Kelly Brooks Becomes a First Time Homebuyer in Charlottesville

Kelly Brooks is all smiles after closing on her three-bedroom, two-bath home in a beautiful setting near a lake in the heart of the city. After growing up in Waynesboro and living most of her life in the county, she was excited to consider reducing her commute to Charlottesville. Kelly’s hairdresser, another Piedmont Housing client, told her story of finding a home. Inspired, Kelly began working towards the idea of becoming a homeowner herself.

The reason for becoming a homebuyer was simple. Kelly said, “The rent. It just kept increasing and I just couldn’t afford it anymore.”  Kelly said she watched a relative of hers rent for more than 27 years and after all that time, wound up not having a place of her own to call home. That really made her think about it even harder.  Buying her own home meant she would have something of her very own, which was important to her.

With fixed interest rates and a mortgage payment that is even lower than what her most recent rent payment was, Kelly is able to afford to live in the city where she can stay close to family and friends and especially her job as a registrar at the Virginia CLE.

Kelly received a lot of good information through the classes she took and through working with a housing counselor.  Once she felt ready, she started looking for a home.  It took a full year of looking and working to find the place she wanted.  When she found a home she liked, she offered a bid at full price, and started discussing some small repairs that were needed. After discussing the costs of some of the repairs, she was concerned it would not work out, and she knew that other buyers had made an offer. When her Realtor let her know that the other offer had fallen through, Kelly quickly made a lower offer and asked the seller to take care of the repair costs as well as the closing costs.  Within three months, Kelly closed on her new home, ended her prior lease, and started packing!

Kelly says she is really pleased with her new situation and has already been sharing her story with others to try to help them become homeowners too.  Kelly’s advice to others is simple: Be patient and wait to find a house that you want.  Kelly said she had nothing else, but now she has a home.

Interested in learning more about becoming a homeowner?  Sign up for our next first time homebuyer classes on November 13th and 20th.