Buying a house can seem almost impossible in a competitive market when there are more buyers than sellers. After all, you’re likely to find many people interested in the same house you love, and some of them may be able to pay more money than you. That’s how Diane felt some years ago when she was interested in buying her first house. But working with HomeFree-USA helped her beat out the competition.
Diane first heard about HomeFree-USA when she was flipping through the pages of a real estate publication. Since she was new to the homebuying process, she thought it would be helpful to have guidance along the way so she wouldn’t have to figure everything out herself.
The financial education she received from from HomeFree-USA helped her to feel more comfortable about the process. “One of the things that was very helpful to me was the budgeting class,” she says. She also learned what her expenses would likely be once she bought a house, which helped her determine how much she ultimately wanted to spend. Finally, HomeFree-USA showed her what she would need to bring to the table when she closed on the house so she could prepare.
That made all the difference. Because her Homeownership Advisor Alfreda Williams helped her to become mortgage ready, she was able to move quickly when she found the property she wanted. “The owner was relocating and needed to close in 30 days,” she says. “Because I had everything in place, we were able to do that.” Other potential buyers didn’t have all their ducks in a row and weren’t ready to move that fast, so they lost out.
Diane used that first house as a springboard to building wealth. Not only does she now have a second property, but her first house, which she bought for $247,000, now appraises for more than $1 million. Her sister also went through HomeFree-USA’s program when she became a homeowner.
The connections Diane made at HomeFree-USA were valuable even after she achieved her dream of homeownership. In fact, HomeFree-USA has become a partner that Diane could turn to over and over again. “You become a member of the HomeFree-USA family,” she says. “If you have issues after you get in your house, you can turn to them and get some advice versus trying to do it all on your own.”
