Michelle Cummings and her 21-year-old daughter with special needs were no strangers to apartment living. They bounced around from apartment to apartment, back and forth between Montana and Georgia due to specific healthcare needs. Nearly four years ago, they moved back to Montana for the last time. With no vehicle, a low credit score, and no place to call home, they moved in with Michelle’s mother while Michelle worked tirelessly to rebuild their lives.
Eventually, Michelle found her own place and purchased a modest vehicle. She found a part-time job that allowed her to continue caring for her daughter while working to save money and improve her credit score. In October 2023, Michelle reached out to housing counselor, Tracy McGrath from the National Affordable Housing Network in Butte to explore the possibility of homeownership in what she thought would be the very distant future.
Turns out, all of Michelle’s hard work was paying off. Tracy confirmed that there were options available that would allow Michelle to start exploring homeownership much sooner than anticipated. Through several housing counseling sessions, Tracy was able to assist Michelle in developing a workable budget and building her credit, helping her prepare for homeownership.
Michelle also received guidance from Julie Pavlish at Homeword in Missoula, who provided personalized financial coaching. Julie commented, “When working with Michelle as her financial coach, we identified several resources to help her persist and make the transition to ownership as affordable as possible.”
As Michelle continued to prepare for homeownership, she and Tracy began exploring lending options. “Michelle was an excellent candidate for the USDA-RD direct loan program. She completed the loan application and was approved with an offer that was accepted on her ‘perfect house.’ Michelle later got the devastating news that the property taxes for the house had increased so much that she no longer qualified for a large enough loan to cover the principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Michelle was devastated,” Tracy explained. “I had never worked with NeighborWorks for assistance with a direct loan, but I reached out and they walked me through the available programs. Together with the USDA loan officer, NeighborWorks Montana assisted Michelle to secure the extra funding she needed to purchase the home of her dreams. NeighborWorks really saved the day and set a hardworking mother on the road to stability through homeownership.”
”NeighborWorks really saved the day and set a hardworking mother on the road to stability through homeownership.
Tracy McGrath, Housing Counselor
NeighborWorks Montana was able to assist Michelle with a statewide low-moderate loan, our amortizing secondary loan product that allows Montanans to utilize up to $20,000 in helping cover the cost of a down payment or closing costs. This was the first time that NeighborWorks Montana has coupled the statewide low-mod loan with an RD direct loan.
“To have your own home is a life changer,” Michelle reflected. “We went from a 700 square foot apartment to having our own space and yard to do what we want. Being about to go outside with my daughter and share this journey with her has been inexplainable. It’s been a wonderful experience and I feel truly blessed.”
More about NWMT:
Homebuyer Education: When you are ready to start looking into buying a home, we encourage you to start by becoming educated about the homebuying process by attending a homebuyer education class and meeting with a housing counselor. Your local housing counselor can help you find and evaluate financing options, as well as set a workable household budget. Click HERE to find a class and housing counselor in your area.
Working with a Lender: When you start meeting with lenders, ask them whether they are familiar with a variety of loans, including NeighborWorks Montana loan products. Your lender can work with our staff to understand the particulars of your situation so we can help find the financing that is right for you. Click HERE for a list of lenders who frequently work with NeighborWorks Montana loan products or ask your lender to give us a call.