VIA INVEST ATLANTA
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Cleothella Fleming looked at more than 100 properties and worked with eight different real estate agents until she finally found the house meant to be home. Key to the entire process was Invest Atlanta, which provided down-payment assistance to make her long-time dream of homeownership a reality.
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few years back, Cleothella was having a difficult time finding her footing. Even with two masters degrees, the
“It’s a beautiful, quiet, working-class neighborhood,” says Cleothella, who restored the original hardwood floors, customized a few features, and made some repairs to the foundation. Her favorite part, however, is the land on which the house sits, which she believes spoke to her and confirmed it was meant to be. Cleothella recounts how she was wearing her late father’s shoes as she walked around the property and asked aloud if this house was the one. “It was a warm day, but suddenly the most magnificent breeze blew through the trees,” she remembers. “I knew at that moment I was finally home.” Cleothella loves working in her yard, which she maintains with a meticulous passion, and has since planted 15 additional trees on her half-acre property, including oak, pine and crepe myrtle. “I’m so grateful for Invest Atlanta investing in me,” says Cleothella. “Through this program I was able to buy my freedom. Every day I wake up and thank the infinite spirit for having the opportunity to have my own mansion on this planet.”
post-pandemic recession made it challenging to land a good-paying job, and she was living in an apartment community that had become socio- economically depressed and ridden with crime. Determined to move into a home of her own, Cleothella spent two years preparing her credit and finances. While Cleothella had heard about Invest Atlanta, she had no idea it would be such a crucial part of her journey to become a homeowner. “Invest Atlanta catapulted me into a better neighborhood a mile away from my old apartment,” says Cleothella. “It’s a night and day difference from where I was to where I am now.” Cleothella qualified for a $20,000 loan through the Invest Atlanta Down Payment Assistance program and was able to layer that funding with other incentives from her lender and Atlanta Housing, the city’s housing authority. With financial support, and what seemed like an endless search, she finally found a three-bedroom/one- bath, A-frame house in the Ben Hill community.
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