Patience Pays Off

To Jenn, housing program specialist at AHFC, a house is more than a house; it’s a family home.  After two years of searching, Jenn and her husband closed on a tranquil ranch-style home in June 2025.

She’s excited about turning it into a family-centric space.

 “It’s a nice neighborhood,” she says.  “Everyone gets their own room. It has two bathrooms, so we won't have to be sharing the kids’ bathroom anymore. We have a little green room, which we're going to make into a little family area and a big old yard. It's so awesome.”

Her mother lives only eight stop signs away and her son goes to school across the street. The yard in particular is perfect for her kids. Jenn says her daughter is excited to put up a volleyball net in the yard and her son is looking forward to having room to run around.

"I am just excited to leave something for my kids in the future,” Jenn says. “They'll be able to be like, ‘my mom and dad did this for us,’ and that just makes me happy to think about."

Going by the Book

Jenn’s homebuying process was long and full of emotional highs and lows. “It was like a rollercoaster,” she recalls.

She says the idea of buying a home felt intimidating, even with several years working in the homebuying space, first at a title company and then at AHFC’s Anchorage Family Investment Center.

She was supported by advice from a colleague, who recommended she take HomeChoice™ – Alaska Housing’s no-cost homebuyer education class.

Jenn attended the in-person class in Anchorage with her husband and recalls the instructors came ready to support, “They knew exactly how to answer… They're really knowledgeable.”

All participants of HomeChoice™ receive a free workbook detailing the homebuying process. After completing the class, Jenn brought her workbook home for safekeeping. It soon became a useful part of the homebuying process.

Jenn said that she referenced her workbook frequently throughout the highs and lows of the homebuying process. In addition to having a real estate licensee she enjoyed working with, having the book as a guide gave her a sense of comfort knowing what steps were coming.

“I would go get my book and I'm like, okay, at this point we found our lender, now we're doing the home inspection. Okay, this is what we're going to be expecting. This is how long it's going to take.”

Celebrating a Family Home

After two years of looking and eight submitted offers, Jenn's family finally found a place to call home. The cherry on top? It was accepted with all the conditions Jenn and her realtor requested.

At the end of what felt like an incredibly challenging experience, Jenn says that it was all worth it. She is excited to paint the interior walls, host summer BBQs and practice volleyball in the backyard with her daughter.

How does she plan to celebrate with the family? “We’re going to have a paint party!”

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AHFC offers no-cost homebuyer education classes that can help you navigate the homebuying process, whether you're dreaming of buying your first home or returning to the market. View the class schedule and sign up today!