by Alex Morales
Published: July 12, 2010
The dream of owning a home has become a reality for newlyweds Natalia and Jose Garcia. A couple in their early twenties and together for a little over a year, Natalia and Jose had been working with us since early February 2010 when they learned about our homeownership opportunities and toured one of our homes located in the historical Back of the Yards community.
Their journey to first-time homeownership began in February 13th when TRP staff gave the Garcias a tour of the new house located on 47th Street and Racine.  The young couple, impressed by the quality of the home and its great location close to the stockyards where Jose works as a mechanic, decided to take advantage of this opportunity.  Just five days after they took the tour, the Garcias met with Mary Lou, a TRP financial counselor for a one-on-one counseling session. Mary Lou assessed their finances and recommended the couple save more money for down payment and closing costs. Later, the Garcias attended our ABC’s of Homeownership workshop and learned more about the home buying process, credit and creating a budget. The classes helped them focus on their expenses and keep a strict budget.
Since their credit was in good shape from the start the Garcias were able to save money quickly.  By the time the Garcias were near closing on the house, their bank statement reflected a total of over $15,000 saved. They were under contract by April 27 and were able to close on their home on June 28, 2010.
Jose and Natalia have worked very hard to get to become home owners and are grateful to TRP for the opportunity. “Purchasing a home with the guidance from The Resurrection Project was a wonderful experience.” shared Natalia.  “They taught us how to make good financial decisions that allowed us to become first time homeowners of a safe and affordable comfortable home.”