Classes Help 1St-Time Home Buyers

Sat., July 17, 1999

By Pat Sciuchetti pats@spokesman.com

Nearly 600 homes have been sold in the Valley so far this year, and Nora Johnston thinks hers is the cutest.

The two-bedroom Millwood home, white with blue trim, sits in a big yard that’s perfect for her energetic young son.

“It’s like a dream,” the 36-year-old first-time home buyer said. “I’d been renting for 18 years. I never dreamed I could buy a house by myself.”

Like many first-time home buyers, Johnston started the process with little knowledge.

She didn’t know what to look for - or watch out for - when searching for a home. She thought debt would prevent her from getting a loan.

Fortunately, a mortgage company referred her to the Spokane Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP) and its home buyer education classes.

SNAP is just one local non-profit that offers free home buyer workshops. Most run about five hours, and provide low or moderate income participants with a certificate that makes them eligible for several reduced interest rate loan programs.

But everyone - even those in higher income brackets - is encouraged to attend, said Peggy Burrell, a housing counselor with SNAP.

“It demystifies the process,” Burrell said. “Anybody at any income level can get in trouble.”

SNAP provides free textbooks and advice on how to approach home buying intelligently. Many would-be home buyers, she said, have no idea what size loan they’ll qualify for. They make the mistake of beginning their search before they’ve been pre-approved.

More than 680 homes are available for purchase in the Valley right now, with list prices ranging from $35,900 to $785,000, according to the Spokane Association of Realtors. New buyers, Burrell said, waste time and risk disappointment by looking in the wrong price bracket.

Johnston put off her home search for years because she thought she wouldn’t even qualify for a loan. When co-workers finally prodded her into giving it a shot, she was shocked.

“I was so ecstatic I could hardly stand it,” said Johnston, who found her dream home on Easter Sunday and moved in last month.

“It’s the neatest little house,” she said. “I feel like Mrs. Cleaver.”

TAKE A CLASS How to buy Several local non-profits offer free first-time home buyer classes. The Spokane Neighborhood Action Program offers classes throughout the area, and hopes to begin offering them in the Valley soon. Call 456-7106, ext. 125 or 126. The Spokane Home Ownership Resource Center offers them at 55 W. Mission. Call 343-7472.

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