Courtesy photo
Next Home Buying Fair on Saturday, Oct. 28 in Ventura
VENTURA COUNTY — With the median price of Ventura County homes at nearly $650,000 and expected to increase, home ownership seemed like a lofty goal for Denise Noguera, a social worker with the County of Ventura.
But once Noguera became determined to move on from her pricey but modest studio apartment in Ventura, she turned to Coastal Housing Partnership, the local nonprofit aimed at helping Central Coast employers meet their employees’ housing needs and settle down in the area.
“I learned about Coastal Housing Partnership through the County of Ventura,” said Noguera. “The work that I do made me more aware of the housing crisis. I always thought that I couldn’t afford a home because I was single. I was just tired of paying so much money for a studio apartment and the rent going up every year. It was time.”
She attended one of Coastal Housing Partnership’s home buying seminars. Noguera described the workshop as a valuable learning experience that emphasized the value of having good credit and the importance of working with a quality realtor and lender.
“I asked a lot of questions,” she said. “I was raising my hand the whole time.”
Since Coastal Housing Partnership believes that home buying education helps build a solid foundation for potential home buyers, the nonprofit offers home buying seminars and home buying fairs. The next Home Buying Fair is on Saturday, Oct. 28, from 10 am to 3 pm at the Ventura Beach Marriott, 2055 East Harbor Blvd.
Noguera did her “homework,” and Coastal Housing Partnership, her realtor, a network service partner with Coastal Housing Partnership – Peggy Sue Tierney at RE/MAX Gold Coast, and her lender all came together to help her close escrow on her first townhome in just a matter of weeks.
“My lender knew about all the programs that I didn’t even know I qualified for,” Noguera said.
Today, Noguera resides in a quiet Ventura neighborhood near her parents. She said she enjoys the bigger space and friendly neighbors she has met.
After getting her happy ending, Noguera said she recommends Coastal Housing Partnership to all her friends and colleagues so that they too can realize their dream of home ownership.
“I just assumed one day it would happen but it didn’t seem feasible,” she said. “It’s an investment I get to make earlier than I thought I would have been able to make.”
Coastal Housing Partnership executive director Corby Gage said Noguera’s story is inspiring, and helping to facilitate those transactions is what Coastal Housing Partnership is all about.
“Owning a home on the Central Coast can be challenging, but it’s a goal many of our local workers are finding they can achieve,” said Gage. “We strive to provide the right information, tools, and resources to help local employees on their path to homeownership.
For more information or to RSVP for the upcoming Home Buying Fair, visit homebuyingfairs.org.
About Coastal Housing Partnership: Overcoming obstacles to home ownership is central to the mission of Coastal Housing Partnership. Helping local employees on their path to homeownership helps not only the employee, but their employer as well. Partnering with local employees, Coastal Housing Partnership helps them meet the challenge of attracting and retaining talent in a region with some of the highest housing prices in the nation. Since 1987, Coastal Housing Partnership has helped over 10,000 local employees become homeowners through their services, which include home buying education and financial assistance programs. More than 12,000 Tri-county residents have attended Coastal Housing Partnership’s home buying seminars. Membership in Coastal Housing Partnership is open to any employer in Santa Barbara County or Ventura County. Visit www.coastalhousing.org for more.