This holiday season is a magical time and it is especially sweet for one family in the SoWe area of Lancaster City as they celebrate it in the very first home of their own. Lysandra Tirado, husband Joel, and young daughters Ana and Sophie are settled into a cozy row home that is clearly a source of immense pride for this little family.
Lysandra was a long-time renter who completed the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership’s Homebuyer Education Program. The goal of the Education Program is to prepare buyers to make better financial decisions by expanding their understanding of both the requirements and process for purchasing a home and what to expect as a new home owner. While all prospective buyers are encouraged to complete the LHOP Home Buyer Education Program before looking for a home, the course is required in order to qualify for LHOP’s down payment/closing cost assistance loan in Lancaster County and the YHAP Loan Program in York County.
Lysandra went on to work with LHOP Home Buyer Specialist Susie Gomez to complete the application for closing cost assistance. She worked diligently with Susie on all conditions to satisfy the loan for closing including inspections.
“I never imagined that after taking the class, three months later I would be purchasing my home. This program helped me with my closing costs and if the program would not have given me the help they did I would not have been able to purchase my home. Being a family of four, it’s hard, so the program makes it easy for people like us – first time homebuyers, to know what’s expected, know what we need to put down, know what we need to do. It was an awesome program. I recommend it to anybody.”
– Lysandra Tirado, LHOP First Time Homebuyer