With rising interest rates and home prices, finding the perfect forever home can seem unachievable for many. For Mrs. Bahamon and her family, what started as an unexpected worry transformed into a beautiful homeownership story that serves as a beacon of hope for many first-time Hispanic homebuyers.

The Bahamons had been renting a home for years and were very established in their neighborhood. In addition, they had affordable monthly rent payments since they had lived there for so long. Unexpectedly, the Bahamons were notified by their landlord that the home was being sold and they needed to vacate within 60 days. This was a shock for the Bahamon family, and they immediately started searching for a new place to live.

Experiencing the harsh housing market first-hand, every apartment and home Mrs. Bahamon had come across was way over her budget. After weeks of searching to no avail, Mrs. Bahamon’s cousin recommended that she should consider buying a home rather than purchasing one. Homeownership was the furthest from her mind, as it seemed unattainable. With time winding down to find a new home, Mrs. Bahamon started exploring homeownership options.

While searching extensively, Mrs. Bahamon came across a home that was perfect for her family and was within her price range. Unfortunately, the seller accepted another offer. Determined, Mrs. Bahamon submitted a backup offer and knew that it would work out if the home was meant for her family. A few days later, she received the news that the buyer had backed out of the deal, and her offer was accepted. Mrs. Bahamon’s dream of homeownership was now manifesting into a reality.

Things ran smoothly until Mrs. Bahamon realized she couldn’t cover the closing costs. At that point, Mrs. Bahamon’s Realtor referred her to Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services (NPHS) for help. In partnership with the California Association of Realtors and the Housing Affordability Fund, NPHS provides closing cost assistance grants for first-time underserved homebuyers. While working closely with NPHS, Mrs. Bahamon was approved for a closing cost assistance grant just in time for the loan closing.

“I was approved for the closing cost assistance grant, and it just left me speechless; I couldn’t believe it,” said Mrs. Bahamon. “It was just mind-blowing that there was actually a program that was out there to help people in need of it, just like me.”

The C.A.R. HAF Closing Cost Assistance Grant covered 100% of Mrs. Bahamon’s closing costs. Thanks to the program, the Bahamons could buy their dream home.“I want to give my thanks to NPHS, especially Curtis and Mara, for all the hard work in helping my dream of homeownership come true,” said Mrs. Bahamon.

NPHS is dedicated to helping underserved communities build intergenerational wealth through homeownership. To learn more about our down payment assistance programs and services, please contact Curtis Miller at (909) 986-5843 or at curtis@nphsinc.org.