It’s spring, the season of change. The black mold is beginning to bloom along your apartment’s joists; your landlord can’t be reached about that toilet blockage; your shag carpet is frayed and has one too many bong-water stains from its former owner. What ever will you do?
Well, you could buy a house. An audacious proposition, perhaps, especially on your barista’s salary. But those acrylic miniatures you’ve been painting of Ms. Pac-Man ghosts getting squashed between industrial sprockets have paid handsomely, and you’ve got a little saved up. Plus, that weekend gig playing in your new band, Perineum, is keeping you in the kale.
Still, buying a house is not like, say, buying a guitar amp or a tattoo. There’s a lot to think about. There are traps to watch out for. There’s a little something called a “mortgage.” There are termites, soffits and retaining walls. And then there are those mysterious “closing costs.”
Who can you turn to for help? The Affordable Housing Coalition of Asheville and Buncombe County, that’s who. Next month, beginning on Saturday, April 14, the nonprofit will again hold its popular “Home Buyer Education Class.” The series consists of two daylong classes, including a “tour of homes,” and two evening workshops, all held at the YWCA at 185 South French Broad Ave. in Asheville.
According to the organizers, the program will provide prospective buyers with “the information needed to reach your goals to homeownership.” The cost is based on a sliding scale, and child-care is provided for those encumbered by little ones.
For more information and a complete schedule, call the coalition at 259-9518.
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