Tawanna Taylor came in for her first pre-purchase counseling session in March of 2020. The client’s goal was to qualify for a home loan as she wanted to stop renting and invest in her own home. However, she acknowledged that she was not ready and needed guidance to achieve her goal.

First, Taylor’s budget was adjusted and she agreed to follow it with an emphasis of meeting all of her financial obligations on time, to learn how to budget efficiently on a “needs vs. wants” basis, to build up her savings and to have the income necessary to lower her credit debt and improve her credit rating.The client focused on her goal to become mortgage ready and at times became discouraged but was counseled to continue to work on the action plan until it became routine and second nature.

Eventually, the client began to see the fruits of her labor, as her credit scores began to improve as she lowered her credit use from close to 75% to the present 9%. As a result, her credit scores improved from an average of 590 to the present scores that average 660. Additionally, the client moved in with her parents for a few months which allowed her to build up her savings. 

Ms. Taylor was able to qualify for a home loan with an interest rate below 3% on a property in the Brandon, Fl. area that is newly constructed.