This past Saturday, we raised the walls on Jaylandra Fitzgerald’s home at 7212 Thanna’s Way. Jaylandra Fitzgerald is quiet, humble and sincere. Three years ago, as a 44 year old woman facing hard times, sickness, and bills she couldn’t pay, Jaylandra moved in with her parents. Since then, she’s been strong in her determination to get back up on her own two feet.
Though she was born in Texas, Jaylandra’s father was in the military, and she spent her childhood moving every few years from Kansas to Germany and many places in between. “It was hard to make friends,” she remembers of those years of her life, “I still tend to keep to myself.”
Being a part of the Habitat Home Buyer Program has provided her with a sense of community that she’s never really had. ”I work five days a week and still enjoy getting up on Saturday mornings to go to the build site,” she says.
The sponsor of the house is Distressed Property Institute. The Institute trains real estate professionals in the tools and solutions available to homeowners facing foreclosure, including short sales, and confers the Certified Distressed Property Expert® designation.
Since its inception in January 2008, the CDPE has become the fastest-growing designation in real estate history, surpassing 15,000 members in November 2009. The Institute, founded by Alex and Cadey Charfen, estimates that 7 out of 10 families facing foreclosure proceed through the process without any visible assistance from a real estate professional, even when it has been reported that homeowners receiving counseling are 60 percent more likely to avoid foreclosure and have their mortgage payments lowered.
Distressed Property Institute chose to partner with AHFH after much research into potential partners who match their values. Both believe that homeownership is critical to the health of our communities, as it leads to family stability, wealth creation, education and happiness. Both believe that long-term, stable homeownership changes lives.
Construction of Jaylandra’s home will continue through March. Jaylandra says she looks forward to the day that she has a place to call her own.
Click on the link below to see KVUE’s Quita Culpepper report from the wallraising.
http://www.kvue.com/home/Dream-come-true-for-Austin-woman-82524847.html
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