Amanda's journey to homeownership is a testament to perseverance and the power of the right financial resources.

For five years, she searched for a place to call her own. As a single mother of two daughters, Amanda rented a two-bedroom home for ten years and worked diligently to build a stronger future for her family. Like many prospective homebuyers in Kentucky, she faced a housing market where affordable homes often required extensive, expensive repairs, and move-in-ready homes felt completely out of reach.

"I feel like it's kind of the American dream to own your own home, and I've just worked really, really hard," Amanda shared. "The issue that I ran into was finding a home... that was affordable to me. If I did find a home that I could afford, it needed a lot of work. Just being a single mom, there was no way that I could do the upkeep."

Amanda worked closely with Lauren Brown, one of KHC's top loan officers with Citizens National Bank in Somerset, for two years to find a path forward. Despite being pre-approved for a mortgage, Amanda struggled to find a property that met her family's needs without creating financial hardship.

At one point, she nearly compromised on a "for sale by owner" fixer-upper that required entirely new floors just to qualify for a loan. Lauren advised her against putting all her savings into a property that might not ultimately close, ensuring Amanda stayed on a secure financial path. Instead, Lauren introduced Amanda to a brand-new option: Kentucky Housing Corporation’s Shared Appreciation Mortgage (SAM) program.

"Whenever the SAM program became available, it gave me some more options and opened my eyes that, hey, this is possible..."

Amanda Vaughn

The SAM program is designed specifically to help homebuyers like Amanda overcome the traditional barriers of down payments and closing costs. By assisting with a significant portion of the loan amount, the program makes new construction homes attainable for buyers who might otherwise be priced out of the current market.

For Amanda, the benefits of the SAM program were life-changing:

• Overcoming Upfront Costs: The SAM program covered the down payment and closing costs, removing one of the biggest financial hurdles to purchasing a home.
• Eliminating PMI: Because the program helps buyers achieve the equivalent of a 20% down payment, Amanda avoided Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). This saved her hundreds of dollars on her monthly payment, making a new home comfortably affordable.
• Securing a Move-In-Ready Home: With the expanded purchasing power provided by SAM, Amanda was able to buy a new construction home rather than an older house requiring immediate repairs. As Lauren noted, buying new construction provides peace of mind because everything is brand new and under warranty, and can protect buyers from unexpected replacement costs.

Incredibly, just one day after learning about the SAM program, Amanda found her dream home. She had watched this home be built from the ground up during her daily commute. "I just never thought it would be within my price range to own a new home," Amanda said. But with the SAM program, the three-bedroom, new construction house fell perfectly into her budget and was located in her daughters' preferred school zone.

Now, her daughters finally have their own bedrooms, and Amanda gets to enjoy her very first walk-in closet. She has already purchased a new living room suite and furniture for her girls, preparing to build lasting memories in a space that is entirely theirs.

For lenders and real estate professionals, the SAM program is a powerful tool to help clients finally achieve homeownership. Lauren encourages other lenders who might be hesitant about utilizing a new product to explore it, noting that KHC is available to provide guidance and support.

"It gives people the opportunity that they thought they would never get to have... It has created a whole new world for new homebuyers."

Lauren Brown

As for Amanda, the journey to homeownership was long, but the result is a beautiful, secure home for her family. When asked what owning this home means to her, her answer was simple but powerful: "It kind of feels like a new door opening, and then closing the past."