COOLIDGE, Arizona (KNXV) – Homeownership is considered one of the cornerstones of the American dream.
For many people, this dream seems to have become unattainable, but one woman from Arizona has never given up on her dream of owning her own home.
At the age of 77, Sherry Yates finally owned her own home.
“Look how long it is, I like it,” she said.
Yates has lived in her Coolidge home for nearly a year now, and there’s still not an inch she would change.
She said her affection for the house stemmed from the fact that she had lived as a renter her entire life up to that point.
Now she is a homeowner and her only lease is a new life commitment.
“You know, sometimes I feel like I’m 35,” she said.
Yates moved to Arizona in 2007 and rented in Glendale, where several generations lived under one roof.
When the landlord sold the house, she found herself in a new rental property in Avondale, paying a few hundred dollars more.
After a few years, the house was foreclosed and Yates eventually rented an apartment in downtown Phoenix, where she realized that the constant in her life was change.
“It’s hard to stay in an apartment. And when you have kids and the other person has kids, it’s even harder,” she says.
To make the challenge even greater, Yates said she didn’t know where to start her journey to homeownership until she met New Oakwood Homes consultant Beckah Stiasny.
“Buying a home, let alone building one, is a pretty scary thing, so we advise you all the time,” Stiasny said.
Yates’ troublesome credit score prevented her from getting the loan she needed.
Her team helped her sort out all of these things and figure out how much she needed to save to make a $12,000 down payment on a $300,000 home.
Yates said she is now a permanent guest.
Her home is 1,600 square feet (157 square meters) and has four bedrooms, a two-car garage, and enough room to accommodate her mother, husband, two children, and more.
She said she considers her mortgage a privilege.
“I would pay my mortgage before I paid anything,” she said.
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