Tony and Rose: It's Great to be Home
Retired couple Tony and Rose Stoia struggled to afford a home when Rose’s severe pine allergies forced them to relocate.
Empty nesters Rose and Tony were forced to sell their ten-room home in Lowell, MA. after their generosity created some financial difficulties. For a while they lived with their son. But for the long term, he didn’t have enough space for everyone.
Their search for a place to live led them to a basement apartment. They enjoyed the place. They liked the family that they rented from, who lived upstairs. In fact, they think of them fondly — almost like nieces and nephews. But the place had a major downside. It was located across the street from a bark-mulching facility.
Rose has a severe pine allergy and the dust from the mulching facility made her breathing difficult. As Rose put it, “It was a good relationship, but we had to get out of there.” So they started looking at manufactured homes.
Tony did a lot of research looking for places where they could buy a home. Because they are primarily on Social Security, traditional banks wouldn’t loan to them. They put in offers, but many homes sold before Tony and Rose’s offers were reviewed. This went on for over four years.
They found communities they liked, but couldn’t afford the HOA fees. The other challenge they faced was that the rents in many of the manufactured-home parks they looked at were very high. It began to look like they couldn't afford to move from where we were.
They were facing some tough choices. As Rose explained to us, “We were talking about Tony living with our oldest son and me living with our younger son, because neither of them had room for both of us...” They even feared they might end up homeless.
Expanding the Search
Tony and Rose had wanted to stay close to Derry, N.H. near their kids and grandkids. But their real estate agent suggested they look at a home 45 miles north in the Soda Brook Cooperative in Northfield.
They liked the home and they liked the area. Located within a resident-owned community (ROC) that we helped establish in 2002, it was natural that they would contact us about a loan. It was also a good fit with their real estate agent who we had worked with before.
Getting Lined Up
Getting Tony and Rose approved for a loan required some coaching and downpayment assistance. We helped them get their finances to a place where they met the criteria for one of our Welcome Home Loans. They were determined to make it all work. We walked them step-by-step through the process. Anything we asked them for they promptly drove it to our offices, or to their bank, or even to the seller’s real estate agent, an hour’s drive.
Rose had a very positive perspective on the process, “If you're dealing with Community Loan Fund, they're not pushing you. They're trying to help you. So if you have something to do for them, you're doing it for yourself. So get out there and do it. They cannot do it for you. They cannot go to your bank. They can't do any of the things that need your signature and your ID. So you really need to fulfill their wish list for you. I can't say that enough because they did.”
All’s Well with Tony and Rose
We were so happy for Tony and Rose that we joined them when they signed the final papers.
Tony summed up his feelings in an almost romanticized way, “In our 35 years of being married, I couldn’t ask for better. I have plenty of land here. I live down the street from Market Basket, which is my favorite. There’s a place down the street I can go fishing, and it's nothing but water every place I drive around here. But the best of all is when I turn on Shaker Road, I'm happy — just to follow the row of trees. It's just beautiful.
Rose put the bow on our conversation about their new home like this, “We own this and we can do what we want. We've painted it the colors we want. We will landscape it hopefully in the future. So we're home. When you go inside, there's a giant sign that says: It's Great to be Home.
Numbers that Tell the Story
Some of the impact we make through our neighbors-investing-in-neighbors approach is felt in unexpected ways.
27
manufactured-homes make up the Soda Brook Cooperative across several quiet culdesacs
1/2
of the cost to pay their mortgage than comparable rent — according to Tony
45
miles to visit their nearest son and grandkids
100
miles is how far Tony says he can see each morning
A Safe, Affordable Home
Watch how Tony, Rose, and Community Loan Fund worked together to secure their housing in a beautiful community.
“Being in a ROC, everything is community based and homeowners have a say in what goes on. And the sense of community is really nice. I grew up with 15 cousins in one family, 11 and nine in the others. So for me, it's like having family again.”
More Success Stories
Discover more stories of new homeowners that have benefitted from working with New Hampshire Community Loan Fund.
“The Community Loan Fund helped me clear up everything and put myself in a position to buy,” John [the home buyer] says.
Learn More“It’s an awesome feeling. I’ve never been proud of myself, but I could not be more proud of myself right now,” Antonicia says.
Learn MoreI guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I wouldn’t live here if it wasn’t a co-op and I’m going to work to make sure it stays that way.
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