I was a single mom when the kids were little, with no child support, and the inability to own my own home. I worked one full time job and three part time jobs just to make things work. After Moving to Lawrence, I heard about Tenants to Homeowners. At first I didn’t qualify for the program because of a recent bankruptcy but the wonderful staff gave me the information and tools needed to get my finances in order. After a period of working towards qualifying, I was eventually able to get my very own condo — a small lovely condo — and I owned my very own place for the first time. When you make your payments in ownership you lose nothing and in renting you’re not gaining anything. When you own and you’re making your payments, you’re building your equity and you get that back in the end.
I’ve since retired and because I wanted to have a garden, do yard work, and have lots of pets, I really desired a place with a fenced yard. I sold my condo and used my equity, savings and appreciation toward a house with a yard. Finally, a place where I can have pets and a garden. I graduated from Tenants to Homeowners and was able to put that equity into another home. In five or ten years, when I get a bit older and want less responsibility, when I’m tired of taking care of the house, tired of doing the yard work, when I retire from “life on the farm” so to speak, I plan to go back to tenants to homeowners and rent from them. I love the whole process of the Tenants to Homeowner program, It’s keeping prices low so anyone who qualifies can own. I like owning and the only way for me to own a house in Lawrence, KS is Tenants to Homeowners.
