Recently the Garcia family was interviewed by La Opinion . They are one of our amazing and inspiring families who have paid off their mortgage.
Martín and Carmela García never thought they would have their own home. Habitat for Humanity helped them make that dream come true.
22 years ago, Martin learned about the program offered by this nonprofit Christian organization that would allow him to aspire to become a homeowner.
The program offers a mortgage, without interest, to future owners, so the monthly payments are economical and convenient to pay.
“We are very happy and we feel very blessed. We have no way of expressing how we feel by having our own home,” said Martín García. “We don’t need to win the lottery. We already won it!” He adds excitedly.
A. Jo-An Turman, a representative of the foundation, stressed that in the 24 years of its foundation, Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles has built more than 500 houses in the Los Angeles area.
“When we started we only built 2 or 3 houses a year. Now we build about 100,” Turman said. Garcia’s house was one of the first.
“They gave us 26 years to pay our mortgage but we paid everything early. At 16 we had already paid it,” said Martin. “Since it was not a very high payment, we tried to pay in advance,” he added.
Martin, who has worked for 28 years at the Mental Health Center and Gateways Hospital in the maintenance area, was the only one who contributed in the house for payments. But once Carmela opened her beauty salon, they were able to pay more.
“The faster you pay, the program will have more money to pay for houses for other families,” Carmela said.
With the money they saved by paying for the house in less time, they were able to help their two children pay for their university studies. Jason, 22, has just graduated as an educational therapist and Debbie, 19, will begin his second year of college in the fall.
Turman points out that the mortgage payment is much lower than the rent of a house. It generally amounts to less than $ 1,000 per month.
“The mortgage depends on the amount of money the family can pay,” Turman said.
The program is aimed at families with low economic resources, with good credit and who are working. After a selection process, families commit to dedicate volunteer hours to help build their home, in addition to paying the mortgage at the set time.
“I put 500 hours of work. Every Saturday I had free I worked them helping to build the house,” said Martin, very proud. “But I didn’t care because it was worth it.”
Carmela feels that it is a blessing to have finished paying the mortgage while still young. “Many people die and fail to pay their house, their mortgage,” said the 48-year-old woman. “It is not bad for us to have paid before because now we just have to worry about the property tax,” he added.
Check out the article from La Opinion here.
Translation:
Carmela and Martín Garcia never thought they would have their own home. Habitat for Humanity helped them fulfill that dream
22 years ago, Martin learned of the program offered by this Christian nonprofit organization to become a homeowner
The program offers an interest-free mortgage (Our mortgages can have an interest or be interest-free) to future owners, so the monthly payments are affordable and comfortable to pay.
“We are very happy and feel very blessed. We have no way to express how we feel to have our own home,” said Martin Garcia. “No need to win the lottery. Already won it!” Adds excitedly.
Jo-An Turman A., a representative of the foundation, said that in the 24 years of existence, Habitat for Humanity Los Angeles has built over 500 homes in the Los Angeles area.
“When we began we were only building only 2 or 3 houses per year. Now we build a 100 per year” Turman said. “The Garcia was one of the first built.”
“We had 26 years to pay off our mortgage but we paid everything ahead of time. We paid our mortgage in 16 years” Martin said. “Since our mortgage payment was not very high, we tried to pay in advance,” he added.
Martin, who has worked for 28 years at the Gateways Hospital and Mental Health Center in the maintenance, was the only source of income for the household when they purchase their home. Once Carmela opened her salon, they were able to pay more.
“The sooner you pay, the program will have more money to fund other houses for other families,” said Carmela.
With the money saved to pay for the house, they are able to help their two children to afford college. Jason, 22, just graduated as an Educational Therapist and Debbie, 19, will begin his second year of college in the fall.
Turman points out that mortgage payment is much lower than renting a house. Usually amounts to less than $ 1,000 monthly. (We typically do not quote an amount because all household incomes vary. We say their mortgage is the target at 35% of their gross income when they apply.)
“The mortgage depends on the amount of money you can afford,” Turman said.
The program is aimed at low-income families with good credit and are employed. to pay a monthly mortgage.
“I put 500 hours of work every Saturday helping to build the house,” Martin said proudly. “But I did not mind because it was worth it,” I added.
Carmela feels it is a blessing to have finished paying the mortgage while still young. “Many people die before they are able to pay their mortgage,” said the 48-year-old woman. “It not a bad thing that we paid off our mortgage before because now we only have to worry about our insurance and property taxes,” he added.
