June 15, 2015 | by Katie Claflin
Categories: Affordable Housing, First Time Buyer, Homeownership
June is National Homeownership Month, and to celebrate, TSAHC is doing a special blog series every Monday in June. Each Monday, TSAHC will share the story of a family or individual who used our programs to purchase a home.
And on Monday, June 29th, TSAHC will announce the five winners of our Mortgage-Free Monday raffle. Each of the lucky winners will receive one month's mortgage payment courtesy of TSAHC.
This week we are featuring Mindy Burrow, who recently purchased her first home in Amarillo. Mindy was kind enough to share her story on how TSAHC's programs helped her escape her run-down apartment and purchase a home of her own.
I never saw myself as a homeowner. I always thought it was beyond me financially. But I was unhappy with the deteriorating conditions of my apartment, so I began looking at apartments with similar floor plans. The newer complexes were going for $1250 a month!
I came home telling myself surely I could purchase a home for less than that. I wouldn't have anyone occupying the space above me, I could control the quality and timeliness of repairs, and I would have the autonomy to direct the care and appearance of my own home.
As a single woman and first time home buyer I needed to educate myself quickly. A couple of friends referred me to REALTOR® Beth Jones, the team leader for BOLD Realty Group with Keller Williams Amarillo, saying they were pleased with the process and their purchase.
My beautician also recommended Nicole Newton, a loan officer with PrimeLending. Nicole was a wealth of information about mortgage loans. She also suggested that I might qualify for a down payment assistance program. Fortunately, my good credit rating put TSAHC’s conventional loan program within reach.
Nicole explained that a home buyer education course was also required as part of TSAHC’s down payment assistance programs. I found eHome America to be the most user friendly course. The material was thorough, and I think it’s an excellent tool for people considering buying a home.
The morning of January 12th, my closing date, I was sitting in bed answering emails when I started to smell something burning. Sure enough, my apartment building was on fire! I dialed 911, grabbed charger cords, my laptop and an overnight bag, and ran outside to a brisk 26 degree morning to wave down fire engines and police cruisers. The firemen were able to put out the fire before it did too much damage.
Afterwards, I was able to joke with the fire fighters that I was just five hours away from signing on my home. Fortunately, my renters insurance covered the damage to my belongings, and the next day I received the keys to my very first home.
I am thankful for many things, including the assistance provided by TSAHC and the experience and good counsel of two great ladies, Beth Jones of Keller Williams and Nicole Newton of PrimeLending.
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Happy new home owner! That’s the way it should be! It’s a less complicated and smoother process to own your own home now than it’s ever been. That is, if the buyer has good credit, a job, and gets good advice from the pros! Thanks for a good story and good luck to the new home owner.