Michelle Corbett Brown with her two daughters, Tiffany and Shanika.
Michelle Corbett Brown never doubted that one-day she would have a home of her own. A little over six years ago, Michelle made a promise to herself and her two daughters, Tiffany and Shanika, that they would one day take pride in their own home. They would have their own rooms, their own yard, and the feeling that their money was going toward something meaningful. However, Michelle found out quickly that the road to homeownership is not for the faint-hearted or impatient. "I'm an impatient person, but I knew I couldn't be if I really wanted to get my house," Michelle explained.Michelle initially went to an area non-profit organization, where she learned that her credit needed cleaning up. An employee at the nonprofit suggested that Michelle go and talk with someone at EmPOWERment, Inc. At EmPOWERment, Inc., Michelle joined the Community Homebuyers Club, where she quickly realized that she had some work to do before buying a home. "The classes are great for people like me, who don't know much about how to buy a home," Michelle explains, "and the classes helped me figure out the whole process." After completing the classes, Michelle carefully cleaned up her credit and did everything necessary to prepare herself for purchasing a home. Still, there were some things that were out of her control. "At first, I didn't know what house I would get and then EmPOWERment found a house for us. But then it took a while to fix up the house….the whole process just took a while."Two years after beginning the journey, Michelle and her two daughters were the proud owners of a beautifully refurbished home in the Pine Knolls community of Chapel Hill. When asked how it felt to be a homeowner, Michelle could not help but smile and chuckle, saying, "It feels really good! I thought it was something when I got my own place renting, but that means nothing compared to this." In fact, Michelle said, "The first night we were in the house, Tiffany, my oldest daughter, came to me and said, ‘I can't sleep Mom.' She was too excited." Michelle was quick to thank EmPOWERment, Inc. for working with her family. "EmPOWERment is great. They help you buy a house you can afford." After all her effort Michelle says it was well worth it. "I have the kind of home I really wanted and I just hope more people can take advantage of EmPOWERment, Inc."
Mrs. Thompson
In 2000, EmPOWERment, Inc. ventured out into Alamance County. We worked diligently with mortgage companies. As a result, on December 20th 2000, just in time for Christmas, Ms. Yvonne Thompson and her son, Dwight, closed on their first home.Recently, we had the opportunity to interview Ms. Thompson and see how things were going. When asked about her experience Ms.Thompson stated:"Things are going well. It has been a blessing to become a homeowner. EmPOWERment helped many single and married people to obtain their first home. Now I am one of them. I learned that getting a house is only half of it. I can enjoy my home because it is affordable - the mortgage payments are less than my rent. Although my circumstances were unique, EmPOWERment listened and advocated for me. I couldn't have got my home without a soft second mortgage. The budgeting and second mortgage counseling was very helpful. They not only showed me how to buy a house, they showed me how to keep it." Ms. Thompson went on to say that on the day of closing, her mother accompanied her. Although I wasn't there, I can imagine there were tears. Of course, they were tears of joy for many good reasons.Ms. Thompson is a single mother. With a home in a beautiful neighborhood, her hard work and determination has paid off. However, I think her son says it best "I am proud of my mom" and we are proud of her too. Following her buying experience, Ms. Thompson agreed to volunteer her time by speaking to others in Alamance Co. about our the program.