When Lori first walked through her two-bedroom condo, it felt like home. She quickly put in an offer and was so excited to have it accepted.
“Just the way that it was decorated, I could see myself living here,” said Lori. “It’s just a small place you know, and it just felt like home.”
At one point, Lori’s dream of owning her own place felt far out of reach. Working in hospitality for over 15 years she had been paying down student loans and saving for a down payment when the pandemic hit.
“It’s just been something that I’ve wanted to do for a really long time. I’ve been saving money. When I was laid off at the start of the pandemic, I was so afraid that it was never going to happen,” she shared.
Like many, Lori was left unemployed during the pandemic with her dreams of homeownership placed on hold. As the pandemic went on, she was able to find a new job outside of hospitality and save some money by living at home with her mom. The final piece of her homeownership puzzle fell in place when she was selected as one of the recipients of the Parade of Homes First-Time Homebuyer $10K Giveaway this spring.
“I was able to start putting a little bit more money away with all of the stimulus,” said Lori. “And then I heard [the Parade of Homes giveaway] advertisement this spring and applied. I was so excited when I got the call that I won.”
The additional $10,000 made all the difference in Lori’s journey to homeownership.
“The market has been crazy. I think I looked at three places, put an offer in on one, and didn’t get it. And then when I saw this one and put an offer in I was so thankful that they accepted,” said Lori. “It totally helped, you know, with the down payment, the closing costs, and everything. It was just it was amazing.”
Lori is the second recipient of the Parade of Homes First-Time Homebuyer $10K Giveaway to close on their home. Thank you to the generous donors to the giveaway who helped make homeownership a dream come true for Lori.
