LOGAN, Utah — Quentin and Erin Unsworth of Logan had a dream of one day owning their own home. But even with two incomes, the difficulties of the housing market in Utah meant the typical American Dream was, for them, more like the Impossible Dream.
Quentin teaches World History and coaches the Debate Team at Logan High School.
“I try to tell my kids I love ‘em,” he said. “And that can sound weird, coming from a teacher. But it’s the truth. They’re amazing. They’re fantastic.”
Quentin’s wife Erin also works in education, at a private school. They have two children, Tanner, 19, and Eden, 13.
“We’ve been married 20 years, this past September” said Quentin. “So we’re pretty excited. We had our big anniversary.”
Said Erin, “We’ve moved a total of 10 times in 19 years.”
And they’ve been renting the entire time.
"I think part of it is, you know, when you're renting, you don't make an investment into a community because you know you're not going to be there long term,” said Quentin. “And then just with the natural way of things, rents increase, and you're always looking for, you know, the best deal that you can."
Despite the pipe dream of someday owning a home, the Unsworth’s were resigned to renting for the rest of their lives. Then, one day in 2021, they got an e-mail through the Logan School District from Rocky Mountain Homes Fund.
"There was a series of interviews,” said Erin.And speaking about Rocky Mountain Homes Fund, the Unsworth’s said “you could tell that they [RMHF] were very, very invested in in people, this was not [just] a financial transaction. They wanted to do right by people, and make sure that they were setting folks up for success."
The Rocky Mountain Homes Fund is a for-profit business, that helps professional educators, first responders, healthcare worker, and veterans, for whom buying a home is financially out of reach.
Speaking about the high cost of housing in Utah, Kendell Gracey with RMHF said, “The price point is way too high. And banks are requiring like 20%. And on a teacher salary, mathematically, it doesn't work. But they're important people to the community. We need them, they're not paid enough. And so what's the solution?"
Rocky Mountain pays the down payment, and helps the family become the outright owner of the home.
RMHF’s Dan Waldrip said, “They choose the home, they go out and shop and find that we give them a budget, and they go out and look for the home that they think will work for them. And as long as we feel comfortable with that home, then we'll pay the down payment for it, and buy the home. And in exchange for that we asked them to take care of it.”
In fact, Rocky Mountain is actually anxious to step aside. "You know, five or six years later, they should be able to take us out and become the owner of the home if they save their money and save their raises, and do all the things that we encourage them to do that they can do it much quicker than that," said Waldrip.
Rocky Mountain sees it as helping people to build real wealth, the kind that allows them to move forward in life. They see it all the time.“
They get into a home,” said RMHF’s Aaron Waldrip, Dan’s brother, “and the next thing you know we're getting a note from them saying they've got a baby on the way. Or they've changed jobs, or husband and wife have changed jobs, and gotten into a better situation."
The Unsworth’s said, “This is where we'll have Thanksgiving with our grandchildren. And this is where you'll get to teach them to ride a bike, or get to take him for a walk to the park or, you know, this is where the rest of your family is going to grow from. And to me, that was that was probably more powerful than anything, thinking about that, knowing, having a sense of predictability, so that you could you could start to create that reality around this this plan that you've had."
Rocky Mountain Homes Fund’s investors include Zion’s Bank, Intermountain Health, and others. Right now, they’re just accepting applications from professional educators, first responders, healthcare workers, and veterans. But they are anxious to expand to other groups.
To find out if you qualify to be part of their program, CLICK HERE.
