When Gordon suddenly had a stroke in 2005, he and his partner Tony were unable to maintain their home in Ticonderoga, NY, where they had lived for many years. Following the stroke, Gordon spent time in the hospital and then entered a rehab facility, where he stayed for a number of months. Once Gordon was discharged, they lived in a small apartment in Schroon Lake, a rural community in upstate NY. Here, Gordon received in-home therapies and the two began to get back on their feet.

They soon decided to move closer to family and to an area with more medical providers close by. They applied to various Senior Apartments in the Albany area, and soon they moved to an apartment in Glenmont, NY, a suburb of Albany. For a number of years, Gordon and Tony have lived in a lovely apartment in a very attractive and well maintained apartment complex with many friendly neighbors.

Gordon and Tony have been very grateful for what they have in their current living situation. Gordon, an avid outdoorsman, has made the best of his environment - exploring and taking walks with his HCSS provider when the weather cooperates. He also volunteered to do some landscaping around the complex - a real passion of his. However, deep down, Gordon has been wishing to someday own a home of his own again. He often spoke about wanting to have more space and privacy, and most of all he has wished he could do more planting and gardening of his own!

Through their Section 8 Rental Subsidy, Gordon and Tony learned about the Section 8 Home Ownership Program. This program really caught their eye, since they thought that their dream to own a home again was not ever going to be a possibility. With a few phone calls they were on their way to preparing their finances to reach their goal of purchasing a home!

For the past year, Gordon and Tony have been working with various individuals from the Section 8 Home Ownership Program. They started by carefully examining their spending and worked to budget their money. They then devised a workable savings program, through which they put money aside for pre-purchase expenses such as a down payment and closing costs. They worked with the counselors on their credit and increasing their credit score.

Once their credit was established with a good score, and they had some money saved, Gordon and Tony were told that they were ready to apply for mortgage pre-approval. With the help of Section 8, they are currently working with lenders to get this approval, so that they can move forward in the home buying process.

While they have recently experienced a few unexpected setbacks, Gordon and Tony remain hopeful that within the next year they will become home owners! Working towards this goal has been a real positive process for both Tony and Gordon. In the midst of all of the hard work and frustration that they have faced since Gordon had his stroke, the hopes of owning a home has helped to keep Gordon positive and excited for what the future may hold. In the coming months I hope to share with you the news that they have purchased and moved into a new home - stay tuned!