Q: What first caught your attention about the HELP program?

We had checked other different programs that were around in the area and didn't like any of them. We actually found this was the best one.

Q: What was the difference between this program and the other ones you looked into?

The terms. The fact that we knew what we were going to purchase the house for up front. With other places it went up as far as 8% a year, which was quite a bit.

Q: How many other places did you look into?

Four other places. They were lease-to-own. Because we don't have the credit score, one guy just wouldn't even talk to us. We were finished talking at that point. We had another one that their interest rate per year, they were willing to buy the house we found, but they wanted to charge us 8% a year--2% above the going rate--which at $170,000 plus is quite a substantial amount of money.

Q: So you got into the program and what were any concerns that might have held you back just a bit?

Having been through a bad experience before made us cautious. We just moved out of a lease-to-own program where, the day our lease was up, they charged us an extra $20,000 to buy the house on top of their 8%. That to us was just non-negotiable. We had purchased the house at an agreed upon price it should stay at that price.

Q: Did they change the terms?

Yes. We went one day past the closing date and they decided the house was worth more than what we were going to pay for it in the 8 months that we were in the house. So they added $20,000 more.

Q: What are your plans for this house?

I like this house, my husband and I had wanted to find a place, now that the kids are gone, where we would settle down and this is the place that we want to retire eventually.

The other house was also not quite the house we wanted. It was in a not so nice area. We had some problems in the neighborhood. We're talking about a house that has 23 years on this one, and was not in such a great neighborhood. It was more expensive than this house was. This one is a brand new house. It’s under warranty.

Q: What advice would you give to people if they were looking into the HELP program?

Check out other programs. Look at the difference. When I first came into the program they were a lot of help. They went step by step through everything and explained it to us. I'm not into real estate, I'm into mechanics so they had to baby step me through everything and they did. They were really cool about it. Look at other programs and then look at the HELP program see what the differences are in terms.

Q: What was the key point that sold you on the HELP program?

Everything was up front. It was direct; it was up front. Nothing was hidden here or there. The whole program was explained in its entirety. It was really nice.

Q: Anything else you want to say about The HELP program?

It's one of the easiest ways to purchase a house.