Jed and Karin Hancock became involved with Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) when the family began receiving housing counseling to help them learn what steps they would need to take to purchase a home. The Hancocks had rented for several years, and knew that what they really wanted was to put down roots from which their young family could grow.
Knowing that they wanted to have a place for their family to make memories, they decided to join the Individual Development Account (IDA) program, which helps families to build assets to achieve goals like purchasing a home. The IDA program encouraged them to save by providing a dollar-for-dollar match to their savings, which totaled $6,000. These funds were ultimately used for a down payment on their home. The family also obtained a loan from USDA Rural Development with a low interest rate that made their payments affordable. “We finally figured out we could build this house, and seriously we both were jumping for joy and crying at the same time,” Karin said.
“This is home base, this is where we’re going to operate out of, this is where the kids are going to go to school, this is where they’re going to have their friends,” said Jed. “Out of anything that we’ve done, having a home to raise our children in is the most important thing,” Jed said.
The Hancock’s attribute their new home to hard work and the direction they received from their caseworker at IHFA. “Self-sufficiency is something that Karin and I have done our whole life, but the program helped us to understand that anybody can own a home if you do it the right way,” Jed said. “We’re going to be in this house for a long time and it’s such a relief to think that we were able to get in here when we did so we don’t have to worry about moving again,” Karin said. Jed put it simply: “It’s given us an opportunity that we wouldn’t have had any other way.”
To learn more about Idaho Housing and Finance Association, please visit their website.
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