It didnt take her long to sell her home in Detroit.
What her list of wants didnt include was a price tag of $455,000.
But thats what her dream house was listed for.
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She knew this house was too good to pass up, so she decided to go for it.
It took years of making financially savvy decisions and saving strategically.
Heres how she got there.
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She was 25 and single, so she had no second income to fall back on.
But she viewed real estate as an investment.
When she bought her first home in Detroit in 2011, the local real estate market was crazy-cheap.
Dowhan moved back in with her parents after college.
Shed used scholarships to pay for most of her degree, so she graduated with no student debt.
She washed her dishes in the laundry room, found dust everywhere and lived within half-finished walls.
She sold her Detroit home in three days for her asking price of $90,000.
The sale left her with a sizable down payment.
Still, she didnt make enough to qualify for her home loan.
So she paid off every bit of debt she had.
But herdebt-to-income ratiowas still over the 50% limit set by the bank.
Still, she believed she could make it work.
When mortgage interest rates dropped by 0.12%, she finally achieved a 49.9% debt-to-income ratio.
She was approved, and on Feb. 22, 2016, Dowhan closed on her home.
She had more than enough room for roommates.
The answer at first was roommates, she said.
The answer was not roommates after I got them.
Two months after she closed on the house, a young couple moved into one of the rooms.
But the roommates werent a good fit.
She gave them their 30 days notice after one month.
But there was one small issue: Airbnb guests dont bring their own beds with them.
She couldnt afford to furnish three extra bedrooms and two bathrooms so soon after closing.
With $100 left in my checking account, I made a game for myself, she said.
Every single piece of furniture I brought in had to be free on Craigslist.
The week Dowhan posted the first bedroom on Airbnb, she was continuously booked.
Her first guests actually arrived before her roommates were finished moving out.
Within six months, shed switched the queen out for a king.
It really was like a glorified dorm room, she said.
To keep this lifestyle sustainable, she limited bookings to a minimum of four nights and maximum of nine.
She blocked off weekdays unless weekend guests were staying longer.
Dowhan also continued to apply for higher positions at work.
When she got them, she kept negotiating her salary.
They even throw pool parties on the weekend.
I would never take this risk if [I was] married.
And if we had kids, I definitely wouldnt have taken the risk.
Jen Smith is a former staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
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