Friends. First-time co-owners. One big leap that paid off.

“I couldn’t qualify on my own, and co-buying made it possible possible.”

Hi, I’m Kara and when I decided I wanted to invest in real estate, I also knew qualifying for a loan would be my biggest hurdle. I’d been self employed across different businesses for nearly two decades, often at varying stages, and traditional lending standards weren’t exactly designed for that kind of path. So I did something that felt vulnerable but honest: I reached out to people I trusted who had stable W-2 income and floated the idea of buying together. Chip and I had been close friends for almost ten years. He had a steady job, great credit, and no immediate plans to buy. Co-signing wouldn’t hurt his buying power, and he trusted my analysis and business judgment. Ultimately, he agreed to partner with me, acting as a guarantor so the deal could move forward.

Why it felt right

Timing mattered. We were both in a place where taking a calculated risk felt possible. Chip trusted me, I trusted him, and we had a long-standing friendship that made open communication feel natural.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t scary.

Before moving forward, my biggest fear was what would happen if the property lost value, especially how long it might take to repay Chip and make him whole. After closing, renovating, and watching the Austin market heat up rapidly, the challenge shifted to something else: deciding whether to sell or hold.