Three teenage siblings who had spent their entire lives living in apartments were excited when they were surprised with their first-ever house.
Throughout their relationship, parents Mary Santos, 43, and Chauncey Santos, 44, had lived in apartments, barely making ends meet as they both worked to raise three kids without state assistance.
As a result, their sons—Angelo, 17, D’Marco, 16, and Sebastian, 14—had only ever known apartment living. However, as they grew up, the boys craved more space and a family home.
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Mary said it would be tough to afford an entire house in Renton, Washington, but with their apartment lease set to end soon, the couple decided to look at rental houses to give the teenagers the space they needed.
They toured a four-bedroom townhouse with their parents and hoped it would become their home.
Though they had mapped out their rooms and how they would look, the boys were dealt a devastating blow when Chauncey and Mary’s application was denied because of the credit and income requirements.
Mary said this rejection knocked the couple, so going forward, she and Chauncey decided to look for a rental home alone, not telling the boys.
Having viewed numerous options, Mary and Chauncey settled on a property they were then approved for—but they decided not to tell the boys until they had the keys.
When that day finally came, on September 10, Mary asked her unsuspecting sons – still sad from the home they were rejected for and not knowing about their parents’ viewings– if they would like to come and look at some houses again.
The boys said yes and made their way to the house to look around.
While Chauncey looked around with his sons, Mary spoke to the property manager and quietly completed the necessary paperwork.
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Angelo, D’Marco and Sebastian mentioned that they loved the home but couldn’t see how the family could afford it, only for their parents to hint that it was, in fact, theirs.
The brothers then asked their parents to swear it on their family members, at which point Mary said, “Welcome home,” with tears in her eyes.
As soon as they realized this, the three brothers jumped for joy, hugging each other, and Chauncey captured their reactions on video.
Mary, who later shared that video on TikTok, said, “Chauncey got choked up, and I started tearing up. The joy and gratefulness truly showed.
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“When I said, ‘Welcome Home,’ the look of shock and excitement each had was an image I will never forget.
“All Chauncey and I were saying was, ‘We did it,’ and for Angelo to say “You did it, bro” was so fulfilling because years have passed since we said we’ll get you guys into a house one day.
“We want others to always believe in themselves. Things may not happen when we want them, but they will happen all in God’s timing. Manifestation and Affirmations are also essential to us.
“The response to sharing on social media has been positive and encouraging.
“Even from strangers, their positive words are uplifting and make Chauncey and me proud.”
in NYC