Homebuying in America: “Everything I made at my second job went toward my down payment”

While most 24-year-olds are preparing to leave the warm embrace of their parents’ health insurance, Jocelyn Becerra had something else in mind — becoming a homeowner. 

Two years ago, Becerra bought her house in Bentonville, Ark., after a year of buckling down to save up. She took a second job and funneled every penny of the extra income toward her down payment. “I focused all my energy on it for a full year and put my head down,” she says about the saving process.

Setting the scene on homebuying 

For many young homeowners, the housing market can feel out of reach. A Bankrate analysis found that anyone earning the median U.S. income is effectively priced out of three of every four homes for sale.“For many young people in this country, they feel like they’re supposed to be buying a house,” says Bridget Venus Grimes, CFP®. “But it’s a really tough market. In most places, it’s just crazy expensive.”

Becerra couldn’t do much about home prices, but she could boost her income and cut down her expenses to save for a down payment — a meaningful first step for first-time homebuyers.

Behind her homebuying experience 

A simple plan on paper, but far from an easy one. Becerra sacrificed around nine months of her life, devoting her evenings and weekends outside of her nine-to-five marketing job to save up her down payment. “I was willing to do it to be able to have this long term result,” she says of owning her home. 

The down payment was the primary hurdle she had to clear. She did the research and found that monthly rent in Bentonville was comparable to a monthly mortgage payment. “If I’m going to pay rent, I might as well try to own, especially in a place where I can do what I want and put down roots,” she explains.

She financed her home through her builder’s preferred lender at a 6.875% rate — which is higher than today’s mortgage rates — though she’s hoping to refinance later on. The lender provided a $10,000 incentive toward her closing costs, which she applied toward buying mortgage points to secure a lower rate.

While she was laser-focused on saving up for her down payment, Becerra says wasn’t prioritizing other financial goals, like retirement. She’s now honing in on growing her brokerage accounts. After hustling for her down payment, Becerra knows that there’s more within her financial reach than she previously thought. “It’s a mindset thing,” she reflects. “It was hard, but it was feasible. I want to keep that mindset.”

Her homeownership dream

Becerra loves having a space that’s truly hers that she can decorate to her heart’s content. Though being financially responsible for the entire building — what if the roof leaks or a pipe bursts?  — can be intimidating, she says it’s a worthy trade-off. 

While her street address may change at some point, Becerra knows she’s found her home in northwest Arkansas. She doesn’t want to be a landlord, but she’s open to turning her current residence into an investment property someday. “I’d love the idea of having multiple homes in the area, since I’m so familiar with this place, and I think it’s a great place that a lot of people have been moving here recently,” she shares.