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WHEN I WAS BORN IN Iowa in 1973, my parents were renters—and they didn’t become homeowners until eight years later. Looking back, I can see that it would have been hard for them to buy a house. When my dad started at the factory where he worked for more than 30 years, it didn’t pay the best.
But as Bandag, the retread company he worked for, began to prosper under its founder Roy James Carver, the workers formed a union. By the mid-1970s, they started receiving more generous wages, with decent pay increases each year, and soon it became one of the best jobs in town.
Like others who write for this website, I was a financial nerd as a kid. I paid attention to the news, and I remember the high inflation and terrible recession of the early 1980s. As I grew older, I learned who Federal Reserve Chair Paul Volcker was, and that he raised interest rates to painful heights to crush inflation.
I was also aware that my parents had bought their house on contract, meaning the seller financed their purchase. It wasn’t uncommon at the time. With interest rates so high, there was an incentive for sellers to provide financing. Meanwhile, buyers could sometimes get an interest rate that was a few percentage points lower than that offered by the bank, or the seller might require a smaller down payment.
When I bought my first house in 2001, I got a Department of Housing and Urban Development—or HUD—loan. As I recall, my HUD loan required just a 3% down payment because I was a first-time homebuyer. But when my parents bought their home in 1981, they were probably required to make a 20% down payment.
How did my parents come up with the money? Even with towering interest rates, raising the cash for the down payment must have been Dad’s biggest obstacle to the American dream. When I asked him how he did it, his answer surprised me: He’d inherited a piece of property.
His widowed aunt Elena, who lived in the border town of Piedras Negras, Mexico, had owned a jewelry store with her late husband. The couple didn’t have children. They also owned a few commercial properties near the bustling town square where the jewelry business was located.
When my dad’s aunt died, Dad inherited one of her commercial properties. He sold the property, pocketing enough for the down payment. Without his aunt’s bequest, I wonder if my parents would have ever owned a home.
Why did Elena leave my father the property? The story goes back to my grandparents. My grandfather died young, leaving my grandmother Dora to raise two children as a single mother in 1950s Mexico—a hard life for sure. My father was just two years old at the time.
Working and taking care of two children proved too much for my grandmother. My father’s sister—my aunt—tells the story of being taken by my grandmother to live with a relative when she was a toddler. After several months, when my grandmother could afford to bring her back home, Dora made the two or so hour bus ride to pick up her daughter.
When my aunt answered the door, she didn’t recognize her mother. It broke my grandmother’s heart and brought her to tears. Dora took my aunt home and reunited her with my dad. My grandmother never had to separate them again.
My grandmother had a strong support system that helped her over the years. My dad’s aunt and uncle, whom I have no memory of, were among those who pitched in. It was this aunt, Elena, who left the commercial property to my father.
The home that my parents bought was no mansion. But it was in a middle-class neighborhood, surrounded by homeowners, not renters. We left behind the Mexican immigrant barrio in Iowa I’d known my entire childhood. I remember my mom’s friends coming to visit and telling her, in Spanish, how they dreamed of having a home like ours someday.
All this was possible because of my aunt’s bequest. When I hear the term “generational wealth” or hear Dave Ramsey speak of changing your family tree, I think of this story. Investments and legacies compound. My dad’s uncle and aunt planted a seed, and my family sat under the tree that bloomed in faraway Iowa.
For me, the story is humbling: My family got something many others didn’t. The majority of people I knew growing up never inherited a dime.
Yes, Dad got dealt a tough hand when his father died so young. But he also got some good cards: a strong healthy body, a love for reading that facilitated his ability to learn English, and coming of age in an era when he could leave home to make a better life for himself in the U.S. Another piece of good fortune: Dad’s mom was an American citizen, having been born on the Texas side of the Mexican border, and that allowed my dad to get his green card.
Dad maximized these ace cards, including his inheritance. He made good bets and thought long-term. His grandchildren are in a better spot for the decisions he made long before they were born. Still, credit also goes to the generosity of a widow in Mexico I never knew. Thank you, Tia Elena.
Juan Fourneau’s goal is to retire at age 55. When he isn’t at his manufacturing job, he enjoys reading and writing about personal finance, investing and other interests. Juan, who is married with two children, retired from the ring after wrestling on the independent circuit for more than 25 years. He wrestled as a Mexican Luchador under the name Latin Thunder. Follow Juan on Twitter @LatinThunder1, visit his website and check out his previous articles.
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Yes Juan,
We don’t take anything with us, but we can pass it along.
I would like to make a hard copy of your beautiful story for my own family to find in my final papers.
Thank YOU!
Shows the effect of making good financial decisions. I know many that have blown their inheritances on new cars and the like, lottery winners who end up no better off after a few years of blowing this windfall. A similar event happened to me, I received $10k and purchased a small house (9 3/4% mortgages, it cost “only” $110k, which seemed high at the time). This “entry level” home is now valued in the mid 400’s. A young person today would need quit a larger inheritance and salary to afford it.
Sounds like you made a good investment with your $10k! My dad mentioned one of the other family members, who also got a small property, did not use it prudently.
Juan – Thank you for sharing. I enjoy your unique perspective. Please keep writing articles and sharing your thoughts. Growing up, my parents were on the other side of the equation. They took in a relative’s child during hard times for her parents. It too changed her life (and her future generations) in a very positive way.
It seems to have been more common in the past. It was always interesting to hear dad share memories about all the family who helped raise him. He named my brother after one uncle he was especially fond of.
Great story and I love your attitude of gratitude! We all stand on the shoulders of others.
Yes we do!!
I’m sure, with the good union wages and benefits that you’ve written about, your hard-working parents would’ve eventually achieved home ownership even without the inheritance.
I recall the 70’s as a depressing time financially. I was a teen so burden was on my parents. Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter seemed powerless to improve it.
It was such a relief when President Regan (and Paul V.) finally turned things around. I was fortunate to start my working years as things turned around.
I also remember the grim times of the late 70’s, but when I talk to folks so much depends on where you lived, your stage in life and many other factors. I also remember the 80’s being good, especially after the recession of 82/83 ending….and getting my M.T.V. But I was 11 years old in 1984 with a paper route and cable T.V., I had it made!
Love your story; please keep writing. As to contract buying, the terms seem to vary with the individuals involved—and with some risk: https://orchard.com/blog/posts/contract-for-deed-buying-a-house-on-contract
Thank you. As a landlord during a low interest rate environment I saw little value in selling one of my rental homes on contract. But during a high interest rate environment with someone providing 20% down I could see my mind changing. I understood the win/win it was for both parties when my parents bought their home on contract.
Thanks for your inspirational story! Two of my gg-grandparents emigrated from Germany to Muscatine in 1850 and are buried there in Greenwood Cemetery. It is nice to see that this small working class Mississippi river town is still providing opportunities for hard working immigrants and their children.
I grew up in Iowa City (I’m 25 years older than you) and remember playing a couple of rounds of golf with Roy Carver’s sons, Roy Jr and Clayton, on the University of Iowa golf course when they were U of I students (I was in high school). As you probably know, Carver and his wife were the University of Iowa’s largest donors as reflected in the Carver Basketball Arena, Carver School of Medicine.
Thank you for your comments and memories! Yes,Muscatine is still doing that! My dad always had nice things to say about Roy Sr. Every interaction he had with him was positive. My neighbors dad was also a Mexican immigrant who worked for him in the early Carver Pump days, he told me his dad felt the same way. He spoke many languages, was generous with his fortune and left a tremendous legacy.
I like how you tell your story without bragging and with gratitude for your good fortune compounded by good decisions. You have a lot to be proud of.
Thank you!!
Your personalized life recollections are inspiring.
I recall working as well as schooling in the seventies as a ‘every waking hour’ burden thats finally come to fruition nearly 50 years later.
I’m sure many agree all anyone can do is recognize opportunities and try, and try again. To keep on going if you’re a goal oriented individual.
No one can predict the future, just keep one foot in front of the other on the journey.
Thank you! The 70’s are an interesting time for me to hear about, partly because I have some memories to go with peoples accounts. Your ‘every waking hour’ burden is a take I haven’t heard before. Good to hear all your hard work and sacrifice paid off!
Juan, three cheers for your Tia Elena and your parents good fortune. I’m always glad when hardworking, deserving people get a boost.
Humbling to consider someone I never met helped our family and I never knew it until my dad shared the story.
Juan, thanks for the great story. Many of us are familiar with the immigrant stories of our ancestors, and how generations help succeeding generations. It’s humbling to think about the challenges many people faced and overcame trying to make a better life for their families.
Their legacies and stories can be great reminders and inspiration when we go through our hard times.
“I am a warrior, so that my son may be a merchant, so that his son may be a poet.” – John Quincy Adams
A great quote!
A great story more people should read.
Thank you!!
That’s a great story about your family, Juan. We often have to look no further than our kinfolk to find examples of people we’d like to emulate. Both your father and his aunt were thinking of how to help family.
By the way, I’ve seen the inside of the Bandag plant in my town, and watched the workers produce the tire retreads.
Very cool! I worked as a temp for three months at the more modern plant in my hometown. It was hot, heavy work. It made me grateful for the honest labor dad put in every day for us.
Thank you so much for sharing. What a great reminder that decisions we make now can impact not only ourselves and our children but generations down the road!
Thank you!!