Thread by @mahahome

“My homeownership journey started with just a thought in 2012 because after paying rent since 2006 I realized that paying someone else’s mortgage was not helping me progress financially for my future. /1 #bospoli #mapoli #firstgenhome #firstgenfriday #blackwomenimpact

Since being on my own financially at 17,I’ve been very conscious of how to spend $ and living on a budget.Once I started paying rent, other…bills I started a spreadsheet and would record my net income and subtract my bills for each pay period./2 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday

In 2013 I came across MAHA’s website and took the first-time home buyer classes, got educated on the process and realized I had to work on my financial situation first. /3 #firstgenfriday #blackwomenimpact #firstgenhome

From 2013 to 2019 many different situations in life happened, however I continued with my budget, raised my credit and saved more each year. /4 #firstgenfriday #blackwomenimpact #firstgenhome

In Jan 2018 my landlord at the time made the decision to sell the property I was renting, which was a 3 family home. Financially I knew it was going to be hard on me because of the rental housing market in Boston and it was. /5 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday #firstgenhome

After a couple months of searching for a 2 BR that I could actually afford, I found nothing at all. About a month before I had to move, my neighbor mentioned a friend was looking to rent a single room with its own bath and sharing the kitchen. /6 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenhome

This was not an ideal situation for me and my son, one because it was only one room and not the 2-bedroom apartment I was looking for. I had to really think about the bigger picture, my homeownership goal. /7 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday

The rent was going to be less than half of the lowest 2-bedroom I searched for in Boston. With that I mind I could save an extra two-three hundred dollars a month on top of what I was already saving. /8 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday

So I made a huge sacrifice and rented the room also knowing that the landlord two cats and eventually a dog, which my son is allergic to so he didn’t stay with me full time as I didn’t want to further aggravate his asthma and allergies. /9 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday

In January 2019, I retook the first-time home buyer classes at MAHA (my certificate expired from 2013) as I felt my financial situation was in much better condition to mover forward. /10 #blackwomenimpact #firsthenfriday #firstgenhome

The STASH program was introduced to the class and I thought this was an excellent way to help reach my goal. The extra $ I was saving, I began to put the funds into my STASH account. The additional matched $2K was a huge help to my condo purchase in Jul2020. /11 #blackwomenimpact

I am extremely grateful the program was available to me and is still available to others who might be in a similar situation as I was. I’m elated to finally become a homeowner after the long journey I went through. /12 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday

The number of hard obstacles that I faced between 2013 and July 2020, and now able to provide my son an environment free of anything that may trigger his allergies and asthma, I’m grateful for it all. /13 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenfriday #housingishealth

It’s rewarding to me that my son was able to watch and learn the process with me and see that with hard work and sacrifice you can reach your goals. - Akilah Coward, MAHA and STASH graduate /14 #blackwomenimpact #firstgenhome #firstgenhome #bospoli #mapoli #firsttimehomebuyer