What a Difference a Day Makes

This time of year we tend to look back and realize how much has changed and how much we accomplished. We can do a lot in a year, right? But, those goals and tasks happen day-by-day. It’s the daily effort where success really happens.

This truth was never more evident than when our team here at Down Payment Resource (plus a few friends and partners!) recently partnered with Giveback Homes to complete an Atlanta Habitat for Humanity Brush With Kindness Day — an event that focuses on supporting Habitat homeowners with necessary repairs to their home.

Gwendolyn has been a successful Habitat homeowner for more than 10 years — she moved in when her daughter was just in elementary school and now she’s headed to Georgia State University to earn her nursing degree.

Gwen tearfully shared how much this home meant to her and her small family. Some of her coworkers at Georgia Tech helped her build this home years ago. Her homeownership goal was achieved with the help of Habitat, sweat equity, hard work and multiple homebuyer classes.

She raised her daughter here and became a part of the community. And, on this cold day, she joined us in painting the exterior of her home.

In a single day, her home went from this…

To this….

I think we were all amazed that this small team could paint the exterior (two coats!), take a nice lunch break and still beat Atlanta traffic home.

How did we do it?

We had a team focused around one goal and one mission. We had the supplies we needed and we knew we couldn’t stop until it was complete (no one likes to clean up paint twice!).

It mirrors what we’ve accomplished here at Down Payment Resource. This year, our team celebrated 10 years in business. We have a mission to improve the access and awareness to the more than 2,500 homeownership programs available across the country. We’re driven to empower consumers who want to achieve homeownership with this information. Our team works day-by-day to achieve these goals.

What about your goals?

Do you want to buy a home in the coming year? Take a day to focus on that goal and empower yourself with information that can help you make it happen. Think about what you can accomplish in one day that moves you another step closer to your goal. Here are a few ideas:

1. Take a homeownership class — some are offered on weekends. Start by connecting with your state or local housing finance agency. You can also checkout online homebuyer education, such as eHomeAmerica.
2. Interview 3 lenders to find the best fit for you.
3. Research down payment assistance programs in your market.
4. Review your budget. Outline out what type of monthly housing costs your income will support.

We’d love to hear more about your path to homeownership. Share your story with us – you might inspire another future homeowner to take the first step.

From all of us at Down Payment Resource….

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