40 Big Ideas

Summary

Owning a home has been a way for people with disabilities to put institutions behind us. In 1993, a national group began promoting homeownership for people with disabilities in 23 states. Helping people to own homes goes beyond disability. It helps everyone.

For more than 40 years, homeownership has been an identifiable and proven option for people with disabilities and a response to the egregious history of institutionalization. In 1993, the National Home of Your Own Alliance began promoting homeownership for people with disabilities in 23 states

Today, we steadfastly hold on to the ideal of individualized housing and homeownership. It provides a path to a place called home—a unique place where individuals with disabilities can provide hospitality to guests, control the entrance to the front door, and decide who is invited in and who is not. It also means allowing every person to oversee where and with whom one resides, who controls the key to the front door, how one decorates, and how one creates an individual vision for home.

Owning a home is not a disability issue. It is an income issue. That is why first-time homeowner programs providing down payment and second mortgage assistance continue assisting individuals with home purchases. Few resources used to assist individuals have anything to do with disability resources or programs. Second-mortgage assistance is critical to assisting first-time buyers in accessing an affordable mortgage. Typically, two or three sources of down payment assistance or second mortgage zero-interest loans are layered together to make monthly mortgage payments affordable.

Homeownership continues to provide a unique anchor to the community for all citizens, solidifying where one lives while having the opportunity to build credit, create an asset, and accumulate wealth. Owning provides the chance to make modifications using universal design guidelines. Unfortunately, many people misunderstand public benefits and believe owning a home will jeopardize them. The truth is, Social Security allows an individual or couple to own a home and a vehicle while receiving benefits. The key is planning to discover the dreams of each homeowner while supporting how to purchase in terms of neighborhood, housing type, budget, and accommodations.

As with most first-time home purchases, there are limits on price and size. Most buyers have a small monthly income, but lenders can include Social Security and other benefits when determining if an individual will qualify for home financing.

Homeownership continues to be a viable strategy for assisting individuals in creating a place called home. And it’s only the beginning of assisting people in creating assets for their future. Building credit, Individual Development Accounts, ABLE savings accounts, community employment, and personal trust planning all figure into the future of asset building while not compromising individual public benefits. While housing costs have risen over time and interest rates fluctuate, homeownership remains viable and demonstrates a path to the American dream.

“We always dreamed of owning our own home because we both grew up with unstable housing,” a pair of homebuyers, one with IDD, told me after we worked together to secure second mortgages and assistance grants. They shared their vision for their family, a dream many people have. “We have both been houseless at one point in our lives. The rent increasing every year would often lead to moving around frequently, and we didn’t want that type of living situation for our son or ourselves. Owning our own home has given us a sense of pride and gratitude. We wanted a home to call ours where we can feel safe and calm for us and our son.”