Realtor Wendy Wiltz Breaks Down Why Singles Should Pursue Homeownership

The New Orleans, LA, native recalls her experience securing her first home. She was surprised that she had met the requirements seven years earlier, before deciding to buy.

“For some reason I just felt like I expected the process to be harder than what it was,” Wiltz told AfroTech. “Once I started doing some research and realized that I met the requirements, I could have purchased the home on my own seven years prior to the point that I did. There was nothing that would’ve prevented me from doing so, but I just didn’t know.”

In her role as a realtor, Wiltz reminds people that it’s not too late to make the move from renting to owning.

She also focuses particularly on single parents. As someone who worked several jobs to pay the bills and cover daycare costs, Wiltz understands the challenges first-hand.

“I’m a single parent, and I think that it’s something that you think automatically, homes are for families and it’s easier with two incomes and people that have kids,” she explained. “But even if you’re a single individual, you have every right to have those same desires and wants when it comes to your household.”

The sentiments above were part of what drove Wiltz to secure her real estate license in 2020. She describes the moment as a “light at the end of the tunnel.”

Now, Wiltz can help single parents live out that dream, and through her services, they can learn the various avenues available to elevate their standard of living while still providing stability for their child.

“There are single parents out there that have multiple kids, and there are programs out there where you could purchase property and not put any money down,” she suggested. “Maybe when it’s time to move from that one, when you’ve outgrown it, have a rental property and let that be your second source of income, and you have more time to spend with your kids.”

Wiltz has an even more expansive vision and hopes to see property owners follow suit — seeking opportunities for overseas investment.

She is already sounding the alarm and has her own show, titled “Invest Away,” which airs on Xumo and will be making its way to Tubi and Roku. Through the show, Wiltz will take viewers on a global real estate tour with the assistance of other realtors who live near the featured destinations.

Overseas, the investment opportunities might be even greater, and homebuyers could see a nearly five-fold increase in cash flow, she says.

“If someone’s going to invest money, where would they rather do it?” Wiltz said. “Would they rather do it in their home city or would they rather do it in a place that’s beautiful that could be their own vacation escape, but then because of the market they can make so much more money doing it? So, I started exploring those vacation destinations, and I ran across a few where the numbers almost looked too good to be true. But what really stood out to me was the long-term benefits that some places have no capital gains or no inheritance tax.”

Although the show will certainly be educational, she recognizes many Black Americans still aren’t homebuyers. CNN reported in 2022 that the Black homeownership rate was 43.4%.

While this likely means they may not be considering property overseas if the majority do not have homes within the country, Wiltz still wants them to know what’s out there.

“If we barely have people explaining to us the importance of owning a home, imagine what that advice on investments is,” she expressed. “You are not bound to only investing where your feet are planted. You can invest anywhere. Your cost of living may be higher where you live, but you can invest in another city. You can invest where the cash flow is going to be higher.”

She continued: “I think it’s just so much out there and so much opportunity that we’re not aware of. So, my show, I didn’t want to put too much out there, but I wanted to introduce the idea and have a little of motivation to be able to say, ‘Hey, look at what you could have, look at how you could benefit and check out these numbers.'”