Cortez Journal Online - Cortez Colorado

"It's like a fresh start," said expectant mother Kerri Orr as she and her husband, Jerry, moved into their brand new three-bedroom, two-bathroom house on April 15.

They were able to purchase their home with the help of Housing Solutions of the Southwest.

Christina Cordalis, housing rehabilitation manager with Housing Solutions for the Southwest, described the scene as one of tearful jubilation.

Housing Solutions for the Southwest is a nonprofit agency that serves the five-county region of Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties.

Last year 106 families in Montezuma County were helped at an overall cost of $430,170.

Programs that Housing Solutions provide are weatherization, rehabilitation, Section 8 rental assistance, transitional housing, emergency homeless prevention, homeward bound and housing counseling.

They are also a HUD home purchasing agency, which means the agency can purchase HUD foreclosures before it is available to the public and investors.

In the Orr's case, Housing Solutions bought an old house at 510 S. Beech that had been "an eyesore for many years," according to Cordalis.

In order to meet financial approval for the HUD program, homebuyers can make up to 115 percent of the area median income.

For the homeowner's rehabilitation program, participants can make up to 80 percent of the area median income.

 

Cortez Journal Online - Cortez Colorado