This month, Portland Housing Center launched a redesigned website! Be sure to check out the all the new features:

• Check out our most recent social media posts directly from the website
• Register online with our new and improved registration form
• Ask your questions about homeownership
• Check out our new mobile friendly site when you're on the go

We would like to thank Inkwell Creative and Angela Wilson for all of their hard work on the new website. Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think!

This month we celebrated the accomplishments of the last year with the release of our 2011 Annual Report. In addition to highlights from the last year, this Annual Report also commemorated 20 years of homeownership done right with our stories, a timeline, and cumulative highlights from 20 years of service.

Check out this very special report on our website!

Homelessness to Homeownership

Karen actually experienced  homelessness for a few days when a domestic violence situation forced her to leave her home with her children. It took time to find help and get back on her feet. She didn't have a job or skills, but she did have determination.

Today, she has a job she loves where she has been promoted and she is the proud owner of a house in a wonderful location. Her determination to take care of herself and her kids helped her come a long way.

She had always hoped to own a home, but she didn't know how. When she first started out, she worked with lenders who looked at her lack of credit and told her it was impossible for her to buy. Eventually, she learned about Portland Housing Center (PHC) at a homebuying fair. Through PHC she was able to put together a team of people who believed in her ability and who worked hard to help her purchase a home.

"These people worked hard for me and you don't see that every day." She found her Realtor and her lender through PHC and they went above and beyond to help her. They knew about every program that could help her get closer to her goal and they worked together so that no deadlines were missed. She was a first-time homebuyer who was struggling to build credit, but, "They acted like I was buying a million-dollar home."

Of course, it didn't happen overnight. Karen had to build a credit score and demonstrate that she could save money through the Oregon Individual Development Account (IDA) program. These processes took years to achieve, but they put her on track. Once she found out the steps that she needed to take to succeed, she was going to make sure that not a single step got skipped.

The house she bought was bank-owned and just a bit beyond the price range she had set for herself. Her Realtor and lender worked really hard to structure the deal so that the payments would be affordable. She couldn't believe it when she closed on a house that she hadn't looked at right away because she simply assumed she couldn't afford it. It was near a park and had a great backyard with a huge deck. Buying this house was a dream come true!

Homeownership has given Karen a sense of security and she is proud of how far she has come. "I feel giddy and sometimes I have to pinch myself."

"The people at PHC were looking out for me and I am in awe of them. I have so much respect for how they help people."