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H O M E B U Y E R S T O R I E SSamantha

Samantha has been a teacher for over seven years, includingthroughout the unprecedented and exhausting upheavals of thepandemic. Her son, a rising college sophomore who was awarded anacademic scholarship, majors in computer science in a school ofengineering. Samantha’s commitment to leaving a legacy for her son iswoven into the rich educational experiences he’s thrived in, his hardwork, and his impressive academic accomplishments. Her legacy isalso reflected in the benefits of her homeownership, which include thefamily home they enjoy now and the wealth-building asset that homerepresents for both of them moving forward.In the following interview with Black Home Initiative, Samanthadiscusses how she’s already equipped her son with important financialand budgeting knowledge, habits, and mindsets. She also shares someof the invaluable wisdom she’s acquired, knowledge she thinks mighthelp potential first-time homebuyers.1

What are the first words that come to your mind when you hear thephrase “my own home"?Proud. Accomplished. Hardworking.What experiences have you had over your life that shaped that view?I was born and raised in my family home, and I lived there until I was 21and graduated from college. Living in apartments and moving aroundwere things I never knew about; all of those things were foreign to me.What are your biggest hopes and dreams for homeownership?I want to have a place to retire to; I don’t want to be in the position thatlots of seniors find themselves in. Some senior citizens are using amajority of their Social Security, and other retirement income andsavings they may have, just to pay rent. This leaves them very little tolive off. I also want to leave a legacy for my son. He remembers ourfamily home, but he lived in an apartment most of his life. I want him toknow what it takes to own a home—the responsibility. And I want mylegacy to include passing wealth to the next generation. My son isabout to begin his sophomore year in college, where he’s majoring incomputer science. He had planned to go to college on the east coastuntil Covid-19; and then it became important for him to be closer to meso that he wasn’t across the country if something happened and he hadto come home. How You Think and Feel About Owning a Home, and the Life Experiences That Shaped Your View 2

Details of Your Homebuying ExperienceWhen did you start the homebuying process, and what prompted you?I had been a homeowner once before, beginning in 2001. I had to sellthat home in 2009. After that, I was in an apartment until 2021. It wasconsidered an “affordable apartment,” but it still wasn’t reallyaffordable. For a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment without a washer &dryer, the rent was $1600/month… and rising. It was not affordable. Ibelieved I was wasting money by renting for 10 years, but I also knewthe housing market. I understood real estate, home pricing, and the sizeof the down payments that would be necessary to buy a house here. Iwondered, “How would this work?” But I started Googling programs, andfocused on two of the affordable homeownership programs in this area.How long did your homebuying process take?One of the things that worries people about affordable housingprograms is that they hear about a long wait list, and that once you’re inthe program, it can take you three or more years to buy a home. But Ididn’t have three or four years to wait—I needed to move quickly. I hadto get myself and my son situated so he could get ready for college andso I could get back to my normal life as well. So I said, “I’m just going todo it; all they can do is tell me ‘no.’” I’ve heard ‘no’ so many times in mylife, and that wasn’t going to stop me. One of the main reasons I chosethe program I worked with was that they told me they had a houseready, one that would be finished and ready for me to move into soon.So I picked it. I started the process in March 2021, they finished thehouse in October, and I closed on November 4, 2021.3

Is your new home where you were hoping to live?It’s a new two-bedroom, two-bath cottage of about 950 square feet—it’slike a town home. It’s on a cul de sac street in South Park with severalother cottages. I was raised on Beacon Hill, so I knew about South Park. Iwas initially concerned about the location, because 20-30 years ago,South Park was not a place you wanted to go—it was a place you stayedaway from. But they convinced me to drive by and take a look, and thatchanged my mind. South Park now is not like it was back then. It still hasquirky parts, but so does any place around Seattle. And gentrification isdisplacing people from communities their families have been a part of fora long time, like Beacon Hill and the Central District. 4

How has gentrification affected you?I first noticed gentrification in the Central District when they put in theStarbucks at 23rd & Jackson. During my growing-up years, it was avibrant Black community. There were not many people who wereCaucasian or other races. Then in the ‘90s, specialty stores startedcoming in: PCC, Trader Joe’s, Central Co-op. These are fine stores; I shopin them. But they’re businesses you’d typically see in Bellevue. And thenpeople saw how centrally located the Central District was—howconvenient the access was to 405, to I-90, to I-5 and downtown.So the “clean-up” happened. That focus pushed people out. People wereoffered what appeared to be a large amount of money. However, theydidn’t see the bigger picture of leaving their community and the costand time of commuting back to the neighborhoods they grew up in orpurchased in many years ago. In some situations, some of the familiesthat bought homes from those long-time residents may have purchasedfor what is now considered pennies on the dollar. Others were able topurchase during the redlining of Seattle. And now the same thing ishappening in Columbia City. The Black-owned businesses that werethere when I was a kid are almost all gone; I think there are only twoleft. This is all happening in the community I was born and raised in—and the city I pay taxes in.5

Did you experience any other kinds of challenges and barriers duringthe homebuying process?The first time around, when I was buying a house in 2001 (not this time),there were lots of things. I had not been taught about credit: under-standing a credit score and how it dictates a lot of your purchasingpower; knowing what a credit score of 750-800 means; what debt-to-income ratio is and why it should be 10% or less; why you should keeppay stubs, birth certificates, and tax records for years and why it’simportant to have them organized so that you can get them quickly. Myparents owned their home when they moved in. So I wasn’t taught aboutthe power of credit, the importance of credit, and the need to maintaingood credit. I was part of the mess that came from the housing crisis of 2008. Withmy first home, I had an ARM (adjustable-rate mortgage). And it reallyimpacted me. There was no way I could afford it once the ratesincreased. And nobody had fully explained how ARMs work. They justtold me, “It’ll be fine—interest rates are low.” We had refinanced, too.And the same thing happened: they said, “This will get you out of debt.”These particular lenders didn’t have my best interests at heart anddidn’t tell me that I’d be essentially starting all over again.So unless you have a trustworthy lender who can prove to you howrefinancing could be beneficial to you (for example, by lowering yourinterest rate), I’d tell people not to do it; it very well might not be a goodthing. When I bought my house this time, one of the biggest challengeswas the paperwork and the requirements that some affordable housingprograms may be required to follow (i.e., because they’re supportedpartly with public money). For example, the money my son madeworking part-time during his senior year in high school and full-time inthe summer before his freshman year in college was so that he wouldn’t 6

have to work during the school year; his job in college is to focus on hisgrades to keep his academic scholarship and continue to avoid studentloans if possible. We had to do a lot to document all of that, and that’swhen I almost gave up once and for all. Thankfully, my lender wrote areally helpful letter that took care of resolving their concerns.When you were a first-time homebuyer, would it have been helpful tohave a mentor who could walk through the process with you, help youknow what to expect, and advocate for you?Yes, that would have been helpful the first time around. And plus: Weneed to have “reality conversations” with kids about financing andbudgeting. My son gets a ton of credit card offers in college. He knowsnot to accept them. But I didn’t! This is where predatory lending starts.The credit card companies mail things to college students, telling themabout specially designed credit cards for students with no credithistories. And you’re automatically approved! When college studentsget those, of course they think it’s a good thing, so they take it. I had towork to get out from under that debt—it took me five years. 7

8During your homebuying process, how important was it for you to findsomeone you “clicked with” or “vibed with”?Vibing! Yes! I called five or six different lenders until I got one that mademe think: "Yes. You're the one." The homebuying process is differentwhen it's with a special affordable housing program. This lenderexplained how that process is different, and she explained it really well.She knew—she had knowledge and she had a background. She kept mefrom walking away three times over the course of my homebuyingprocess. She even came to my job to pick up documents from me.

Other Lessons You Want to ShareLots of people tell us that their mindset is a big success factor ingetting through the homebuying process. What did you tell yourselfand how did you stay motivated to stick with it?I always saw the bigger picture: My rent would always keep increasing.And with typical two-bedroom apartments in this area costing$2300-$2500 per month, on my salary I would either be homeless or myson would not be able to attend college. He has a nice academicscholarship, but I have to pay out of pocket for things like his groceriesand supplies—all of the things outside of tuition and fees.And I knew that by buying this home, I’d actually save money. I’m saving$600 every month compared to what I was paying in rent. But I still actlike I’m paying that amount in rent—I put the extra $600 a month into asavings account. During the process, I also reminded myself that this home would be astarting point. Some people are wary of unique kinds of affordablehomeownership (for example, land trusts or "sweat equity" programs)and worry that they won’t make any money off those properties. Ifocused on the benefits of homeownership. In my situation, one of thosebenefits is that I can build some savings so that I can have a downpayment for that “dream home.”And I told myself that once I bought my house, I would never have tomove unless I want to. That’s a really big thing.9

Is there anything else you wish you had known back in 2001? Any otherwisdom you’d like to share with a potential first-time homebuyer likeyou once were?The biggest advice I have is: be up for the challenge. Don’t be so quickto give up. People will tell you “no”—but don’t use your fear of rejectionto stop you. A “no” might just mean that now isn’t the right time. Itdoesn’t mean you should stop working toward your goal.Additionally, be prepared for the paperwork. Especially with anaffordable housing program, where there’s even more than in thenormal homebuying process. Just do your research! That includes finding other folks who’ve done it—who’ve gone through the homebuying process.10And Ask. Your. Questions. Ask all of your questions. Then really listen to what the lenders say. If you’re not getting theanswers you’re seeking, find someone else. Find someone who can giveyou the answers you need to all of your questions.

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