Waikato youth worker buys first home at 22 — how she did it

July 17, 2024

She said she could not have bought the $300,000 home in Tokoroa without the "support of her family". (Source: Breakfast)

Hamilton youth worker Ohatu Jones is on the property ladder at just 22-years-old.

She has just bought her first home for $300,000 in Tokoroa, and she said the "support of my family" helped her buy the house.

Jones said owning a home has been her goal since she was 16 years old.

"I had to get rid of all the buy-now, pay-later stuff. Uber eats was one of my biggest ones. I couldn't go on trips with my friends or family, I had to save, but now I can do it since I've got this."

The family celebrated the big purchase with "fish and chips for dinner", she said.

"My koro actually did a karakia on the house."

The three-bedroom house on a "huge section" needed doing up but whānau would be helping her, she said.

As for others wanting to achieve the same, Jones suggested people put their KiwiSaver contributions at 10% and make the "little sacrifices".

"You don't need to do all the fun stuff right now, as long as you have the support of family, you'll get there."

Her nan Rebecca Needham said the purchase would not have happened "if it wasn't for our tupuna" teaching values such as aroha, whanaungatanga, tikanga, and whakapapa.

"It's not about money, to get to somewhere, you need whānau to row the boat.

"We're here to help them as much as we can, they're the next generation, she'll carry on the legacy that we've helped them."

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