Girl, 14, gets into Florida real estate

TORONTO, March 15 (UPI) -- A 14-year-old Canadian girl has become half-owner of a Florida rental home by scavenging items, repairing and selling them online.

Willow Tufano told the Toronto Star she got the idea from her mother, Shannon Moore, a Toronto real estate broker who began buying Florida properties during the mortgage foreclosure crunch in 2008.

She said at first she didn't know what she was saving money for, but when her mother mentioned interest in a $12,000 bungalow in Port Charlotte, Fla., she decided to get involved.

Mother and daughter each put up half, spent $15,000 on repairs and renovations on the home once valued at $100,000 and have rented it out to a married couple for $700 per month, the Star said.

Tufano is still scavenging, refurbishing and selling items online with a goal to eventually buy her mother out, although Florida law requires a landowner to be at least 18 years old.

Meanwhile, she's learning landlord skills and has put her online buying and selling to work -- when the tenants' dryer broke down, Tufano found one for sale nearby the same day, the report said.