Xuefeng’s Story
Navigating the housing world today is an undertaking. We’re here to help.
In this series, Dreams to Reality, we will hear from several Urban Edge clients who have experienced successes, whether that be in renting, buying, or affordably maintaining their homes. We’re so proud to have worked with these hardworking people, and we are thrilled to be part of the process of making their housing dreams a reality.
One of our services that we are most passionate about is providing families with the resources they need to purchase a home. As many of our clients will tell you, buying a home takes patience, resilience and determination. When the system is stacked against you, it’s hard to know where to start – and we’re here to make it a little easier.
This story comes from Xuefeng Liu, who worked hard, studied the housing market, and is now a homeowner.
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Xuefeng grew up in China. He moved to the United States 10 years ago. Xuefeng has been a renter since he moved here, and as of July 2022, he is a homeowner.
Xuefeng began by renting properties in Brookline. When the pandemic hit, he started playing with the idea of buying a home.
When he told his landlord he was considering buying, his landlord gave him a push and reminded him of the benefits of homeownership.
“I realized it doesn’t make sense, financially, to keep renting. Paying rent every month doesn’t accumulate any value”.
Most of all, Xuefeng was looking for a lifestyle change. He knew homeownership would come with more responsibility, but also with more financial benefits. He wanted the money he paid every month to go towards something lasting. So, he decided to take Urban Edge’s First Time Home Buyer class in February of 2022. He remembers appreciating the flexibility of being able to take the course online – this made it much more accessible. After completing the course, Xuefeng then found an agent and dove into the housing market.
During the beginning of his process, everything went smoothly. There weren’t many available homes on the market in his price range, which saved him the time of looking at too many properties. He only viewed 2 or 3 properties before landing on his future home.
As he got ready to buy, Xuefeng was pleased to learn that his income qualified for the Massachusetts loan program. He got a nice loan rate, and felt confident in his ability to purchase this property.
As he was preparing to make his down payment, he had to transfer some assets around – including some assets in his retirement account. Suddenly, he wasn’t qualified for the loan program anymore. The transfer of assets made his income appear too high, thus disqualifying him.
Now, with his new home on the line, and with mere weeks until closing, Xueffeng had to find a new loan.
Luckily, Xuefeng had a fantastic team who found him a new loan just in time. “It’s so important to find the right team. I got lucky and found people who really know the market.”
To any potential homebuyer in the process of looking for a home, Xuefeng says: “Lean on the people who can help you. Take the First Time Homebuyer class so you know what’s going on. There are so many programs and resources available, especially for first time homebuyers – take advantage of them!”
Xuefeng remembers several years ago he had a colleague who was trying to buy a home. His colleague mentioned all of these helpful resources that to Xuefeng, seemed too good to be true.
“All of these resources at our disposal seemed too good to be true, so I didn’t pay any attention. But then I did some research and realized that they are real. And they can work for you!”
