Leonardo and Tricia Blanco-Martinez had a
dream, like many other Americans - to own their own home. Although the
young couple both worked full-time jobs, they
discovered what is often true for many low and middle income rural
families - that being it is difficult to find an affordable home at
reasonable mortgage rates and terms in their income bracket in the
Pacific Northwest."I didn't want my
money to go to waste," said Tricia. "If I have to pay this much rent, I
thought maybe we could by something."
After looking at many houses, a sense of
futility began to creep in on the young couple. The homes in their price
range were just too run-down to take a chance. "We were beginning to
think it wasn't going to happen," Tricia said. "There was just no way we
could afford much more (in a mortgage) than what we were already paying
in rent."
Their Realtor, Helen Everitt of Remax, would
not give up. Persistent to the last, she found the young couple a three
bedroom home in very good condition in the small community of Birch Bay.
The property was just right for the family, including a big yard for
their five-year-old daughter to play in safely.
"My hand is on my heart when a buyer gets the
keys to their own home," said Everitt, who said she serched hard to find
the a home within the Martinez price range.
"This was a challenging deal to make work,"
said Charlotte Eastman-Pros, lender at Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, who
described herself as having a "true heart for first-time homebuyers."
Charlotte worked to quality the family wan an affordable loan by using
two housing purchase programs - The Washington State Housing Finance
Commission (WSHFC) House Key program, which offered a 30-year fixed loan
with a below market interest rate of 5.25 percent paired up with a USDA
Rural Development Section 502 Guaranteed Rural Housing Program Loan.
The Section 502 Guaranteed Loan made it
possible to eliminate down payment and mortgage insurance requirements
and permitted closing costs to be included in the price of the loan.
"I know how happy the Blanco-Martinez family is
to have their own place," said Carlotta Donisi, Guaranteed Rural Housing
Specialist with USDA Rural Development. "It is important for them to no
longer have to spend their hard-earned income on Rent. The Martinez
family own their own home and that is what makes me proud of the part I
play in helping people become homeowners."
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Rural Development
Five Star Commitment To Expand
Rural Minority Homeownership
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Lowering Fees To Reduce Barriers to Minority
Homeownership |
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Doubling the Number of Self-Help
Participants By 2010 |
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Increasing Participation by Minority Lenders through
Outreach |
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Promoting Credit Counseling and Homeownership Education |
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Monitoring Lending Activities to Ensure 10 Percent
Increase In Minority
Homeownership |
To learn more about this and other
USDA Rural Development Housing programs, click here for the Rural Development
Area Office closest to you.
Back to Housing Programs
Back to Homepage
For questions, please refer to the
"Contact
Us"
page of
this website to select the proper individual. Send comments about the format of this web site to:
mailto:philip.eggman@wa.usda.gov
USDA Rural Development is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider and
Employer.
Complaints of Discrimination should be sent to:
USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Washington D.C. 20250-9410
EEO/CR Statement
Last modified:
January 04, 2005 |
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