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Restoration. Renewal. Regeneration.
Homeownership provides these blessings and more.

"All my daughter had ever known was a cramped apartment. Now she is playing out in the back yard while I'm putting in the landscaping. It's just wonderful!"

This young, native-Arizona couple takes the term regeneration literally. And well they should. Their new home is right next door to their children's great grandparents' house. And directly across the street from the house the husband was born in. The tenacious staff at NHS Phoenix, a loving father and an innovative mortgage-loan program combined to make their "homecoming" a tale of heart-warming restoration, renewal and-yes-regeneration.

"We find that people are often introduced to NHS Phoenix right in their own neighborhoods. They are renting a home in the area, see a NHS Phoenix home being built or a sign in the area and decide to call for more information," says Bonnie Lake, loan processor.

These recent homeowners first contacted NHS Phoenix in 1997 after spotting a sign. At that time they were relatively comfortable, renting a home owned by the husband's father. But, a wife's desire to own her own home and a father's love for his family interceded and served as impetus for NHS Phoenix to do what they do best-help people buy homes.

NHS Phoenix purchased the rental home and the adjacent vacant lot from the father with the understanding that, once a new home was constructed on the lot, his son and daughter-in-law would be first in line to purchase the home, if they qualified for the loan. This was a big if.

From 1997-1999 various staff worked with the couple; programs were employed to help the family improve their credit rating. The couple attended homebuyer classes and workshops. In December, 1999, Bonnie Lake secured mortgage financing for them using the innovative Allstate Mortgage program designed specifically for buyers needing down payment assistance. They qualified for the Allstate loan and moved in to their new, three-bedroom home in April.

So with this an expanded regeneration begins-the regeneration of a community. Neighbors near the newly-occupied house have started fixing up their own homes. There's a renewed pride in the neighborhood.

And the best thing- the children on the street have a new "favorite place" to play. It's over in the "new kids' backyard. You know, the one just across the fence from grandma's."