City of Raleigh program helps teacher purchase her first home
Jess Peacock set a goal. The middle school teacher wanted to buy her first home.
“I think everybody knows what teachers make,” says Peacock.
After looking for homes all over Raleigh, she found that she could not afford them and eventually moved in with her parents.
One day, a friend told her about the city’s multiple programs. She used the Homebuyer Assistance Program – which offers loans to help with down payments – to help her purchase a home in East College Park.
Peacock began to contact builders in an effort to begin the process; after a while the miracle came.
A buyer fell through for one of the houses, and Peacock was their first call.
With no hesitation, she answered, “Yes, I would like to buy the house.”
Peacock also participated in the required homeownership class, learning about financial management and fair housing practices.
Holly Gallagher, a communications analyst for the City of Raleigh Housing & Neighborhoods Department, says this is all part of a big plan for housing in the area that started back in 2017.
“Affordable housing is a really key focus area of the city’s strategic plan,” said Gallagher. “We’ve set out a goal to produce 5,700 affordable housing units by 2026.”
Through February 2023, 92 of the 98 single family homes in the East College Park area had been built or were under construction, and there are 86 single family homeowners.
To be eligible for the Homebuyer Assistance Program, an interested buyer must earn no more than 80% of the area median income.
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Beyla Walker, a broadcast journalism major at Florida A&M University, contributed this story as part of the 2023 CBC-UNC Diversity Fellowship. Reach her at beylawalker1@gmail.com.
