September 18, 2018
Mike and Kaitlyn Rogers were bursting with excitement as they drove up to their new home in Christiansburg, Virginia, with the keys in hand. “Coming to the house today will feel different,” Kaitlyn Rogers explained. “Before it was just this idea, it wasn’t really ours. But now it’s really ours!”
The Rogers began their journey toward homeownership in 2017. According to Mike Rogers in a recent video, they agreed that what they were looking “something that we can grow into together with future kids—a place that we can build our life and share a lot of memories in.”
The Rogers had always wanted to own a home. “We wanted to make something our own,” said Kaitlyn Rogers. “We want to grow and make a family in a house and to fill it with a lot of friends and family.”
The two had heard from friends and family about the services that Community Housing Partners (CHP) offers potential homeowners and set up an appointment with CHP Homeownership Advisor Rose Quesenberry. “Working with Rose was awesome,” Kaitlyn Rogers said. “We really had no idea what we could afford.”
Quesenberry had the Rogers fill out a budget sheet to show them what they could afford. “She was realistic with us,” Mike Rogers said. “It’s going to help in the long run because now we aren’t going to have crazy monthly payments like we would if we didn’t have someone like her to show us.”
Not wanting the couple to have to wait and try to find financing once they found their dream house, Quesenberry was also able to get the Rogers preapproved for several loans. “She went over the logistics with us, telling us what everything meant,” Kaitlyn Rogers said. “We were going to sign our life away and working with her made us feel more comfortable.”
Mike Rogers added that they felt “a little more safe in what we were doing.”
With their budget in mind, the Rogers began looking at houses with CHP Realtor Michael George. “Michael was awesome!” Kaitlyn Rogers said.
Mike Rogers added, “We used him as much as we could. He was there for every text, every call, every house visit, no matter what time it was.”
George is also responsible for the development of single family homes in the New River Valley, which helps him better serve clients. “He has a lot of knowledge with houses in general and their construction,” said Mike Rogers. “Looking at houses, especially this one, he was able to point out things that we weren’t able to see.”
As a nonprofit, CHP pays its realtors a salary instead of a commission, using the money instead to support resident services for low income families. Last year, CHP Homeownership helped 87 clients like the Rogers become homeowners and provided education and coaching for 303 households. CHP’s nonprofit status appealed to the Rogers.
“It made us feel a lot more comfortable with him working for a non-profit” Mike Rogers said. “Not at any point did we feel that [Michael] was trying to take advantage or trying to get top dollar for anything because that is not what he is working for. Everything that he did felt genuine and that he was looking out for us … and what we were looking in a house at a price that we were comfortable with.”
Kaitlyn Rogers added, “We really like that CHP is a nonprofit and is giving back.”
“Owning a home can be so complicated and there are so many steps,” Kaitlyn Rogers said from the living room of her new house. “If you were unsure or nervous about owning versus renting, definitely reach out to CHP. Working with CHP homeownership was just amazing!”