Yashica found out about the Portland Housing Center
(PHC) when a friend of hers successfully purchased a home after working with PHC. Yashica had thought that home
ownership was something that she might do in the distant future, but after her
friend bought a home, that future seemed a little bit less distant.
Yashica took PHC's Financial Fitness class and got a
counselor to help her get her finances in order. After a year of working with her counselor,
she was encouraged to signed up for the Individual Development Account (IDA) savings
program.
The IDA program helped Yashica prove that she had the
discipline to set money aside each month and showed her that she could afford a
mortgage payment. Participating in the
program was an important lesson in the value of patience and persistence. She would need these qualities when her house
hunt began.
When Yashica started the IDA program, she still didn't
really see herself as a homeowner. She was
young and independent. But two years
later, she was married and pregnant with her first child. When she reached her goal for the IDA
program, she was ready to buy a house.
It also helped that the Federal Government was offering incentives to first-time homebuyers. The
tax credit was a helpful bonus, but also meant that there were a lot of
people trying to buy houses in the same price range.,The competition was tough and the banking
crisis made things even tougher as banks kept changing the requirements for
loans. After several false starts and disappointments, Yashica finally closed
on a house that she had looked at three times, but didn't think she could ever
get.
The Portland Housing Center helped Yashica be successful in
her pursuit of home ownership in many ways. The Financial Fitness class helped her get her finances in order and
taught her the discipline it would take to pay a mortgage. The Homebuying 101 class educated her about
the process. The African American
Homebuyers Club at PHC gave her support as she encountered different
obstacles in her search and helped connect her with key partners such as her
fabulous real estate agent.
Yashica says that buying a house improved her self esteem
and helped her truly feel that she is an adult and can conquer anything. She has a home for her new family and is
proud of what she accomplished through patience and discipline.
As Yashica herself says, "If you are serious about getting a
home and don't have the financial means or education about how to begin, you
need to go to PHC!"
