For many people, the holidays are often associated with home. Home is what you make it, but we know that finding the right living space to call your own can make a difference in your health, happiness, and safety while giving you and your loved ones the gift of generational wealth. 

In this blog post, we are sharing Demetre’s journey from stressful living to creating a more comfortable home for his family. 

Demetre works for the city of Winston-Salem building stages and hockey arenas. He was living in a rental house with leaking water and no insulation, resulting in expensive energy bills without resolution from his landlord.  

He decided that buying a house was the best way to get out of his living situation and came to Self-Help to see what steps he would need to take to qualify for a mortgage.  He talked to Maria, a Self-Help loan officer, who was able to explain the homebuying process to Demetre in a way that was easy to understand. To Demetre’s surprise, Maria was also able to pre-qualify him for a mortgage loan right away. He even got the approval on his birthday – talk about a great gift! 

Demetre expected that he would owe quite a bit upfront and was prepared to bring his checkbook to closing. However, he was shocked to find out that he qualified for our Equity Boost for First Generation loan product, allowing him to get into his new home with only a 1% contribution to total costs. Now, Demetre is so excited to have a space of his own to host family events and do more activities with his kids. 

Equity Boost   

Self-Help's Equity Boost loans are available to first-generation homebuyers and homebuyers with modest incomes so that borrowers like Demetre can achieve their dreams of homeownership. These loans offer 0% down payment, the ability to finance closing costs into the loan, $2,000 toward a rainy-day fund, and lower mortgage rates.   

Learn more about Equity Boost or discover all of our affordable home lending options.  

Home for the Holidays 

At Self-Help, we believe in ownership and economic opportunity for all and focus on finding better ways to support historically marginalized communities. If you need support on your homebuying journey, consider connecting with one of our financial coaches, who can help you develop a personalized plan to save, build credit, and get ready to apply for a mortgage.  

You can also follow our guide on how the homebuying process works. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it’s important that you have financial coaches, loan officers, and realtors on your side who are willing to help you through each step. 

We are so grateful to be able to support first-time homeowners like Demetre in achieving his dreams and hope that he and his family are feeling comfortable in his new home for the holidays!