South Carolina Family Purchases First Home with Help from CDFI
Client: Ezequiel Perez Sanchez & Dayana Elizabeth Bodden Rodriguez
Client Location: York, SC
CDFI: Latino Community Credit Union
CDFI Service Area: NC
Financing and technical assistance, with support from the Finance Justice Fund
Like many Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) families, the Rodriguez-Sanchez family has lived in the U.S. for many years. However, before joining LCCU in 2021, they remained unbanked. As monolingual Spanish speakers with no experience with mainstream finance in the U.S., they felt intimidated opening an account at a traditional bank in South Carolina. When they decided it was time to buy a home, their friends on the North Carolina side of the border referred them to LCCU.
At LCCU, they found personalized attention that most Spanish-speaking immigrants new to the financial mainstream cannot find at other institutions. After becoming LCCU members, the family established and began to build credit with a secured credit card. Nine months later, the Rodriguez-Sanchez family was ready to buy their first home. LCCU financial services were their ticket out of the cash economy and into the financial mainstream.
Today, the Rodriguez-Sanchez family not only has a mortgage through which they can build wealth for their three children, they have also become full users of the credit union. This was also LCCU’s first mortgage outside of North Carolina, a big milestone for the credit union as it began the process of expanding its footprint of opportunity across neighboring states.
“Buying our home has made it feel like we have reached our personal and financial goals, contributing to a better quality of life. Having our own home gives us sense of security and protection for our family,” said the Rodriguez-Sanchez family.