Sam Cash Achieves His Goal of Homeownership in Albemarle County

Sam Cash started moving into his new townhouse little by little starting at the end of April, something he says he had waited for years to be able to do.

After moving from one apartment building to another apartment building, Sam said it just wasn’t fun anymore and recalls deciding that it was time to stay put.

His rent increased each year, eventually reaching $1,200/month, and Sam decided that just was too expensive for him.  Sam knew that for that kind of monthly rent payment, he could most likely afford a mortgage, if not decrease his monthly payments.  That’s when some of Sam’s friends told him about Piedmont Housing Alliance.

Sam learned about the homebuying class series and one-on-one counseling services offered by Piedmont Housing Alliance and started working with a housing counselor in 2013.  Soon thereafter, lots of things started happening in Sam’s life that kept him from being able to focus enough energy on his home search – his mom and his dog passed away, he got a promotion at work, then his car ended up needing several thousand dollars-worth of repairs.  Sam decided to take a break on finding his new home, but after a few more positive life changes, Sam was ready to start looking again.

In February of 2017, Sam came back to Piedmont Housing Alliance and started working with housing counselor Virginia Leary. Sam decided he wanted to buy close to the city to stay close to friends and work. He made five different offers on homes near Charlottesville before finally finding a townhome that he liked and made an offer that was accepted.

Sam said he’d like to offer these words of wisdom to other potential homebuyers: “Don’t ever give up, you just have to keep pressing forward!” Even after thinking he would never achieve the reality of homeownership, Sam is proud to say he is now on the other side, saving almost $500/month with his mortgage payment and looking forward to painting all of the walls in his new home!