Housing Success

Sharon and Scottie had met once before, in passing, many years ago. Through a strange coincidence, they became reacquainted. Scottie had just moved into a new apartment when there was a knock on her door. She looked though the peephole to see two of her grandchildren. As she hadn’t even given her new address out to anyone yet, she was a bit dumfounded. Her grandchildren were equally dumfounded when she opened the door to greet them, as they expected their other grandmother to open the door. As it turns out, Scottie and Sharon share one grandchild, and Scottie had just moved into Sharon’s old apartment!

The coincidences didn’t stop there. Scottie had been referred to our Center for Nonprofit Housing (CNH) by MSHDA’s Key to Own program, which supports Section 8 housing clients transitioning from renters to homeowners. One of the requirements for that program is to attend nine separate Financial Literacy classes, followed by a Homebuyer Education program from CNH.   

Shortly thereafter, Sharon was also referred to CNH for the same reasons. Both women completed the Financial Literacy and the Homebuyer Education classes. Sharon, in particular set a tight schedule for herself, going through the initial nine classes, in about 12 weeks. There were several other steps along the way, including proving her credit rating, in Sharon’s case, and improving hers, in Scottie’s.

After they both had finished all of that, they ran into each other again, and Scottie told Sharon about the Real Estate Agent she had been working with. Sharon worked with this agent, who was familiar with both Section 8 and the Key to Own program, and after seeing only two houses, Sharon found her dream home in White Cloud, within walking distance of her children and grandchildren.  

Scottie’s search took a little longer, but she ended up finding a perfect house in Holton. Both women site the huge benefits of the knowledge they gained in both the Financial Literacy and Homebuyer Education classes, and how important it was having their CNH Housing Counselor walking alongside them through the entire process.