- June 04 2025
- New Mexico
Down Payment Grant Helps New Mexico Mom Buy Home for her Family
Ms. Moncada was awarded a $25,000 Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) down payment assistance grant. The grant is only available through FHLB Dallas members. Ms. Walker’s grant was awarded through Homewise.
“I got to the point that I was thinking about quitting because I thought it was never going to happen,” she said. Then last year, she learned about a neighborhood of entry-level homes to be built in Santa Fe. She qualified to buy one and recently moved in.
HELP assists income-qualified, first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance and closing costs. Up to $25,000 per homebuyer is available in Texas and New Mexico and up to $20,000 per homebuyer is available in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Ms. Moncada lives with three of her four children in the home and said she really struggled to find an affordable house after going through a divorce. She even considered moving to a less expensive city, but really didn’t want to leave Santa Fe. She worked on improving her credit score and began saving for a down payment from income earned through her job of caring for disabled residents in a group home. Her patience eventually paid off.
“Santa Fe is a challenging market for residents who have modest incomes like Ms. Moncada,” said Homewise’s Chief Lending Officer Chris Quintana. “We’re thankful FHLB Dallas supports housing affordability through its down payment program.”
For Ms. Moncada, the years of waiting and preparing were hard but ultimately worth it.
“It took a long time, but my mother always said things happen when they are supposed to,” she said. “I’m very happy.”
