Thomas Warren, wtop.com
WASHINGTON — For the past five years, Donell McLennon has lived in an apartment with her daughter and mother — always with the hopes of one day becoming a homeowner.
She can call herself one now, thanks to a new housing program in Prince George’s County.
The program is called “My Home.”
Since its launch in March of 2011, the program has helped more than 100 families in the county reach settlements for new homes.
McLennon, 42, is one of them.
She bought a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in Capitol Heights.
“It’s a blessing, indeed, that we were able to get the home at the price that we got it for,” says McLennon.
She says she’ll be able to squeeze five cars into her driveway.
The program, started by the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development, provides eligible buyers with up to 5 percent of the final purchasing price. Other assistance comes in the forms of down payment aid or funding for closing costs.
Because of the program, McLennon says she’s able to do more with the money she has left over.
“I thought I would only have enough to make a down payment, but now I have enough left over to actually move my family.”
She closed on her home on Dec. 22, and plans on surprising her 63-year-old mother and her young daughter with the news Christmas day.
“My mother knows that were were going to be closing soon, but she didn’t know when,” she says. “And my six-year-old daughter, it’s so surreal to her that we’re even going to own our own home.”
The program received $1.1 million in funding by the Federal Home Investment Partnerships Program this year. It will have $1.2 million available for next year.
Eric Brown, director of Prince George’s DHCD, says he’s encouraged by the success thus far.
“It really says that the idea of becoming a homeowner, and chasing that American Dream, is not dead,” he says.
McLennon works as an accountant supervisor and currently lives in an apartment in Suitland.
She says her daughter can can finally have the cat she’s been asking for.
And mom, too, gets what she’s always wanted. A bedroom fit for a queen.
“The upstairs bedroom, my bedroom, which will be my castle area,” McLennon says.
For more information about the “My Home” program, contact Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development at (301) 883-5300.
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