying and like, you don't have to have a romantic partner or a ton of money or, you know, be really close friends with somebody to be able to make this happen. Like there's so many creative ways to get yourself into real estate. And then I think as somebody who came from like the service industry and had never had like a 401k or anything like that, like I felt so severely behind in planning for my future. that real estate seemed to be the only way, it felt so unattainable until I came across Open House and was able to learn all of these creative ways to be able to buy. So yeah, I'm like, I wouldn't be here, truly. And I'm so excited for the future of it and be involved. And I'm like, I will help, however, to get in the message across. And you have so much to teach the ladies in here. And yeah, I'm... I'm so excited for you and Amber and you guys are just like the best couple to buy a friend with. It's seriously like, it worked out so well for you and thank you so much for sharing with us and being vulnerable and I really appreciate it and troubleshooting this podcast technology. fun fact, Alex is- Me, Alex, and Amber are going to be on an episode of House Hunters. They probably don't want me to say this, but you know, at this point... We've done everything for these people. We really have. It was a lot of work. You guys put in so much work. That was probably the most... But it's gonna be so ...me and Amber have ever argued. Right? We'll have a screen for the We all have to watch together. I'm so excited. We should. Okay. Well, thank you so much.