Tyrese Gibson is schooling homeowners in the value of equity.
On a recent episode of the R&B Money Podcast, the 44-year-old talked about learning how important equity is after selling his first home. He told hosts, singers Tank and J Valentine, that he was only 16 years old when he purchased the home, thanks to recently being signed to RCA Records, after being courted by 20 other labels.
When Valentine asked how heavy the bag was, Gibson was shy with his response: $2.5 million. “But Andre didn’t offer the bag. RCA offered the bag.”
While that amount of money seems like a lot in the mid-90s, Gibson broke down that it depended on the budget.. He reminisced on a conversation with a colleague he referred to as “The Big Homie” who advised him to invest because you never want to
think “shoulda woulda coulda.” With that sound advice and what was left of his money, Gibson purchased a four-bedroom, two-car garage home, for $197,000, in the California suburbs of Hawthorne.More than 10 years later, the “Sweet Lady” singer sold the house and learned from his Realtor what equity really was. “I knew nothing about business, I knew nothing about real estate, and the lady said, ‘Oh, you did really
well on this house,” Gibson said. Confused on what she was referring to, he asked for more details. “You got a lot of equity. The house was bought for $197,900, but now it’s worth $415.”“The house is paid for and when you sell your house, you’re going to be able to get a much bigger number. It’s equity.”
The lesson shows the importance of education for young homebuyers as different programs are being created to teach.
In California, Black homeownership peaked in 2004 with a rate of 50.98%, but decreased over other racial and ethnic groups in the state. Last year, the Bay Area Black Housing Advisory Task Force supported the community with the “Bay Area Regional Black Housing Fund” initiative, which helped repair the injustices that shaped the housing experiences of Black people in the Bay Area.