Last night, during the State of the Union, President Trump told the story of Rachel Wiggins.
A mom from Houston. Two kids. Twenty bids on twenty different homes. Lost every single one to giant investment firms — companies that showed up with all cash, skipped inspections, and turned those homes into rentals before Rachel could even schedule a second showing.
It’s a real story. And it struck a nerve, because homeownership is supposed to be the thing you work toward. The thing that’s yours. I get why people cheered.
But after 25 years in this industry — sitting across from thousands of people who wanted a home and didn’t know how to get there — I need to offer you something more useful than a villain to blame.
Because the door to homeownership isn’t locked. For most people, it’s just that nobody ever handed them the key.
Here’s the truth about Wall Street and housing: large institutional investors own less than half of one percent of all single-family homes in America. Blackstone — the name everyone points to — holds about 0.06% of the market. And they’ve actually been pulling back, with purchases down over 90% since 2022.
Banning them might feel satisfying. It might even be the right thing on principle. But it won’t change whether you or someone you love qualifies for a mortgage next spring.
What will? Understanding what’s actually in the way.
The median household income in America is roughly $83,000 a year. Using standard lending guidelines, that supports about $2,000 a month toward a house note — which at today’s rates gets you a $250,000 loan.
The median home price right now is $422,980. Starter homes in most real markets run $250,000 to $300,000 — more in competitive cities.
So the median American is close. Closer than they think. But that $2,000 a month assumes very little other debt. One car payment, one credit card balance, one student loan — and the math shifts. That’s not a failure of effort. That’s a gap that can be closed with a plan.
In 25 years of doing loans, I watched the same three things keep people out of homes — and I watched all three of them get solved, over and over again, with the right guidance.
Credit — Most people don’t understand what’s actually hurting their score or what genuinely moves it. It’s not mysterious. It’s a formula, and once you know how it works, you can work it. Scores that felt impossible to repair have turned around in 90 days with the right moves.
Debt — Credit card interest at 22%, 25%, 28% quietly destroys buying power. But there are strategies to attack that debt in the right order, consolidate where it makes sense, and restructure what’s eating your income. The debt that feels permanent often isn’t.
Income — This one takes the longest, but it’s still a plan, not a sentence. Understanding what income counts, how to document it, what loan products are available — these are things most buyers never get walked through because nobody sat down with them long enough to ask the right questions.
I used to tell people this all the time, and I meant every word of it: I can get almost anyone into a home within two years.
Not a slogan. A track record.
If you’re sitting on the sidelines — or you know someone who is — I’d love to have that conversation. Not a pitch. Just 25 years of real answers and a genuine belief that the path forward exists, even when it doesn’t feel like it.
If this landed in your inbox but it’s really meant for someone else — a friend, a family member, someone who’s given up on the idea — please forward it. You might be handing them the key they didn’t know existed.
Reach out — let’s figure out what’s actually possible.
The dream is alive. It just needs the right conversation.
With honesty and intention,
Michelle Vaughn
Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #1130618
Loan Officer | NMLS# 1130618 | Edge Home Finance Corporation | NMLS# 891464 | 5860 Baker Road, Minnetonka, MN 55345 | Licensed in Louisiana | Equal Housing Lender | Rate and payment examples are for illustrative purposes only based on a 30-year fixed conventional loan. Actual rates and APR vary based on creditworthiness, loan amount, down payment, and other factors. Rates are subject to change without notice. This is not a commitment to lend. All loans subject to credit approval. NMLS Consumer Access.