Writing her own homeownership story, Karla Quintana and her two children have lived in Garfield County, CO since 2011.  After having to move out of a garage studio apartment, the family was able to move in with friends and rent the bottom half of their home. While owning a home would be ideal, she wasn’t sure it was obtainable. Locally, Habitat for Humanity (HFH) Roaring Fork Valley opened a homeownership application process.  The Habitat for Humanity application process is held to find applicants that can be accepted into their next housing build.

After a bit of procrastination, Quintana decided to apply on the last open day of the application period. She filled out her application during her lunch hour and dropped it off after work. Imagine her surprise when one of the volunteers from the Homeowner Selection Committee, from HFH Roaring Fork Valley contacted her to let her know she was selected.

HFH Roaring Fork Valley has been partnering with local families for over 25 years to help them build a safe and secure place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside staff and volunteers and in the end, families can purchase a home with an affordable mortgage. 

That’s when the real work began. Besides working her job at a local bank, she had to contribute sweat equity to the project. Through the Habitat for Humanity homebuyer program, homeowners must complete 250 hours of sweat equity to purchase their home. Quintana helped with the framing of her own home with the penalized walls from Simple Homes in Denver, painting, and she spent time helping customers in the local ReStore. The building group was also fortunate to have her involved as she is an excellent cook and would cook meals for the volunteers. 

The process took almost two years to complete, but when it was finished HFH Roaring Fork Valley worked with Quintana to apply for a home loan through the USDA Rural Development (RD) Single Family Housing Direct Loan Program. The program assists low- and very-low-income applicants obtain decent, safe and sanitary housing in eligible rural areas by providing payment assistance to increase an applicant’s repayment ability. HFH Roaring Fork Valley is a packager for the USDA RD direct loan program and as such they assist prospective rural homebuyers complete the application process. Through the partnerships with HFH Roaring Fork Valley and the USDA RD Delta office staff, Quintana was successful in receiving a 502 Loan to obtain a loan for the purchase of her own home.

Quintana was a great fit for the Rural Development program and was able to get an affordable mortgage. The home features 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms, something her family hasn’t had for quite a while. When asked what she would tell others looking at homeownership, she said “Go for it, nothing wrong with trying. I never expected to have my own home. So why not give it a try - it can work”.

The family is now getting settled into their new home. Each of her children now have their own room. Quintana doesn’t even have to share a bathroom. Ironically, when the family moved in there was a little bit of fun and games. They hadn’t noticed during the build that the lock on the bathroom door was installed on the wrong side. That was until her son went to use the bathroom and his sister jokingly locked him in. A process that ended with a call to mom to come help. Rest assured the lock was changed and it is all steam ahead for the family. 

The USDA RD Direct Loan Program allows homeowners to achieve the strength, stability, and independence they need to build a better life for themselves and for their families.  For more information on this program visit https://tinyurl.com/yn4y88u8