Carol Nelson moved to Salt Lake City from Philadelphia in July of 1975 with two young sons. A newly-divorced single mother, she came to Utah looking for a fresh start and a more laid-back, western mentality. She initially looked for jobs in her former profession as a bookkeeper, but was unable to find anything that would allow her to be home with her sons during the summers. She finally found a position with a local school district as a school bus driver for special-education students, which she planned to hold for a year or two until she was able to find a better accounting job. Thirty-five years later, she continues to serve on an on-call basis, despite retiring three years ago.
After living in Salt Lake City for 13 years in a small apartment with her sons and a number of rescued cats, Carol was outgrowing the space and growing weary of noisy neighbors. As she began the search for a new place to live, she says “I had a [bus] stop near a home that was for sale, and every day I would go by to pick up this student and see the 'for sale' sign, and the house...it just called to me.” Despite the fact that the house had been foreclosed upon, vacant for years, left in disrepair, and was located on a busy street, Carol fell in love and set about finding a way to purchase it. An acquaintance told her about Utah Housing Corporation (UHC) and their first time homebuyer program. She contacted UHC and was able to acquire a 30-year mortgage to purchase the home. She closed on February 27, 1988.
“A single woman back in those days was very different than being a single woman now…Back in 1988, we weren’t given credit as easily, we had to do twice as much work to get the same thing as a man."
In the years since, she has restored the 65-year-old house with new windows, carpet, a sunroom addition, and a self-created Jackson Pollock kitchen. Carol paid off her mortgage on August 31st, 2007—a 30-year loan paid off in less than 20 years—and was able to retire from the school district with full ownership of her home. When she walked into UHC to deliver her final mortgage payment, the staff was waiting with balloons, cake, flowers and sparkling cider.
At age 69, Carol continues to rescue cats that have both mental and physical ailments and provides a sanctuary for them. She travels to Cambodia every year to do humanitarian work, rallied friends and neighbors to create a Christmas for a refugee family living next door last year, and gives tirelessly to nonprofit organizations. Carol exudes a spirit of feisty independence and relentless optimism, spending much of her time since retirement visiting National Parks and hiking in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Utah. However, she is the first to admit that many of these attributes have not always come so easily.
“Utah Housing was probably the beginning of a level of confidence that grew within me because I alone bought [my] house; I alone saved for the down payment with my own salary. It was mine. And that I think instilled something in me, it gave me the courage and the confidence to do other things that I might not have done. And I really think it started with Utah Housing allowing me to buy a home. And I’m so happy in the house.”
To learn more about Utah Housing Corporation, please visit their website.
For more information on Housing Bonds, see our advocacy page.
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