65-year-old Ingham County resident Beverly Evans says she’s a homeowner for the first time because of a new county-wide down payment assistance program.
"As I was getting ready this morning, I stood in my living room, and I looked around at this beautiful home that I've been blessed to have," Evans said.
The new program awards up to $30,000 in a zero-interest loan to help income-qualified buyers afford a down payment. It’s managed by the Ingham County Housing Trust Fund, which has allocated $1.5 million from a state grant to the program.
“That down payment seems to be the biggest barrier between your ability to own your first home,” said state Sen. Sarah Anthony. “We have made investments in mid-Michigan and across the state to address that.”
Paul Anderson, the executive director of Southwest Lansing Action Group, said down payment assistance programs like this one are more than just financial tools.
“It's a bridge: a bridge to generational wealth, to housing stability and to long term investment in neighborhoods like ours,” he said.
Now Evans says she, too, has that generational wealth and has achieved her lifelong dream.
“My grandchildren are going to love it, too,” she said. “They can't wait to get here to run in the backyard and play ball as well.”
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
