Last October, TikToker Zachary Patrick (@zacharypatrick) struck a deal with his 14-year-old daughter, Bella, who is the oldest of eight kids. The deal was that if 130,000 people each sent her a dollar, she could buy a house in Mississippi, where they lived.
One month later, she had enough to make the purchase. Many people were wondering why someone so young needed a house of her own, so she explained her reasoning.
“People are only 14 for one year, and I’m going to need a house to move into when I grow up, and I like that this house is right by my dad’s house,” she said.
“Another reason is that in 1958, my great-aunt and uncle actually built this place, and when they passed away, it was lost out of the family, and I wanted to bring it back into the family.”
She has been working since she was 12 years old, but of course, she didn’t make enough money to buy a whole house, which was why she turned to TikTok for help.
Now, she is a teenage homeowner. Ever since the major purchase, the house has been keeping her busy. Bella has been exercising responsibility, doing chores such as weeding her yard, sweeping the porch, and cleaning her kitchen.
In a follow-up video, her father, Zachary, explained that the house cost $30,000 more than what Bella had raised. They bought it for $160,000.
This was not due to greed on the seller’s part. The seller had bought and installed a new air-conditioning system, as well as other upgrades to the house. He had paid $140,000 when he bought the house.
Bella is currently in the process of writing a children’s book. She is hoping to raise enough money through book sales to finish paying off the house.
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Clearly, she is a hard worker and is doing what she can to secure her future at a young age.
In the comments section, many TikTok users praised Bella for being able to make such a huge accomplishment as a teenager.
“Why don’t we just start doing this and buying each other things? If you get a large group together, we could just start giving each other a dollar anytime we need something. We could all live large,” suggested one user.
“The concept of bringing this house back into the family is so profound, and you’ll never regret that decision. I’ve lost family members and family history with them, and if I could do something like this, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I love that part of this story!” commented another.
“This is such a great thing. This is building generational wealth. Welcome to homeownership,” stated a third.
“You’re a great planner! There are not many teens who can plan for the next day, let alone decades ahead,” added someone else.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
