Success Story: Charlie Esquivel

Charlie Esquivel is a proud former Marine, hard-working engineer and father of 3 girls, aged 15, 11, and
9. He wanted to buy his first home so his family could have the security and peace of mind that comes
with homeownership. Charlie began looking for houses close to his children’s school and found a home
they loved in South Mountain Village. “The thing about this house that really drew me in was the backyard,” said
Charlie. “It’s great for the kids and the animals; I can’t wait until we get the pool installed.”
When he spoke to his Realtor he found out that this house was being sold by Neighborhood Housing
Services of Phoenix and that meant it wasn’t any ordinary house.

The house was in a gated community called “Montana Bella”, a subdivision that
had been abandoned in 2008 when the developer filed bankruptcy. Trellis purchased it at a
Trustee’s Sale on February 23, 2009 and completed construction of the 16 partially-built homes between
June 2009 and December 2011. Charlie was told that there were plans to build 18 new homes in the
subdivision all of which would be filled with homeowners who had taken Homebuyer Education classes
and received pre-purchase counseling. For Charlie this meant that the area was going to be stable, with
people who were truly ready to own a home and that had a support system should they fall on hard
times.

Of course this also meant that in order to buy the home Charlie had to take the class as well. “They told
me I had to take an 8 hour Homebuyer Education class,” said Charlie. “To be honest I wasn’t very
excited.” Things changed, however when Charlie attended the class. “It was actually a lot of fun and
really interesting,” he said. “The teacher was really funny which helped me to remember the material
better than a normal lecture. I would definitely recommend the class to everyone, first-time homebuyer
or not. They cover a lot of great information and things are constantly changing so it’s a good idea to
keep up.”

After attending the class in early March 2014 Charlie received a loan through the Veteran’s Association
and closed on his new home before the end of March. Charlie is now happily setting into his home with
his children and wife. Even though his teenagers, like most, did not have much to say, their smiles
indicated their pleasure with their new home. “It’s great to be in my own home,” said Charlie. “We’re
looking forward to landscaping and really getting settled in but so far it’s been wonderful.”