Home is Their Happy Place
Yolanda Marquez dreamt of owning her own home, a place where her family of five could relax, be creative, and host family get-togethers. As a working-class family, she cherished sharing the traditions that come with raising a family and making memories by spending quality time together. As each year passed, she felt her dream was slipping away due to increasing housing prices and down payment requirements. She knew in her heart that one day her current arrangement could quickly end: the home where she lived was owned by someone else and her fear was that her rental house would be redeemed with little notice. In addition, annual rent increases meant less money to save for her own.
To make matters even more challenging, the Marquezes lived with another family under the same roof. As convenient as this was, Yolanda knew her family that includes three teenagers didn’t have the privacy afforded to families with their own home. Once she heard about Ventura County Community Development Corporation from her realtor, she was determined to change her circumstances and learn what she could do to buy her own place.
She tapped into all the information provided by VCCDC including how she could become mortgage ready and qualify to receive down payment assistance worth over $100,000, made available to low-to moderate-income households. She decided this was the time to make her dream a reality and began taking steps to purchase her own home. Today, thanks to their resolve and assistance from VCCDC, the Marquezes own a new home in Oxnard.
“We each now have our own space, and as a mom, it makes me happy to see how much my family is enjoying our new place,” said Yolanda. “I delight in seeing my kids decorate their own bedrooms, with the ability to express themselves creatively, something that was lacking in our previous home. Additionally, our favorite family gathering space is our backyard patio which allows us to make new memories celebrating milestones and hosting birthdays,” she added. “We have a new home thanks to the efforts of VCCDC and their donors,” she said, "who help families like ours overcome obstacles to achieve homeownership".
When you give to VCCDC, you help working class families like the Marquezes achieve their dream of owning their own home and impact their lives and that of their children for generations to come. Over the last 22 years VCCDC has assisted over 20,000 families and individuals with over 3,000 becoming new homeowners, preserving their home, or becoming mortgage-ready, as well as invested in community revitalization, and developed tools for resiliency and family wealth-building.
Homeownership is empowerment, that provides housing stability for families like the Marquezes, which becomes the cornerstone of a family’s economic, environmental, and social well-being and contributes positively to a better quality of life. Please consider helping more families and individuals with a new happy place to call their own with your tax-deductible donation today.