Josie Balka, Kelton Balka, Willow Balka
If you enjoy this blog, be sure to visit Ellie's other blogs (NashvilleWife.com and DuggarFamilyBlog.com).
Photo courtesy of UPtv
Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Balkas Buy a House
If you enjoy this blog, be sure to visit Ellie's other blogs (NashvilleWife.com and DuggarFamilyBlog.com).
Photo courtesy of UPtv
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Oh wow! That’s awesome! So happy for you folks!!
ReplyDeleteTake it easy Josie! I hope there are lots of family members who help out. Recovering from childbirth can be rough! Congratulations on having a new little one and a new home.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff
ReplyDeleteCongrats to the Balkas! Off subject but something tells me Carlin is most likely expecting and probably will have a due date by their 1st anniversary in May!
ReplyDeleteWhat? How can such young people have the money to qualify and close on a home? Did they finance or pay cash for the house, like their parents believe....no debt? No one is asking for specific numbers here to invade their privacy but a general yes or no answer should be given. Josie cutting hair for a few months would not give her the substantial down payment needed. Kelton is still very young and had his own expenses to cover before marriage. Even being a plumber how could he have plenty of cash to purchase? This question will be asked over and over again...so please address it. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing of this couple's finances, however your post is very rude. It is none of our business how much money they have and how they can afford anything. Kelton lived at home before he married so his expenses may not have been large. He majored in finance in college so he may be quite savvy about saving money. Josie worked in the hair salon and also lived at home so she also had the opportunity to save much of her salary. And there are many programs for first time home buyers. Home prices in their area of the country are probably not as high as other places so they might have gotten something they can fix up and turn into a nice home for themselves but didn't cost a fortune. But...if you asked me that question, I'd simply tell you it was none of your business.
DeleteWow do you manage their bank account? It's of no ones concern. They both seem to be intelligent people, if they weren't able to afford it they wouldn't be buying a house.
DeleteJosie cut hair for longer than a few months. She worked (or still works) at a higher end salon for over a year and a half. Kelton has been out of college for longer than that and has been working. They probably have income from the show as well. They both lived at home until marriage, so their expenses were low.
DeleteA lot of people who don’t believe in going into debt will still finance a house after making a good down payment. Houses go up in value for the most part, so buying a house is a good investment.
The have a steady income for monthly expenses and I’m sure the money from the show could provide a hefty down payment, if not much more. And even her parents don’t advocate a no mortgage lifestyle, which is almost impossible in this day and age.
DeleteThey seem level headed and probably saved and saved for their home while living at home. At least they live in an area where prices are reasonable. Not like here in So California!!!
DeleteOur society could learn a lot from this young family. Everything that they have accomplished at such a young age. My husband was 20 and I was 19 when we got married. I got pregnant 4 months later. My husband was a painter and I was a housewife and stay at home mom. We bought a house a year and a half after we got married. We’ve been married 35 years, and have been very blessed by God. They just aren’t your normal young Americans that are searching for their purpose through most of their 20’s. They’ve been raised with Christian values and already know what they were created for. To serve and love others. They aren’t lost like most young adults their age, they are already successful at such a young age. Sometimes it’s hard for some to understand how, especially in today’s culture.
DeleteNo, a general yes or no answer should NOT be given. It is absolutely no one else's business.
Delete@Anonymous, August 8. Sorry, but that salon is not high end at all. It's a chain and a typical shopping center salon. Nothing wrong with that, but don't give it more prestige than it deserves. It's not Super Cuts, but it isn't high end.
DeleteI’m sure Josie has gotten some money from filming. You have to remember that they are in fact reality stars and normal finance issues that normal people have, reality stars often do not.
DeletePlus what they earn from the show! Their totally fine!
DeleteDo they see their bank accounts? It's nobody's business. Proud of y'all. Baby Willow is just beautiful. Congratulations
DeleteMost likely the $ from being on TV.
DeleteObviously they aren't their parents and had to do some type of loan cause they obviously don't have that much money to pay in cash.
DeleteCongratulations! God bless yall I love your show and yall have a wonderful family 😇
DeleteNot at all sure how you think 🤔 that they’re gonna be asked over n over again how they can afford the house?!?! Perhaps you haven’t actually been reading the updates on him? Kelton is not nearly as young as you make it sound (I didn’t double check the birthday page, but something tells me he’s around 24 years old) and so he could well have managed to save up a fair bit in the 6 or more years that he’s likely been in the work force... And like someone pointed out, they don’t party, or spend money on drinking, drugs, n smokes, so amazing how much money you can save on that alone, never mind if you set your mind to not allow yourself to eat out much, and then not having overhead expenses due to living under his fathers roof all helps big time!
DeleteSo yes, they likely had at least a substantial down payment, and nothing wrong with having a little debt on something of value like a house and not be throwing your money away on rent
Are they taking money out of YOUR account? I thought not. You really need to mind your own business, Snoopy!
DeleteHow are we supposed to follow their example if we don't know how they made it possible?
DeleteI hate to say it, but I was thinking the same thing...but houses where they live are probably really affordable, unlike here in the Seattle area, it is insane, even just renting here is barely affordable. My son is 20 years old and just had his 2nd child, and had to move back in because he can’t afford it! He has a decent job and sometimes works 60-70 hours a week, and they raised his rent at his apartments. It’s hard to get ahead when the cost of everything here is going up. If anyone is thinking about living in the Seattle area, don’t. Yes it’s beautiful here, but the traffic is horrible and the cost of living is crazy. I’ve lived here my whole life and I want to move out of state!
DeleteAlso when you own a house, it is expensive when you have to do repairs. We bought our first house 15 years ago, and it has been a money pit, the plumbing, septic, electrical, the roof leaked, and just trying to update things, and I’m still not happy with how it looks! It feels really hopeless actually when you work your butt off to fix things and all the money you spend and things keep breaking left and right and it still doesn’t look the way you want. Then you see all these younger people today living in their dream house, I’m like how in the heck are they affording that, I have always lived in not the nicest houses, so when I finally got new flooring in our kitchen after living with ugly white and blue diamond vinyl for 12 years, I was like wow, it’s so nice to have a kitchen floor that’s easy to clean. And I was grateful for that. I think people these days want everything new all the time. But we buy everything in cash, so we had to be patient and save our money before doing any renovations
Delete6:17, if you feel pressure to follow their example, I suggest you look up books on money management so that someday you, too, can own a house.
Delete10:40 - The Bates family is fortunate to have several family members skilled in construction (Chad, Zach, Jackson, and other Bates sons), plumbing (Kelton), and electrical (Evan). This makes upkeep of houses easier as they can work together and not have to pay for skilled labor just the materials. They may also be able to buy the materials at wholesale.
DeleteDon't concern yourself about others' finances or material belongings as the envy you hold only hurts yourself. Everyone has a different journey and you've chosen your path.
@1:05-I think you misunderstood 6:17’s comment. I believe that person was referring to all the past talk from Gil & Kelly about saving for a home and being “debt-free”. Other young couples with trade jobs who admire this couple and wish to imitate them could find it very confusing as to how buy a home on their salary at their age (without the golden nugget of a reality show!). It would be gracious of the Balkas to be upfront with their followers ( no it’s none of anyone’s business, but theirs. However, they do put themselves out there and it would be Christian like to be honest with their young peers.
Delete7:10, are you saying they are NOT "Christian like" if they don't divulge their personal financial business? Putting themselves out there doesn't mean they owe their viewers any explanations about personal decisions or information. I also don't think other young couples need to feel any confusion. Read Dave Ramsey or any other personal finance guru and follow their advice.
DeleteThis young couple sent news about their house to the blog owner. Obviously, people are going to ask how they afforded a house at age 20/24. It's inevitable. If they think they will only get comments like "That's great!" they are going to be mistaken. This is unusual, and people always wonder about unusual things. Nothing wrong with that.
DeleteI am poster 6:17. @1:05, I do own a house, but wasn't able to do so until being a decade older than them. My husband and I both have good jobs, but live in area where a basic starter home costs over half a million (1000 sf, 3 bedroom, no yard..), basic saving on a median wage won't get you very far. I do know a lot of young people who look up to them and want follow their example, but unfortunately the real truth it is often unattainable in most areas. @ 7:10 very well said
Delete7:10, they are NOT being dishonest with their peers by not explaining how they bought their house. Privacy and honesty are not mutually exclusive. Besides, Josie and Kelton have never put themselves out there as money experts or frugality experts. Sharing parts of their lives puts them under no obligation to share everything. Fans and followers need to realize that they literally are not owed any answers to their questions. It's just a television relationship, not a personal relationship. You are free to break off that relationship any time you choose if you feel like that relationship is not giving you what you want.
DeleteKelton just turned 24 and Josie just turned 20. It is impressive that a couple that young can afford house.
DeleteThey also had a decent honeymoon, a huge wedding, and now have a baby to raise.
Good for them.
Going to a four year college is extremely expensive!!! They both went to more of a trade school which is exponentially cheaper.
They had a nice apartment if they went with the one they picked on the show. Often you get a mortgage for less than rent. Many young people aren’t able to save for the down payment, but income from being on tv would help them with that.
I’m curious how much Josie will work in the future. As a hair dresser it’s probably easier for her to work part time.
Emily, Kelton attended Pensacola Christian College, a four year college, and earned a business degree. He is also licensed plumber. It was a smart investment to go to college in business and finance so he can one day run the family plumbing business or start his own.
Delete6:17 well said, totally agree. I live in the Seattle area, well outside Seattle, house values are going up so high. We had to buy a house 15 years ago that was a dump, and we are still trying to make it look nice.
DeleteYou can ask all you want and guess what? you’ll NEVER get an answer. Why? Because it’s NONE of our business. This family it’s FAR from ordinary anymore, correction SOME members from this family act far from ordinary. YES!!! They use to be and maybe they still are Very humble, I don’t know because I never met them before but one thing for sure is they’ve changed a lot specially the ladies and that’s OKAY change is good. They are celebrities and can afford their new life style plus on top of their TV show the husbands are hard working men. How about instead of questioning them every time they achieved something new, we applaud and congratulate them and be happy for them.
DeleteHOW DID THEY BUY A HOME? HOW RUDE CAN YOU BE?.THATS NO ONES BIZ BUT THEIR OWN.. NO NEED TO BE RUDE...I ALWAY SAY GOOD THINGS HAPPEN FOR GOOD PEOPLE AND THESE 2 HAVE HEARTS OF GOLD CONGRATZ ON BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRL WILLOW AND THE NEW ADVENTURE YOUR ABOUT TO START LOVE AND PRAYERS
DeleteBY WAY THEY DO LIVE IN NORTHEAST TN OUTSIDE OF KNOXVILLE WE ARE VERY CLOSE AND IT IS VERY RURAL AREA POOR COMMUNITIES SO SURE THEY GOT FIXER UPPER OR EVEN REPO HER SISTER IN LAW IS IN REAL ESTATE AS FAR AS $ NO ONES BIZZ BUT THEY ARE ON TV HAVE BEEN FOR MANY SEASONS NOW SURE THEY GET PAID DUH
Aren't the wives hardworking too?
DeleteI can't wait for season 8b! It seems like an eternity since the show was last on.
ReplyDeletecongratulations!
ReplyDeleteMO- Awww- Very exciting news! We bought a new house just after getting married and before my kids were born. So many memories are gathered in a first home. I'm so happy for you! :o)
ReplyDeletecongratulations on new daughter as well as new home best of luck
ReplyDeletebuying is always better than renting if you have that choice.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The apartment we used to live in was about the same price per month as the house we purchased afterwards. The only difference is that the payments will ultimately stop when the mortgage is paid off. Also, property values have historically appreciated. This was a very smart move for such a young couple, way to go!
DeleteIf you look only 11 years back, to 2008, you can see that property values can drop enormously. In rural or poor areas, they are prone to remain stagnant for many years. So it can go both ways.
DeletePlus, bear in mind that as a homeowner you have many more expenses. Property tax, homeowners insurance, repairs, maintenance, etc. Nothing wrong with buying a house, but it is not always a sure thing.
Congratulations on your new house
ReplyDeleteWhat is with RUDE people??
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your next adventure!
Congratulations on your new home.
ReplyDeleteTake it easy Josie..
Bless your new home and the family moving into it.
the entire Bates family I just adore these are the most beautiful people ever for anyone to question how they could buy a home it's none of your business leave these people alone they are great people I hope you all have great lives you deserve it..
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new baby girl and your first house! I am so excited for your sweet little family.🤱❤️🏡💚
ReplyDeletegood for them!! a house is a great investment and will be a wonderful home for them. cant wait to see what they've done to it and their style
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand why every time someone from this family accomplish something good in their lives people get so affected and start questioning them about their financial status. This is a hard working family (husbands) PLUS they’ve been blessed with a very successful TV show, maybe they don’t get millions for salary but I’m pretty sure they get good pay. Besides they spend their money very wisely and the ladies partners with different products that also bring money in. So, calculate Smart + hardworking,+ a very successful TV show, + smart spending (No parties, drinking or drugs) = $$$$$ yes and if you people can’t figure that out your self.......😕🙄 Good for you JK enjoy it!!
ReplyDeleteI disagree! I think both the husbands AND the wives work hard. Still, there is nothing wrong with asking questions. I like that the blog owner does not try to silence people, and I don't think us readers should try to do so!
DeleteWhy would anyone say only the husbands work hard? Because the women stay at home? It's true, they spend a lot of their time decorating. . .
DeleteSomeone's comment was for Josie to take it easy. I totally agree but she won't have to do anything to the house, Erin and Lawson will no doubt show up and take over.
ReplyDeleteWhen we bought our house, I was taking care of my 3 year old and 6 year old, the house needed a lot of work, my husband was working 70 hour weeks sometimes, so I had to do everything on my own, all the renovations, I didn’t get any help at all. I sometimes felt like I was doing man work all the time plus cooking and cleaning. It was really hard.
DeleteWhen you buy your first house, part of the fun is decorating it yourself, according to your own tastes and budget. Why in the world would Josie want her older sister come and do that for her? Erin's style is OK, but surely Josie has her own
DeleteWhat do you mean by "man work?" It's 2019, there is no such thing as "men's work" and "women's" work anymore!
DeleteWhat I meant by man work, I was mudding and taping drywall, cleaning gutters, doing massive yard work and did not get any help from my husband, so I was doing it all. And I say man work also, because I was taking care of children, cooking, cleaning , doing every single thing with no help at all. Also do you see any of the bates girls doing that kind of work? No, their husbands do it all while they have the luxury of decorating their house.
DeleteAnd I’m sorry, there is some things women can not do as well as men. Some things require strength that women don’t have. That’s just the truth. 90% of women out there wouldn’t even want to do the work men do, let’s be honest.
DeleteI’m a woman and I enjoy the type of work you describe. I’m sorry you had to do it if you don’t like it though. I’m very small and can doqq most anything my husband does. If you enjoy it, you figure it out
DeleteCongrats Stay with Jesus.Love the family and show
ReplyDeleteShe is a very beautiful, I am sooooo happy for U!!!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter.I love your families show. All of you are such a blessing to keep up with. One day I'll run into one of you & will introduce myself as a huge fan. I live in Knoxville, so hopefully that say will come. Congratulations on purchasing your 1st home.
ReplyDeleteThey are making their dreams come true! I'm all for that! Congratulations, you two!
ReplyDeleteIt's "snoopy" to call the Balkas and ask them questions about their finances. I hope no one here would do that.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing wrong with raising questions on a blog. Why does that bother people?
There's nothing wrong with raising questions, but some people went beyond that, intimating that they are being dishonest or not behaving like Christians if they don't provide answers to those questions.
DeleteJosie's eyes don't look happy.
ReplyDeleteMaybe her eyes look that way because newborns wake up every 2 hours at night to eat.
DeleteWhat?!?! That’s just silly!
DeleteNo ones asking them questions about their finances, it just a lot of people that live in the real world find it curious how a couple who’s only 20 years old can afford a house, when lots of us, normally can’t buy a house till we’re in our 30’s. There’s a down payment, and then you’ve got to find a house in a decent area. I wish we could see a couple who just buys a run down house and it’s not perfect, because that’s reality. All these home make over shows and stuff, it’s making people think this is reality, when it’s not, I’ve never lived in a nice house, and the house we live in now, it was an absolute dump when we bought it, it’s all we could afford, and 15 years later, we are still fixing things and trying to remodel. It just seems it comes easy to a lot of these new couples. I didn’t get to stay home with my newborn, I had to go back to work when he was a month old, I was working 50 hours a week, and with my second baby, I was working 2 jobs until 2 weeks before I delivered. I’ve been through major struggles and all I wanted was to be a stay at home mom, that’s just not reality for a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:15. Thanks for sharing how the real world is. I do think it's a bit misleading when the Bates act like it's all so easy to afford this or that.
DeleteThe real world is different for everyone. The Bates have never said it is easy. You just see a small portion of their life and assume they have it easy. My husband and I bought our first home at 20 & 21. We had been married 3 years and our mortgage was hardly more than our rent. We scrimped and saved and made sacrifices to do so. It was not easy but it was the right decision for us. Friends would ask us how lucky we got to be able to buy a house so young butbit was not luck, it was by choice and God’s blessings in good, steady jobs for us.
DeleteNot saying they have it easy, just saying most women get to stay home with their newborns, I had to go back to working 50 hours a week after my first one was a month old, and work 2 jobs through my 2nd pregnancy, that’s all I’m saying. I’m also saying they should be grateful and count their blessings that they get to be with their newborns instead of having to go straight back to work, and also I don’t think any of them work 2 jobs (physically demanding jobs), when they are pregnant. Not trying to compare or anything, that was my experience and mabye I’m resentful because I had it so rough, and it’s interesting to see a lot of young couples that already have their dream house. I’ve had to patiently wait my whole life and still don’t have my dream house. I actually thank God everyday that I have a roof over my head and can have food and water.
DeleteHow can you buy a home that young with no credit? It took me till I was 30 to buy a home because we didn’t have enough credit! And had to have a down payment of $10,000, which took us forever to save.
DeleteThere's likely quite a bit of TV money put in trusts for the kids that they can access when they reach a certain age. Josie may have had the cash to pay for a house. Housing costs in Tennessee are probably nowhere near as expensive as in other parts of the country.
DeleteHouse prices are not high where they live. You don’t have to have a big down payment. A lot of people don’t put 20 percent down and pay PMI. Kelton has been out of college for a couple of years, so he had time to save up while living at home. Josie also finished college and worked a while while living at home. They could have saved up a fairly good amount plus getting money from being on the show. Their parents may have helped them with a down payment as well.
DeleteMaybe it's not the blog readers who they don't want to share their house buying story. Maybe it's some of their nosy relatives. Lol
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Kelton and Josie. Your biggest fan is so thrilled to hear that you have your 1st home. Yes you can afford a "fixer upper". Can't wait to see pictures of the house.
ReplyDeleteChris Hodges
We paid our first house off when i was 23 and my husband was around 27. We live in a low cost stae, also in the south, and had low paying jobs but my husband bought stock at his job, which was a great help in paying off our house.
ReplyDeleteLove and happiness from your best friend ❤️
ReplyDelete