[This story was submitted by lacasa’s Financial Capabilities Counselor, Joel Zwier]

When asked which of his activities with lacasa impacted him the most, Miguel Angel Amador Corona said, “The homeowner class, especially the part about coming to closing, was really helpful.  I actually had to take the class twice and I learned as much the second time as the first.”  He learned about the different loan types and how important it is to do a final walk-through of the house.

Miguel Angel was challenged by staying on task with his savings goal; setting aside extra for the new home.  Both he and his wife ate out almost daily and often bought things they didn’t really need.  “We learned to funnel these monies into the IDA account, as well as into personal savings.”  They like having an emergency savings account.  He said, “Knowing you can fall back on this in hard times is a really nice feeling.”

Miguel Angel is not sure he would have had the discipline to reach his homeownership goal all on his own.  He said, “I really appreciated the monthly reminders when I successfully made my deposits.  I also knew, if for some reason I missed a month, that lacasa staff would call or text to find out why.  They really had my back!”