South Florida family rejoice in new home with help of grant assistance
MIAMI - Lamar Swan shows CBS News Miami's Ted Scouten all the renovations going on at his new home.
Back in January, a big fire at a Miami Gardens Condo complex claimed the home they'd been renting, but that horrible experience lead the Swan Family to where it is today.
"I don't think if the fire didn't happen, we would be here, we'd probably still be paying rent. Like I said, everything happens for a reason," Lamar said.
Aside from being Lamar's mom, Alicia Hayes is a real estate agent.
"Everything was $1,700 to $2,500 a month. So I said to him, 'Let's try to get you into a home. If you're going to pay that much for rent your might as well own your own home,'" Hayes said.
She told him he may be eligible for help. And that really paid off.
"We started looking for grants. And we started stacking the grants. He was able to get a grant for $80,000, he was able to get another grant for $38,000. He was also able to get down payment assistance for $28,000," she said.
With more than $140,000 in grants, the Swans were able to purchase a $300,000 condo.
Zachary Rinkins is with the Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust.
"It is not unusual for people to leverage our program and stack them with other programs," Rinkins said.
They offer up to $28,500 in home buying assistance.They also get qualified homeowners like Lamar in touch with others who can help.
"Your home ownership dreams are possible. Try. It's very important just try, start the process, just give us a call. We're here to answer your questions. We're here to connect you with people that's going to help you purchase a home," Rinkins said.
Lamar and his family know first hand that getting help buying a home is more than just a dream.
"It wasn't easy. Like it was frustrating. I wanted to pull out my hair sometimes but look around," he laughed.
"This is the end result right here."