Tyrese Gibson purchased his first home when he was still in his teens, and it turned out to be a cash grab years later.
Music executive Andre Harrell specifically caught his attention, but RCA Records ultimately won him over due to their price point.
“Andre didn’t offer the bag. RCA offered the bag,” Gibson explained.
How much was on the table? In the interview, Gibson divulged that signing with the label resulted in a $2.5 million contract.
The music deal helped him buy a four-bedroom, two-car garage house in Hawthorne, CA, with the aid of his mother.
“You gotta be at least 21 in California to own a home. So, my mom co-signed and I moved in,” Gibson explained.
Over a decade later, he put the home on the market and learned from the realtor that its value had greatly increased.
Having no clue what equity was at the time, Gibson said he was taken by surprise.
“When I sold my first house after 12 years…I knew nothing about business. [I] knew nothing about real estate,” he said during the conversation with “R&B Money.”
Ultimately, the learning curve was a blessing. Gibson said the nearly $198,000 investment more than doubled when he sold the house.
“Well, the house was bought for $197,900 and now it’s worth $415,000,” he recalled his realtor saying.
He added: “I said, ‘So what does that mean? She says, ‘Well, your house is paid for and when you sell your house, you’re gonna be able to get a much bigger number. I said, ‘So, they gonna gimme free money?’ She said, ‘Yeah, it’s equity.’ And I was like, ‘So, I paid this and I’m gonna walk away with way more and I’ve been living in the house the whole time.’ She said, ‘Yeah, the gated community you live in is all fully built and the value of all of the homes in your overall neighborhood has all went up. It all went up.’ I could not believe it, bro. And now I know what equity is.”
