April 4, 2007
PageA5
H ousing tâ
Beating Housing Odds by ‘Never Saying Never’
Positive attitude, persistence pays off
J on G ail
F or T he P or i land O bserver
by
Zerelda Knox isadelightful lady with a
wonderful laugh, but life was not going
herway. She became disabled in 1999, was
divorced in 2002, tiled for bankruptcy in
2003 and lived on a fixed income.
To some, the odds of Knox buying a
home would seem impossible, but not to
her. She never stopped dreaming of own­
ing a place of her own.
As she put it, “Never say never.”
This positive attitude and her persis­
tence paid off. Her dream came true and
now she owns a home of her ow n.
So just how did Knox succeed at buy­
ing a home of her own? It all started w ith
a newspaper article.
“ I was overat my sister’s house and my
brother-in-law said ‘You have been talk­
ing about buying a house and here is an
article about PDC programs.’ I read the
article and then picked up the phone and
called right then.” explained Knox. She
made that first important phone call a little
over a year ago.
On the other end of the phone was
Phyliss Gaines, a Loan Specialist for the
Portland Development Commission (PDC).
Gaines specializes in helping home buyers
on modest incomes buy a home of their
own.
She encouraged Knox to attend her
"How to Buy a Fixer Upper" workshop and
to take other home buyereducation classes
as well. She was then introduced to the
Portland Housing Center (PHC), a nation­
ally recognized home ownership center
right here in Portland.
Knox set her plan in motion by taking
the initiative to leant as much as she could
about the various services and programs
available to her.
“They tell you about everything in the
workshops. I learned about the different
loan programs, things people just don’t
know about.”
The more she learned the more effec­
tive she became at navigating the home
buying process.
At Portland Housing Center she got
help from Jeff Parker, her home buying
counselor. "He played an excellent role.
He taught me about reducing my debts
and improving my credit," she explained.
With hard work and persistence, she
managed to pay down debts, keep up on
her current payments, and got herself
ready to apply for a home loan.
From PDC she learned about the "Or­
egon Bond" loan, which isa below-market
rate loan for first-time home buyers avail­
able from the State of Oregon. While she
had owned a home prior to her divorce, it
had been more than three years, so she
now re q u a lifie d as a “ first-tim e
homebuyer" for that and other programs.
PDC approved her for the “Oregon
Zerelda Knox of Portland fulfilled her dream of homeownship after attending
homebuyer workshop and homebuyer education class.
Bond" loan w ith renovations, along with
a Shared Appreciation Mortgage (SAM)
from PDC. The SAM is a second mortgage
that bridges the gap between her income
and the cost of a property and it does not
require monthly payments.
The SAM can be used for closing costs
and to pay for needed repairs if the home
is located in certain neighborhoods. This
unique combination of programs allow ed
Knox to have both affordable payments
and the funds she needed to make im­
provements to her home. PDC pre-ap­
proved her for a purchase price just below
$150,000.
One o f the other challenges Knox faced
was coming up with enough money to
cover the down payment and closing
costs.
Once again, her sister stepped up to
help out in a big way.
"My sisterand brother-in-law were such
a great help. They gave me $5.000 for the
down payment. She has been helping me
all along.”
In addition to the gift from her family,
she also took advantage of the Oregon
Bond Cash Advantage Home Loan, which
provided her cash assistance equal to
cover most of her closing costs. This
infusion of cash was an essential part of
Knox’s dream coming true.
Then came the bad news. In August,
the Oregon Bond loan was temporarily
suspended pending the outcome of Mea­
sure 48. Knox w orried her plans had fallen
apart. Fortunately a few months later the
measure did not pass.
Knox was back in business, shopping
for a home.
continued
on page AS
Trust Offers Affordable Homes Senior H ousing G roup C elebrates
Portland Community Land Trust has
a number of affordable homeownership
opportunities in north and northeast
Portland and in the Lents neighbor­
hood o f southeast Portland.
The first step to qualify is to attend
a free homeownershiporientation class.
A class this month takes place Thurs­
day, April 19 from 6:30 - 7:30p.m. at the
Moore Street Salvation Army, 5325 N.
Williams Ave.
Next month, classes are scheduled
Thursday, May 10 from 6:30 - 7 :30 p.m .
at Brentwood Darlington Community
Center, 72 1 1 S.E. 62nd Ave. and Mon­
day, May 21 from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.. at
Mississippi Ballroom, 833 N. ShaverSt.
Space is limited. RSVPs are required
and income qualifications apply.
Contact Paulette at paulette@pclt.org
or call 503-493-0293, extension 3. For
more information, visit pclt.org.
ROSE Com m unity Development is
celebrating 10 years of serving east
Portland seniors at Lents Village, a 63-
unit community designed tom eetagrow ­
ing senior population's need for afford­
able housing.
The organization serving southeast
Portland is rooted in the belief that afford­
able housing gives people the opportu­
nity to build better lives
At Lents Village, a community kitchen
was designed for Loaves and Fishes to
Jump for Joy in a
Home of Your O w n!4
Lents Village in southeast Portland
provides affordable senior housing.
provide noontime meals for its residents
and seniors living in the surrounding
neighborhood.
The anniversary celebration will beheld
on Thursday. April 12, from4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
at Lents Village Apartments, 10325 S.E.
Holgate Ave. Tours will be offered at 4:30
p.m.,6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. with a program at
5:30p.m. For more information orto RSVP,
call Mackendree Thompson at 503-788-
8052, extension KM) or email mackendree
@ rosecdc.org
HOUSING HELP SERVICES
Housing Connections
(503)802-8562 • www.housingconnections.org
Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc.
503-288-2923 • www.pcrihome.org
Host Development
503-331-1752 • www.hostdevelopment.com
Portland Housing Center
503-282-7744 • www.portlandhousingcenter.org
Portland Community Land Trust- PCLT
503-493-0293 • www.pclt.org
Pennisula Community Development Corporation
503-283-1096
Rose Community Development Corporation
503-788-8052 • www.rosecdc.org/homeownership.html
HomeOwnership Center
360-690-4496 • www.homeownership-wa.org
Hacienda Community Development Corporation
503-595-2111 • www.haciendacdc.org
Jump on your homeownership dreams -
PDC specializes in making them a reality:
R em o d elin g sin ce R etro
• Free workshops for future home buyers
was co n tem p o ra ry .
• Home loans for first-time buyers
• Homebuyer assistance programs
• Property tax abatement programs-
and a whole lot more.
Design /B uild Remodeling
Call 503-823-3400 or learn more on
our web site at www.pdc.us/jump.
Since 1947
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No matter what look you’re going for, you’ll find the going easier when you work
with Neil Kelly. Call today, and experience the difference that experience makes.
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