Success Story


<< Return to Success Stories


It's all in the translation.
The Chavez family is very happy with their home.

How do you describe homeownership in Spanish? Just ask Elizabeth Chavez. She can fluently explain many things about home buying and homeownership in two languages. Elizabeth, a 14-year-old freshman at North High School, recently served as translator for two Spanish-speaking clients of NHS Phoenix-her parents.

Thanks to Elizabeth and NHSP resources, the Chavez family was able to translate their desire to own a home into reality. Their remarkable story is translation-defined by Webster's Dictionary as "changing from one place, state, or form to another"-in the making.

Elizabeth's bilingual skills were put to use when the house her family rented fell into probate. A friend of the family, who is also a City of Phoenix employee familiar with NHSP programs, recommended the Chavez family to NHSP. Soon Manuel Chavez, Elizabeth's father, not only enrolled in NHSP Homebuyer Education classes but Elizabeth and her parents began meeting with NHSP staff to start the loan application process. Over the next nine months, Elizabeth was frequently called into service as interpreter, fitting meetings and appointments into her busy teenage school and social life.

As it turned out, the Chavez family could not buy the home they were renting so Elizabeth and her parents met realtors to look at other potential properties in their neighborhood. They even considered purchasing a duplex until one night, sharing shrimp soup and "conversation" at their dining room table with an NHSP staffer, they decided that this strategy was not right for the family.

What was right for them was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1918 bungalow on 11th Street that had been completely rehabbed by NHSP. The house had plenty of room for Elizabeth and her younger siblings. At first it appeared it was more then Mr. Chavez could afford on his income. He had a great work history and strong credit but still could not qualify for conventional financing. However, with the help of Elizabeth, a homebuyer subsidy from the City of Phoenix, and a low-interest Phoenix Family Housing fund loan from NHSP, the Chavez family was able to qualify "unconventionally." The home was theirs.

When you ask Elizabeth to translate how her Mom feels about owning a home, she says, "That's easy. Happy!" She quickly adds, "Now we can do everything for the house, like fix it up and put flowers in the yard. It's ours!"

By all accounts, Elizabeth was instrumental throughout. "I've learned a lot. It's been a great experience," says Elizabeth as she looks back on the last year. "I learned more about home buying than I ever thought about before. When I grow up, I want to own a home. And now I know how to do it!"

Elizabeth is an inspiration to her family, their friends, and her young friends. They are astonished by the process she navigated, by the beautiful house her parents now own. Many of them now want to be homeowners. Modestly, Elizabeth gives most the credit to NHSP staff who she affectionately calls "the good people who help."

La familia Chavez esta muy contentos con su casa. This is a happy ending that needs no translation.