John Noell was happy. He had a great job that he had been with for 10 years, benefits included, and a union to be a part of. Everything seemed to be good. Until he got fired. His daily life came to a grinding halt.
John lost his job as a result of drug abuse. He moved back in with his mom and lived on her couch for a period of time. John didn’t stay down for long though. He recovered, got his realtor’s license, and was able to get his life back on the right track. Things were looking up and the only thing missing was a house. But the problem with buying a house is you need good credit to do so. With 14 pages of bad credit, John wasn’t sure where to go from there. So he went to Tampa Bay CDC in search to repair his credit.
Tampa Bay CDC pulled his credit report and then a HUD-certified counselor sat down with him to prioritize his action plan and next steps to becoming a sustainable home owner. They started with his recently repossessed truck and guided him through negotiating the back payment, and finally resolving the judgement. From there, the counselor and John addressed all other derogatory trades and were successful in getting his credit score back where it needed to be.
With his credit back in check and newfound success in his real estate career, John decided it was time to purchase a home of his own. He was busy working long days, often times 7 days a week, when the perfect opportunity came to him. In a “hot” market and after a home buyer decided to retract their offer on one of his listings, John knew this was a prime opportunity to make his own home buying dream come true.
Once again John went to Tampa Bay CDC and this time started the Sold on Largo Program. With this program John was approved to receive a $10,000 down payment assistance loan at zero percent interest. But his good fortune didn’t stop there, within a few weeks he was also approved for an $80,000 loan from SunTrust Bank. John was brimming with pride. Because of his improved credit score and hard work, he was able to buy his own home.
Nearly 20 years later, John still lives in the home he purchased with the Sold on Largo program and also owns 16 additional properties. John is grateful to have had the opportunity to invest in so many properties and make his real estate dreams come true. But John says he isn’t stopping there, he still plans to buy his dream home on the beach one day.
If your journey is similar to John’s, don’t delay, call Tampa Bay CDC to realize your financial dreams and we’ll help guide you home.
