Achieving Homeownership in Washington, DC Through Hard Work, Saving, DC's HPAP and CAAB's IDA
As of last week, Miati--a 3rd generation Washingtonian--is the proud owner of a home in the Kennilworth neighborhood in Ward 7 in Washington, DC thanks to her hard work, savings, taking advantage of DC's Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) and an Individual Development Account (IDA) with Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB).
Thanks to the support and funding from Islamic Relief USA, Miati participated in CAAB's Matched Savings Program in which she was incentivized to save at least $500 for a period no shorter than 6 months and receive a match of $3,000. The combined $3,500 could be used for expenses associated with buying her first home. "For some people this amount of money sounds insufficient to buy a house in Washington," said Miati. "For me it was the right amount of money to help me and my kids in achieving our dream. As a single mother of two children, I have always had the dream of having our own place to call home."
In the Summer of 2014, Miati opened her IDA with CAAB. Fast forward a little over a year, Miati achieved her savings goal.
Miati also took advantage of the financial education services CAAB offered her. "CAAB's financial education classes taught me to create a budget and provided pointers on how to save. It was a challenge to even save $10 but once saving became a key part of my budget then I was able to do it. I focused on what was really a need versus a want. For example, we have been without cable for the past four months so that we could save that money for buying our home."
Since 1996, CAAB has been offering IDAs to residents of the Greater DC Area. For more information on our Matched Savings Program, please visit http://caab.org/en/programs/matched-savings-programs
About Capital Area Asset Builders
Capital Area Asset Builders (CAAB) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to empower low- and moderate-income residents of the Greater DC Area to take control of their finances, increase their savings, and build wealth for a better future.
Connect with CAAB via our social media platforms:
- Twitter: @CAAB_GreaterDC
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalAreaAssetBuilders
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/capital-area-asset-builders
