Milencia Pankey, a confident homebuyer

First-time homeowner, Milencia Pankey, is one of the latest homebuyers to purchase a home in Albemarle County with Piedmont Housing Alliance’s help.

Ms. Pankey learned about the services Piedmont Housing offers about three years ago from a friend who had recently purchased a home. Flash forward to 2019 and now she and her daughter Kayla have a home of their own.

Confidence is Key

“Piedmont Housing Alliance helped me to prioritize what needed to be paid off from my credit report.  I learned about the importance of credit utilization and keeping my balances low. They also helped to make my goal of homeownership attainable with down payment assistance,” Milencia said. “With the down payment assistance I was able to make offers confidently and comfortably versus someone [else] also putting in an offer, but did not have down payment money.”

That confidence is an important part of the home buying process and can be a determining factor when finding a home, securing financing and finally making an offer that is accepted.

Piedmont Housing administers funds that can be loaned for down payment and closing costs.  Most of the money comes from outside sources and each source has its own unique set of guidelines for eligibility and terms.

A Winning Team

Milencia worked with Jenna Stiltner with Atlantic Coast Mortgage on financing. Her real estate agent was Brentney Moore.

She said, “I also want to mention my lead inspector Joel Loving and home inspector Mark Bennett! Both were great! He gave me tips about keeping my home warranty and home maintenance tips.”

Milencia is excited to have the financial stability owning a home brings.

“My monthly mortgage is actually $400 less than my rent,” she said.

Polka Dots and Beyond

Kayla is just as excited about their new home, but for different reasons, including the excitement of decorating her room. She has big plans to paint her room with “polka dots in all different colors.”

Milencia’s advice to future first-time homebuyers is “Start to save immediately. I learned to pay myself first!”