Heather Rozier knows the challenges of being a single mother.

The questions and fears of wondering how she can support herself and her 13-year old son, Dreyton, and 16-month old daughter, Chloe, on one income during challenging economic times made for many a sleepless night.

While living with her mother and raising the two children, Rozier sought ways to become self-sufficient.

“I knew that in order for me to be independent, I needed to be out on my own,” Rozier said.

Rozier thought home ownership would give her the independence sought.

So, in 2007 she enrolled in and completed the Northeastern Corridor of Orangeburg Community Development Corporation Homebuyers Education Workshop, a series of classes focusing on topics such as understanding and avoiding predatory lending, improving credit scores, learning how to budget and using basic home repairs to care for a home.

Upon completion of the counseling education program, Rozier began the home-buying process under South Carolina State University’s 1890 Research & Extension Affordable Housing Program.

And in April 2008, she purchased a $112,000 house in Cordova with a $10,000 grant from the NCO CDC and additional funding from other sources.

Rozier, who works as a certified pharmacy technician at Orange Cut Rate Pharmacy, says the program has meant the world to her.

“I could not have done it (purchase a home) without the program,” she said. “I was absolutely clueless in the beginning, but everyone (NCO CDC staff and her Realtor) just helped me so much.”

Rozier said she first heard about the program years ago, though decided she was not financially capable of handling the responsibilities of home ownership.

She was later reminded about the program from her friends.

“Without my friends, I had totally forgotten about it,” she said. “Never did I follow through, until this time.”

Rozier is one of about 20 working single parents in Orangeburg County who have realized their dream of home ownership.

Home owners have been in Orangeburg and as far away as Richland County.

The Affordable Housing Program provides grants up to $10,000 to qualified applications, who can apply the money toward down payment or closing costs.

Program recipients do not have to repay the funds.

The South Carolina State University 1890 Research & Extension Program administers the program.

The NCO CDC awards the grants to low-to-moderate income families in South Carolina.

“Single parents are usually apprehensive about home buying because they are restricted to using one income only; however our program is designed to assist those like working single mothers and fathers who have limited income,” said Merylin Jackson, NCO CDC executive director.

Although most of the program recipients have been parents thus far, the program is available to anyone who meets the criteria, Jackson said.

To qualify for the grants, program participants must first complete an approved home buyer education course and meet the requirements for obtaining a mortgage from South Carolina Bank and Trust.

The NCO CDC has provided $223,552.00 in grants to 20 recipients since the program’s inception in 1998.

On average, the program receives between $100,000 to $150,000 a year

The CDC distributes the grants based on funding awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HBCU grant and from other sources such as the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta in partnership with South Carolina Bank and Trust and the South Carolina Housing Finance and Development Authority.

“We’ve found that our applicants can afford a mortgage payment, but what they don’t have is that initial seed money for a down payment or closing costs. The financial support from these agencies makes it possible for the Community Development Corporation to offer the assistance our clients need to become a home owner,” Jackson said.

“Programs offered by 1890 Research & Extension are designed as solutions to many of the problems our clients face,” said Delbert Foster, extension administrator. “What was once considered affordable housing for many of the people we serve has become too expensive and somewhat more difficult to attain since the decline in the housing market. The NCO CDC is providing the financial resources to help make purchasing a home an attainable goal for persons with limited income.”

The NCO CDC still has about $70,000 funding available through Dec. 31 to help potential first-time home buyers in Orangeburg County. The monies will help up to seven first-time home buyers.

For more details, interested participants should contact the Northeastern Corridor of Orangeburg Community Development Center’s Merylin Jackson or Angela Terry at 803-531-8189.

n T&D Staff Writer Gene Zaleski can be reached by e-mail at gzaleski@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5551. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com

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