Success Story: Ruth Ashford

27 Apr Success Story: Ruth Ashford

Ruth Ashford’s 3-bedroom home in South LA has 19 years of memory, joy and struggle written into its walls. In it, she has watched her son grow from a toddler to a young man, which made the threat of losing her home during the 2008 foreclosure crisis that much more difficult. However, a loan modification helped her weather the storm and stay in the community: “right when I was about to give up, I was able to keep my home.”

When a friend in NHS’ homeownership program told her about our home rehab loans, Ashford looked at the creaks and cracks her 90-year old home had developed over the years and decided that the time for significant repairs had finally come. Her grand plans include fixing the roof, garage, outdated bathroom, and a countertop previously renovated by a contractor, as well as replacing the windows and repainting her home’s exterior.

With an NHS Home Rehab Loan in hand, her biggest concern now is what color to paint her home: “I’ve been driving around taking pictures of other houses,” she laughed, “I like terracotta and I like a light grey but I keep switching back and forth.”