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Dreams come true
You can make them happen.
by
Dave Dalzell She had a shy little smile, and her soft, brown eyes looked down as she poked her head around the corner to my office and handed me the note. It was full of crayon colors: a bright yellow sun, a big smiley face, and a pretty little girl drawn with many different colors. The note was scrawled in big slanting letters: “Dear Mr. Dalzell, Thank you for the new home because we need a new home so bad.” Then those special words: “Thank you. Love you.”
The mother, a single parent raising three elementary school girls, was signing the documents for their own home. They would be moving out of a group shelter for abused and homeless families. Now there would be private bedrooms, a kitchen to cook and eat in together as a family, an inviting living room for friends, and a backyard for a garden. These are the moments REALTORS® treasure.
Many families are saving right now to invest in that dream home. Interest rates are at a record low. Lenders are helping with different programs. Restrictions to ownership are being overcome in many ways. But it is the REALTOR® who pulls it all together. It is the REALTOR® who meets the family and listens to the dreams. It is the REALTOR® who helps find the solutions so they can have the American Dream.
TAR is pledged to help every REALTOR® make those dreams come true for more families. The Texas Cares downpayment-assistance program is one example of ways we help. This special program allows sellers to contribute up to 6% of the price to help a buyer with closing costs. Sellers have a better option than just reducing the price until a home sells. They can keep the price at market value and offer to help a creditworthy buyer who can meet the monthly obligations but is short of the cash needed at closing. It’s a “win-win” situation. It’s affordable, it’s practical, and it works! A portion of the program costs go to help other housing needs through the Texas Association of REALTORS® Housing Opportunity Foundation. For more information, visit TexasCaresProgram.org.
Also, the association’s new Housing Initiatives Committee is working on collecting data on all programs in Texas, so you will be able to access it through TexasRealtors.com. You can also find valuable tips and info on Realtor.org under Housing Opportunity.
And our legislative team is busy working to keep the costs of taxes, insurance, and other expenses on housing from rising.
There’s a treasure chest of special thank-you notes waiting for you. Just keep your office door open and see what happens as REALTORS® make the dream come true for more new homeowners every day.
Photo by Scott Van Osdol.
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Buyers & sellers,
visit www.texasrealestate.com.
REALTORS®, visit www.texasrealtors.com.
