When Lana came to the United States from Vietnam four years ago, everything felt new. She had left her beloved homeland and a good job in global shipping to build a life with her husband Vincent, who had immigrated to the U.S. from Vietnam with his family as a teen. Vincent and Lana are now first-time homebuyers who have fulfilled their American dream through the Empower Homebuyers SCC program.
“The reason we chose Housing Trust to support us in buying a new home was the moving. We needed to find a more stable place suitable for our family,” says Vincent and Lana.
They first lived in a backyard unit of a single-family home before moving into a one-bedroom apartment after their first daughter was born. The process of moving twice was complicated and time-consuming. With plans to have a second child, it became important for them to find a home fit for their growing family.
The Empower Homebuyers SCC program came to their attention on social media, and their agent informed them that this new program enables a 33% downpayment on a home. Vincent and Lana had already been working on finding a new home for a year. Excited to learn about this opportunity, they submitted an application, and to their surprise, they were approved.
“If you have the opportunity, you need to reach for it,” says Lana. “When I first submitted the application, I didn’t think we could be approved. I thought, ‘There are a lot of first-time homebuyers and maybe there are too many.’ When we began to go through the process step by step, I began to believe we could.”
The program and process took about seven to eight months. They worked diligently with the help of Housing Trust staff, who showed them how to carefully prepare, fill out, and repair documents. Vincent and Lana advise, “You should be patient and careful. If you don’t have patience, it is easy to give up because the documents you need to provide can be very complicated. The Housing Trust team were very nice and supported us throughout the process.”
Upon pre-approval in May, they found a beautiful 3-bedroom, 1.5 bath condominium in San Jose within a week. It was the perfect location to be near family, and their two-year-old daughter was a fan – she easily remembered the way to the house and loved it! With 30% in down payment assistance from the Empower program and a 10% borrower contribution, Vincent and Lana fulfilled their dream of owning a home for their budding family.
“This is a big change – when we own a house, we have more responsibility. But when you go to work and come back, it is very satisfying and comfortable. It is different from renting a single ADU,” says Lana. “My home now – my daughter loves it. She can go anywhere in the home without effort or worries, so she knows it belongs to her.”
More information on the Empower Homebuyers SCC down payment assistance program can be found at https://housingtrustsv.org/empower. First-time homebuyers interested in the program are encouraged to attend a free information session to learn more.
“If you have the opportunity, you need to reach for it,” says Lana. “When I first submitted the application, I didn’t think we could be approved. I thought, ‘There are a lot of first-time homebuyers and maybe there are too many.’ When we began to go through the process step by step, I began to believe we could.”