{"id":41397,"date":"2023-01-04T16:25:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-04T03:25:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/?p=41397"},"modified":"2023-01-04T16:25:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T03:25:06","slug":"how-i-juggled-two-jobs-and-bought-a-home-at-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertynoise.co.nz\/au\/how-i-juggled-two-jobs-and-bought-a-home-at-22\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018How I juggled two jobs and bought a home at 22\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOTO: Mother and daughter Fiona and Jhiara Thomas. Picture: Luke Marsden<\/strong><\/p>\n

At just 22 Jhiara knuckled down and bought her first home. Find out how she did it and what she learned.<\/p>\n

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Moving from state to state is just one of the realities of being an army wife and while Fiona Thomas does not begrudge her husband Paul\u2019s career, she has some remorse.<\/p>\n

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Hailing from Victoria but now based in Queensland due to Paul\u2019s redeployment, her three children missed out on a close relationship with their grandfather in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad has cancer and I\u2019m sad that my kids don\u2019t have the same bond with my parents as my sister\u2019s kids. My kids hardly know them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn a whim I said, when I have grandchildren I want to be close to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Mother<\/div>\n

Mother and daughter Fiona and Jhiara Thomas have bought blocks side-by-side in Pebble Creek, QLD, photos: Luke Marsden<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

While her eldest daughter Braida, 26, is an elite trampolinist training in New Zealand with the view to returning to home at some point, her second daughter, Rakiya, 24, is married and happily settled in rural Queensland.<\/p>\n

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So Fiona decided to put down roots in the Sunshine State. Forsaking the Melbourne family home, and while her husband was on active duty and uncontactable, Fiona bought a building block in\u00a0Pebble Creek estate<\/a>, located between Brisbane<\/a> and the Gold Coast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always had our hearts set on moving back down to Melbourne to retire in a house we previously purchased and have owned for a number of years,\u201d says Fiona.<\/p>\n

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\"Pebble<\/div>\n

Pebble Creek Estate. Picture: Luke Marsden<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

\u201cThat was until I stumbled across Pebble Creek. I put a deposit down and my husband came home three weeks later. I said, \u2018By the way, I\u2019ve bought a block and I\u2019ve found the house I want to put on it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout a week after that he says, \u2018well, are you going to take me to see it?\u2019<\/p>\n

Our block leads straight to the dog park and he\u2019s the biggest dog lover. He stood there for a moment and said, \u2018I really like this, it reminds me of being in the country\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Pebble Creek is over an hour\u2019s drive to Paul\u2019s work in Brisbane, he will retire from the army after 40 years of service in three years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n

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An aerial view of the development.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

\u201cHe is a sergeant and I managed to get a transfer to a job close-by, so it will all be worth it in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

YOUNGEST FIRST-HOME BUYER IN THE FAMILY<\/b><\/h2>\n

Fiona\u2019s youngest daughter, Jhiara, 22, was equally enamoured with the new estate, buying a block next door to her parents.<\/p>\n

Mum was thrilled, but Jhiara has her own interesting reason for buying it. \u201cI wanted to be the youngest person in my family to buy a home.<\/p>\n

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The area offers plenty of easy lifestyle options.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

My sister did it at 24 with her partner, but I am doing this on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jhiara works full-time at McDonalds and part-time at Coles putting in around 55 hours a week, and has a clear vision of the single-storey home she wants to build when her land is registered later this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought about building a two-storey house but I have to think about my finances, I may be able to upgrade later down the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cEither way, not many people can say they built their own home at 22.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Fiona\u2019s<\/div>\n

Fiona\u2019s home is almost ready and Jhiara\u2019s building block will be certified in December. Picture: Luke Marsden<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n

Fiona\u2019s dad Geoffrey is in his 80s with failing health, but he has been monumental in helping facilitate the build of Fiona and Paul\u2019s Hallmark Homes single-storey design.<\/p>\n

Due to be completed by the end of the month, Geoffrey, who is a trained glazier and worked on construction sites his whole career, has been calling the shots via his home in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe did everything through the guidance of my dad.<\/p>\n

He would check out all the suppliers and talk to me about colours,\u201d says Fiona.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad is 81 years and very direct, which is what you need when building a house. He\u2019s also giving Jhiara advice. He came up last weekend and says it\u2019s coming together nicely. He got out his tape measure and is now talking about how it should be decorated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen dad dies we have a little bit of him in this house, and that\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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