Free First Time Home Buyer Coaching in Dayton, Ohio
If you want to own a home and some part of you believes you cannot, you are the person this page was built for. Homeward is free home buyer coaching. We sit down together and you leave with your own numbers written down, the real obstacle named, and a plan for achieving homeownership. Then I check on you every month until you are ready to start touring!
Come to the monthly free workshops! We spend one hour reviewing what stands between you and a loan instead of guessing at it for another two years.
Neither one costs anything. Neither one asks you to buy a house with me.
No fee, ever. Stop any time.
Two free programs and the honest difference between them.
Homeward offers both a free one hour workshop and take home workbook and an individualized coaching program. They are both free and they are separate. Neither is a requirement to do the other.
The workshops.
In this free first time home buyer workshop, you find out what lenders look at, what it costs to buy in the Dayton area, and what down payment assistance exists in Ohio and how to get it.
Nov 14
Saturday
4:00 to 5:00 PMDayton Metro Library, Main Library
215 E. Third St., Dayton, OH 45402
Free · No registration
Dec 17
Thursday
6:00 to 7:00 PMDayton Metro Library, Huber Heights Branch
6243 Brandt Pike, Huber Heights, OH 45424
Free · No registration
Every date is confirmed with Dayton Metro Library.
None of those dates work? Text (937) 977-8080 and I will tell you when the next one lands.
Get the next date.
Leave your details and I will send the date and the branch ahead of time. No spam, and you can tell me to stop at any point.
This class is not the OHFA homebuyer education course. Ohio's down payment assistance through OHFA requires a separate homebuyer education course, usually free and online, and your lender will point you at an approved one. What this hour does is tell you what OHFA is, whether it is worth chasing in your situation, and where to take the course that counts.
The coaching.
The coaching is you and me. We assess your current situation, identify obstacles, and create a step by step action plan. Then I check in every month for encouragement and accountability. I will work with you for years if that's what it takes.
People come in certain it is their credit and leave with a savings target. Or the other way around.
Most of the buyers I work with put down 3 to 5 percent.
There is no requirement to buy a house with me, nothing is sold in the workshop or coaching program, and there is no pitch at the end of either one. If you buy with someone else, it still did its job.
If any of this sounds like your situation
- You do not know your credit score, or you know it and it is under 620
- You have under $2,000 saved
- You have collections, charge-offs, student loans or a car payment
- You are self-employed or 1099, or your income changes month to month
- You have been at your job under two years
- You have been turned down before
- You have never talked to a lender and do not know who to ask
- You think you are two or more years out
If you think you need 20 percent down.
Conventional loans start at 3 percent down and FHA at 3.5 percent. VA and USDA require nothing down for buyers who qualify. Ohio's assistance through OHFA can cover part of that again. Some special loan programs don't require any money down.
If you think your credit disqualifies you.
FHA's minimum is 580 with 3.5 percent down, and VA sets no score minimum at all. What you need is your number and a plan for the gap, not a perfect one.
If you think your income is the problem.
There is no minimum income to buy a house. A lender asks whether your income is steady and whether you can prove it, not how big it is.
If you think you need $10,000 in cash.
On a $150,000 house at 3 percent down with 3 percent closing costs, plus inspection and appraisal, the cash adds up to around $10,000. Apply Ohio's assistance and a qualifying buyer's share of that lands nearer $1,750.
A worked example, not a quote. A lender confirms the real number for your loan.
Ask for a free copy of the workbook.
The class workbook, free, as a PDF by email.
Questions about Homeward.
- Is it free, and what is the catch?
- Yes, both of them, and there is no catch. No fee, no contract, and no requirement to buy a home with me or with anyone else. If you finish the program and buy with a different agent, that is a win as far as I am concerned. At the class there is no fee, nothing is sold in the room, and you are not signing anything.
- Do I have to come to the class first?
- No. Homeward coaching is completely separate from the Homeward first time home buyer class and open to anyone in the Dayton area. You can do one, the other, or both, in any order. Call or text (937) 977-8080, or email jenna@jennagrayhomes.com, and say you want in.
- My credit is bad and I have been turned down before. Is there any point?
- Yes, and you do not need to know your score to start. FHA's minimum is 580 with 3.5 percent down, and VA sets no score minimum at all. What you need is your number and a plan for the gap, not a perfect one. Several loan types start lower than people assume, and the plan tells you which one you are working toward.
- I am not ready for two years. Should I wait?
- No. If you are preparing to buy a house in 6 months, in a year or in 2 years, the plan is built to that horizon and we reset it every month. If the honest answer is that you are a couple of years away, the class is the hour that tells you what to spend those years doing.
- Does the class count for the OHFA homebuyer education course?
- No. Ohio down payment assistance through OHFA, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, requires a separate homebuyer education course, usually free and online, and your lender will point you at an approved one. The class tells you what OHFA is and where to take the course that does count. Do both.
- Is this credit repair?
- No. Credit repair companies charge for work you can do yourself, free, in about an hour, and anyone guaranteeing you a number is selling something. The plan points you at free credit counseling and shows you how to dispute errors yourself.
- Are you a lender?
- No. I am a REALTOR® with Plum Tree Realty. I do not approve loans, quote rates or decide what you qualify for. What I do is get you ready for that conversation and make sure you step into it with the right questions.
- Who sees what I tell you?
- Nobody. No test, no judgement, and nothing you say goes anywhere. The forms on this page go straight to my inbox and nothing is stored on this site. At a class, the workbook is yours to write in; nobody collects it and nobody looks at it.
- What do I bring?
- To a class, a pen. You will be writing in the workbook. To the first coaching session, the real picture: your goals, your employment, your savings and budgeting, and your credit. You do not need to know your score, and you do not need to have talked to a lender.
Ready to get started?
Call or text (937) 977-8080 and say so, and we will book a time. Or pick a class date and take a seat. Either way you find out next week what is standing in your way instead of guessing at it for another two years.
This is the hour I wish every buyer got.