Dorothee Kinney
Now that her goal of home ownership has finally been achieved, Dorothee Kinney is not quite sure it’s real.
“For the last five years everything’s been such a roller coaster ride. It’s been exciting and frustrating,” she said. “Now that we’re in our new home, it hasn’t really sunk in. It’s kind of surreal.”
To say that Dorothee was an unlikely candidate for home ownership when she moved to New Hampshire 11 years ago is an understatement. She was looking for a new start following a divorce that left her bankrupt and without a home. With no job and only one friend in the area, she said she made the trek from her native Georgia, with her then 3-year-old autistic son Spencer in tow, on nothing but a “hope and a prayer.”
Slowly but surely Dorothee began to rebuild her life. She found a job, had a second son, Declan, and earned both an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree from Hesser College. It was while in school, in 2003, that she walked into the Elm Street office of what was then known as Manchester Neighborhood Housing Services.
“What I wanted was a level of stability for my family, the kind of stability that comes from owning your own home. I also needed space to set up an adaptive therapy room for Spencer, something I couldn’t do in an apartment,” she said.
Over the next five years, Dorothee said she took part in just about every educational offering made available by what is now known as NeighborWorks® Greater Manchester, from the introductory Homeownership Seminar to Financial Fitness classes to one-on-one counseling.
“I had gone through the wringer financially — everything from ID theft to bankruptcy. My credit was a disaster. NeighborWorks® Greater Manchester helped me work though these issues step-by-step to get where I needed to be,” she said.
During this time Dorothee also opened an Individual Development Account (IDA), a matched-savings program, which she maxed out in two years’ time. The dream of home ownership, however, would have to wait a little longer. By the time she saved up enough money for a down payment, she was out of work and unable to obtain a mortgage. When she found a new job, the housing market had exploded, driving home prices out of her reach.
“I was ready to pull my money out of my IDA. It just felt like it was never going to happen,” she said.
But with her boys at the forefront of her mind, Dorothee held on to the dream of home ownership. In early 2008, Dorothee learned of the affordable townhomes available at Demetria’s Crossing, a joint development of NeighborWorks® Greater Manchester and developer Dick Anagnost. By summer she, Spencer and Declan were settling into their brand new townhome.
“I can’t say enough good things about everyone who helped me, especially NeighborWorks® Greater Manchester. Because of them we have a place of our own, a better quality of life,” she said.