Helping Homebuyers Put Down Roots

Serving Southeast Alaska as a mortgage loan originator at First Bank in Sitka has allowed Skyleen “Sky” Bottani to combine her interest in real estate with her passion for helping her community.

Growing up, Sky looked to her mom as her role model. A single mother to three daughters, Sky’s mom did all the home repair and DIY work on their older modular home in Ketchikan, turning it into a space that could grow with their family.

“When I started out in lending I did a lot of HELOCs (home equity lines of credit) for home renovations,” Sky said. “Renovating an existing home and giving a property another chance always really excited me. Some people have that eye to see the potential in a home.”

When she was 25, Sky got the chance to make improvements to a home of her own, made possible in part by programs offered through Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. Guided by her lender, Rocky Elerding, Sky utilized an AHFC first-time homebuyer loan to purchase her first home and jumped at the chance to make home improvements using AHFC’s Home Energy Rebate Program, which ran from 2008 to 2019.

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“Coming from my background, owning my own home made me feel independent and very proud. The energy rebate program was huge for me. Making those improvements to my home was something I couldn’t have done on my own at that young age, but it helped me to build equity for my next home purchase. AHFC programs give young homebuyers a chance.”

- Sky Bottani, Mortgage Loan Originator, First Bank

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A Roadmap to Success

Now an experienced mortgage loan originator, Sky continues to be passionate about giving young people the same tools and guidance she received. She breaks down the steps to homeownership simply through a visual tool she calls the “Roadmap to Success” and recommends that first-time buyers sign up for AHFC’s no-cost homebuyer education class.

“My perspective is that if I can’t help them today, I can at least give them hope for tomorrow,” Sky said. “Talking through the steps and taking a homebuyer education class can open a future homebuyer’s eyes and give them practical guidance. It can give them hope that this is an achievable goal.”

Enriching Her Community

Based on her experiences as a young homebuyer and after years of helping others achieve their homeownership goals, Sky says it’s always rewarding to see first-time homebuyers settle into their own home and ultimately enrich their community by putting down roots.

“It doesn’t matter how small the house is, it’s theirs. It can give stability to people who may not have come from a background with a lot of stability and it allows people to stay in their home community and raise their own family,” she said.

Sky says that contributing to her community is a core value that guides her life, including not only her career but also her volunteer work on behalf of families and children in the foster care system.

“First Bank shares this passion for helping Alaskans, it’s part of why I love working here,” she said. “Our lenders, processors and underwriters are all local Southeast kids and we have each others’ backs. When one of our communities is experiencing hardship, we all stop and ask what we can do individually and as a company to help.”

On a daily basis, Sky says she aims to help her community by making the homebuying process, or even visiting a bank, less intimidating for potential buyers.

“Hearing that I help to make the homebuying process easier for people is the biggest compliment I can receive. Part of how I do that is by connecting Alaskans to resources that can give them hope and help them going forward.”

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Alaska Housing does not endorse lenders or real estate licensees, but we are pleased to highlight individual relationships. Thank you to Sky Bottani (NMLS #1707766) of First Bank (NMLS #421662) for participating in this blog post.