Rosa Moreno is a single mother. Prior to the purchase of her home, Rosa, her boyfriend, and her five children lived in a three bedroom apartment. The family was living on top of one another in the apartment because the $475 per month rent payment was the "right price" for them at the time. With a household income of little more than $20,000 (about a third of the area median income), she didn’t think she would ever be able to own a home.
The Nebraska Investment Finance Authority (NIFA) Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bond Program was used to help Rosa purchase her first home in June 2010. She purchased a home in Hastings, Nebraska for $65,000, financed by a FHA first mortgage ($62,065) with a 4.75% interest rate and a second mortgage (grant) in the amount of $3,000. Rosa was also able to take advantage of the federal homebuyer tax credit ($6,500).
“I’m one of seven kids and the first one to buy a home. No aunts or uncles, no one has ever owned a house before.”
The mortgage payment of $538 per month was a modest enough increase that allowed the family of seven to move into the home of their dreams. “The kids are very excited because now they have a home to call their own. We got our dog, Rex, when we moved to the house because we weren’t allowed to have pets at the apartment where we lived. The kids weren’t even really allowed to play outside because of all the rules and regulations. There were no barbeques, no nothing.”
Ms Moreno’s son, Angel, says that things have changed since they moved into the new home. “My mom lets us do more stuff now that she’s not worried, ‘cause we’re closer and our friends all live around here.”
“I know they are safe here,” Rosa added.
Angel explained that being in the new home is also a financial change for them. “I walk to school to save more gas.”
Privacy was a rare thing for the family in their tiny apartment, but in their new home they each have a place to call their own. The older children now each have a room of their own, with only the youngest two sharing a bedroom. Asked how he liked having his own room, Angel responded excitedly, “I got to choose the color of my walls now and everything. I get to put pictures up, and I have a door.”
“We always eat on the table now, before sometimes we would just take turns, or if we had a family gathering some people would sit there and some people sat on the couch. Now we have room for everyone to be together, ” Rosa said. Her friends and co-workers have noticed the new house as well. “When people pass by they say ‘Yep, that’s Rosa’s house.’”
“I’m very, very excited to have a home to call my own.”
To learn more about Nebraska Investment Finance Authority, please visit their website.
For more information on Housing Bonds, see our advocacy page.
Printer-friendly version
