Q: Tell us a little bit about your story.

I think we are pretty similar to other clients of The HELP Program. Both my wife and have been married before and through our divorces we had some credit problems arise. I was stuck paying the bills from a business my ex-wife had taken over and her ex-husband had filed bankruptcy and left the bills with her. We were living in a one bedroom apartment, not because we didn’t have the income to buy a house, but because we didn’t have the credit.

Q: How did you hear about The HELP Program?

We had been looking for a new place to rent because our lease was about to expire and we needed something bigger. My wife had been looking for months, but had not found anything suitable. Everything was either too old, in a bad location, or just not what we wanted. After a while she told me to find something, so I started looking. I looked in a few places and then I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for The HELP Program. I don’t remember what it said, but it sounded like something we should try. So I called up and talked to Stephanie and she set up a time for us to come down and learn more about it. We went and then thought about it and were kind of skeptical. We weren’t sure about the whole 15% markup on our purchase price of the house after our lease, but we figured that with the housing market increasing like it is, even at a 15% markup we would have a substantial amount of equity. Even if the market did not appreciate and we didn’t have much equity, there is no requirement to buy the house, it’s just an option. After all though, we get into the house now and get it at a decent price in the end, it’s a good deal for us and for The HELP Program. They make some money and we benefit as well.

Q: How do you feel about your home as an investment?

Our house now doesn’t have a fence or a backyard sprinkler system and a few other things, so as we invest in those things, the value of the home will go up. Our neighborhood is also still being developed very rapidly, so that means the housing market is still increasing and values are going up. Some of my relatives were telling us that new home prices were increasing as much as $50,000 every two months. Houses won’t be cheaper in a year, so our investment is a very good one.

Q: What advice would you give to someone considering The HELP Program?

Now is a great time to do it. They are here really to help you get into a home. It’s a great situation for everyone in it. Sometimes when times are hard, you get a little help from your friends. That’s what they do, they help people who have trouble otherwise.

Q: If you could change one thing about the process, what would it be?

I think better communication. Sometimes we didn’t understand what was going on with our home, why some things were taking a long time, but better communication would have helped that. I don’t think most of those problems are HELP’s fault, I think it’s because of the people in the background that didn’t do their part though.