Anna always dreamed of staying close to her family in San Jose, where her parents—immigrants from Mexico—bought their home in 1976. Back then, San Jose still carried the soul of an agricultural town. “My grandmother actually had a small ranch over on Lundy and Berryessa,” Anna recalls. “When we were kids, we were outside all the time. We played in the fruit trees. There were apricots, walnuts, and pear trees.” Those memories of orchards and open space lingered even as the city traded its ranches for freeways and campuses, becoming a cornerstone of the world’s tech economy. She and her family moved into a 3 bed, 2 bath single family rental two doors down from her parents in 2004. After years of rising rent and uncertainty in the wake of the mid-2000s housing crisis, she seized the opportunity to buy the home she was renting during a short sale. With a stable union job in the grocery industry and her husband’s disability income, Anna qualified for a loan. Still, Silicon Valley’s high housing costs still placed her household in the low-income bracket.
A 1% down loan was initially on the table, but Anna hesitated; she didn’t want to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) or carry unnecessary interest. Her broker then introduced her to Housing Trust Silicon Valley’s Mortgage Assistance Program, which would provide a loan with 3% down from her own savings and 17% from Housing Trust, eliminating PMI and making the purchase affordable. But with the sale timeline uncertain, she wasn’t sure if the assistance would come through in time.
On Valentine’s Day 2012, her husband walked into the room with a smile and said, “Hey, Happy Valentine’s Day. Come look at this!” She looked outside—and for the first time, saw a “Sold” sign in the yard. The property had never been formally listed, so the sign was the first public confirmation that the home was officially theirs. The moment was electric. Neighbors who had known Anna and her family for years came by to celebrate, sharing warm congratulations and pride in seeing the home finally hers. Her mother arrived soon after, beaming and saying, “So happy for you!” “It was fabulous all the way around,” Anna reflected. The final loan terms included a 4.25% interest rate on the primary loan and 5.25% on the Housing Trust portion,
It was affordable, it was great. It was the best move we ever made, and I never had to move again.
Owning the home gave Anna and her family the confidence and financial flexibility to weather future challenges. During COVID, she refinanced, paid off the Housing Trust loan, and set aside $100,000 in savings ready to use for emergencies or home upgrades. She invested in high-yield savings accounts and CDs, and the stability of homeownership allowed her to transition out of physically demanding grocery work into a new better paying job: “Now compared to what I was making, it’s almost $1000 extra a month that I’m now able to invest in my pension.”
Anna’s home has become a multigenerational anchor. Her daughter and son-in-law lived with her while saving money; her son-in-law earned a degree and started his own business, and they eventually bought their own home. Grandchildren were born and raised in the house, which the family now calls “home base.” Every family gathering takes place in Anna’s or her parents’ backyard—spaces the younger generation affectionately call “the farm,” a nod to the orchards Anna played in as a child. “For my kids, who have condos, there’s no backyard,” she says. “So they come back here and they’re like, wow, this is the farm! One of them even thinks it’s a park.” In a city where single-family homes feel harder to obtain, these yards feel like a rare refuge, a living reminder of San Jose’s agricultural roots.
Anna regularly shares her story with others, encouraging friends and coworkers who feel like homeownership is out of reach. She explains, “There are so many programs out there! Let me tell you what happened to me.” For example, shortly after purchasing her home, Anna was able to access additional support through a partnership between Housing Trust and Wells Fargo. Because she had received a Housing Trust loan, she automatically qualified for a $10,000 grant for home repairs. Through this grant and a separate PG&E energy efficiency program, Anna was able to make several upgrades: new carpet and kitchen flooring, exterior painting, sealed insulation, updated lighting fixtures, and even a new refrigerator and microwave. “It was courtesy of Housing Trust,” she said. “They came in, inspected, and helped fix what needed it most.”
Today, Anna feels secure, stable, and deeply rooted in her community. “I love my community. I was born in San Jose and have seen it grow from a small town into what it is now,” she said. “This is my home, and I look at it like I never have to move again.”
Her parents, now in their 80s, still live two doors down. “They’re starting to feel their age,” Anna explained. “They can stay in their home because I am two doors down. They don’t have to move in with me or go to a care home somewhere—we check on them every day and take them their food. It’s a win-win all the way around.”
Even if she could sell her house for a million dollars, Anna says she wouldn’t move. “This is my home, and now I never have to leave.”