Programs to Make Home Buying More Affordable

Twenty-six-year-old program manager Isamar Zuniga was like millions of working Americans – using a good portion of her income to pay rent for her apartment. But after years of doing so, she decided enough was enough.

“I wanted to do something better with my money instead of watching it go to waste every month,” she said. “Even though I am young, I felt that there had to be something out there for people like me who work and want to invest.”

Within months, she found that “something.”

With the help of a PNC homeowner's’ assistance grant and a Federal Housing Administration pricing special, Zuniga was able to make her dream of owning a home a reality.

“The hardest thing was finding a home and understanding all the new lingo that comes with homeownership – down payment, pre-qualification letter, home inspection – it was all new and overwhelming to me. The easiest part was the loan application process,” she said.

Zuniga worked with her PNC loan officer to navigate the budgeting process through PNC Home Insight^® Planner.

Within weeks of finding her two bedroom home in the suburbs, Zuniga had the keys.

First-time homeowner Isamar Zuniga, her wife Bianca Ayala and their dog Ebi are excited about plans to host more events at their new home. Pictured with Elsa Razo, PNC mortgage market manager for the Chicago southeast region.

Special Loans Appropriate for Many Income Levels

People who are at a low-to-moderate income level don’t necessarily need to drain their life savings in order to become homeowners. Zuniga, for example, was able to buy her home with just a few thousand dollars at closing.

PNC offers home lending products that work for people with a variety of incomes to buy or refinance a home, including those with limited resources or select borrowers who may find it difficult to come up with closing costs.

Many people may think that they are not ready to talk to a mortgage loan officer, but the opposite could be true. Loan officers can provide credit counseling months ahead of time, which can help buyers of all types get ready to buy a home.

“One of our loan officers just recently had a young gentleman use only a few hundred dollars from his savings towards his closing costs. We made it work because we have a pipeline of resources and understand the challenges many hard-working people face,” said Elsa Razo, PNC mortgage market manager for the Chicago southeast region.

After house-sitting and renting for several years, Ross and Laura Donaldson worked with PNC to buy their three-story brick colonial in the Pittsburgh area.

Since they didn’t have enough for the traditional 20 percent down payment, the couple worked with their loan officer to find a program that fit their situation.

“It really helped that we were pre-approved for a loan so we knew how much home we could afford,” said Laura Donaldson, a university academic coordinator. 

After 12 years together, first-time homeowners Ross and Laura Donaldson now have somewhere to call their home.

Some programs also require homeowners, such as the Donaldsons, to take educational courses.

“I liked the fact that we had to take an online course to learn what it means to buy a house. We felt empowered. We felt we were making a smart, educated decision,” added Laura.

Consumer Confidence Up

With consumers feeling confident in the economy, industry experts expect the demand for affordable housing to continue.

“We care about all the positive benefits homeownership brings – a sense of pride in the community and neighborhood stability,” said Razo. “The first step is to help individuals figure out what options are out there, whether they are re-entering the home-buying market or taking that first step.”

Zuniga loves the sense of freedom she feels with her new home.

“I just threw a birthday party for my wife and it was so awesome to be able to host friends and family,” Zuniga said. I could nail decorations on the wall and put music on without worrying if I was offending the landlord or bothering the other tenants. It feels liberating.“ 

To understand whether you’re ready to buy a home, visit the PNC Home Lending Center »

Elsa Razo, PNC mortgage market manager for the Chicago southeast region

Wil Hendrix-Griffin, PNC affordable home lending manager