More Women Are Buying Homes

If you tell Lydia Puller that a woman's place is in the home, she may agree - once she clarifies that her goal is to put women into homes of their own.

In an era when many women-only or women-focused opportunities are falling away, seen as vestiges of an earlier time, Puller believes it is very important to help women purchase homes. As a result, the real estate agent has focused her work almost exclusively on helping women buy homes.

That doesn't mean Puller won't work with men. In fact, she works with everyone - men, women, and couples of all stripes. "If men want to work with me, and our personalities get along, I am open to working with them. But they understand that my mission, first and foremost, is to help women," she explains.

That hasn't put men off. In fact, single men often approach her for help, thanks to Puller's reputation for getting single women into homes of their own. "The men that I have worked with are very accepting of the idea, and in fact, promote the idea," Puller notes. "One client actually found my website and pointed it out to his wife and was the first to call to set up the appointment."

But Puller's primary focus is helping women, particularly single women and women of color, to purchase a home. That vision is very personal to Puller, who walked the same path as many of her clients.

"My involvement with women buying and selling homes was a natural progression of my own experience," she explains.

"Before I became a homeowner and investor, I was a single parent with a simple dream. I wanted to own a home of my own so that I could have a sense of security knowing that the home was mine and my son would grow up in a safe environment," she says.

But Puller found making that dream a reality to be quite difficult. "I can't tell you how many people laughed at me and said I couldn't do it because I had a [very bad] credit score (well below sub-prime), and I had no money for a down payment. I had so many doors slammed in my face," she says.