She’s making sure she passes down generational wealth!
A single mother gifted her son three homes for his 16th birthday, News 5 Cleveland reports.
Charlise Freeman’s son Taurean Thomas recently turned 16. While many parents would be thinking about how to celebrate in grand fashion, maybe via a party or even a new car, Freeman said she wanted to give her son just a little bit more. Since the teen was already interested in real estate, Freeman thought she’d celebrate the milestone birthday by giving him something that would give him a head start.
“My thing is what do you want to pass along to your kids when you leave. I’m not about to pass along a bunch of bills,” said Freeman.
That’s when she decided to gift Taurean three houses in celebration of his birthday. The homes are currently operating as rental properties and are already occupied and making money. Freeman also gave Taurean an additional $10,000 to go towards renovating one of the investment properties.
“The purpose of me giving them to him so young is so I can teach him and hopefully by the time he is fully ready, I can let him go, but this is something that we can do together,” she explained.
Statistics show that Black homeownership during the first quarter of 2021 was down to just 45.1%, compared to 74% for non-Hispanic white households. Freeman is making sure her son is in the number, focusing on gifting him assets that accrue value.
“It all goes back to being able to leave him something that in the end of the day was always going to produce some type of income,” said Freeman.
Taurean said he’s excited to get into the real estate business and hopes to one day pass down the wealth the same way his mom has done for him.
“I want to keep doing real estate and then have another business, so I feel like everyone will see that I’m hardworking… I want to either pass the business down to my brother or pass the business down to my children and my brother’s children can go into business together,” he explained.
Congratulations, Taurean! And great job, mom!
Photo Courtesy of Charlise Freeman