Margarita Chavez and her family made their dream a reality
At the core of everything Acts does are the families we serve. Each family’s story is different, and all month long as we celebrate Longest Neighborhood Table – Impact Edition, we’ll share the inspiring homeownership stories of Acts Alumni families like the Chavez’s
5 People – 2 Bedrooms
The five members of the Chavez family had spent the last seven years crammed into a 2-bedroom duplex apartment with rent that was increasing every six months. Homeownership seemed like the logical solution to both their need for more space, and their desire for stability in their monthly expenses.
But, like many of the families Acts Housing serves, they were constantly facing rejection from banks. Without support from a lending institution, homeownership would not be possible.
Too Good to be True
One day, Margarita overheard a man talking to her boss about some kind of home improvement project. As it turns out, her boss had purchased a home and was in the middle of a rehab project. As the conversation went on, this man—Ramon Guadarrama, Acts Sr. Rehab Coachunselor— insisted that Margarita and her family (along with her other co-workers who’d taken interest in the conversation) would be perfect candidates for the homebuyer program at Acts.
Though it sounded too good to be true, Margarita and her husband eventually attended an orientation to see if Acts could truly help them become homeowners. And it did. Margarita, her husband, and their three kids became homeowners, and the entire family pitched in to rehab the house.
The result? More room, a safe space all their own, and a monthly mortgage payment that is half of what they were paying in rent.
