The Cuban content creator and entrepreneur Lorena Rosa revealed on Instagram the exact price of her first property in New Jersey, a house built in 1900.
She explained that she and her husband finalized the contract less than a month ago. In the first video where she showcased the property, all kinds of theories emerged regarding the price of the home. One user even claimed that the house was worth around 70,000 dollars, but that was far from the property value in that city's real estate market.
In a recent video posted on Instagram, Lorena explains that the property was listed for 549,000 dollars. She and her partner had set a maximum budget of 580,000. They closed the deal for 540,000 dollars, although they caution that the actual investment will be significantly higher once repairs begin.
"Before we have it ready, we will need to invest time, effort, and money into fixing everything and rebuilding what needs to be done from scratch," Lorena acknowledged in the video.
The house, with 126 years of history, has both favorable and controversial aspects. According to the owner, the garage "honestly serves no purpose," the doors and windows are quite aged, and the main bathroom was "recently renovated with poor taste and a low budget, but renovated nonetheless."
On the positive side, the kitchen is in good condition, and the basement has flooring, electricity, and plumbing. The feature of the house that won her over was the abundant natural light. The deciding factor that prompted her to sign was the location; it is in a good neighborhood for her children to grow up in.
Among the priorities that guided the search were the yard, the parking spaces, and having rooms of a decent size. The house met all those criteria: it accommodates up to three cars and has larger rooms than most of the properties they visited.
"If there's one thing that's very hard to find here in New Jersey, it's large rooms; all the rooms are too small," she explained.
Lorena also provided context about the price for her followers: the same property, if it had been located near the Hudson River with views of New York, "would have cost over a million dollars." Being about 20 minutes inland from the state, the value decreases significantly.
The real estate market in New Jersey is one of the most competitive in the United States. Data from Redfin in July 2026 indicates that the median sale price in the state was around $602,831, with a year-over-year increase of 7.6%, which places Lorena's purchase below that statistic.
To those who imagined that 70,000 dollars could go a long way in that market, Lorena responded clearly and directly: "Friends, 70,000 dollars here won’t even get you a whiff of the key, let alone actually receive it."
The purchase of a first home is a significant milestone well-documented by the Cuban community in the United States. In recent months, other Cuban women have shared similar experiences on digital platforms, from Miami to various cities in the Northeast, reflecting the economic integration process of the diaspora.
Lorena announced that her account will be specifically dedicated to documenting the transformation of the property: "What’s coming in terms of content is a marathon," she promised her followers. Would you buy a 126-year-old house to renovate, or do you prefer a modern apartment that’s ready to live in?
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