Kinston woman goes from renter to homeowner: Justina Ogbaugo moves from Section 8 rental to private home through KHA program

Oct 10, 2009 (The Free Press - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- ZZFTP | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- For Justina Ogbaugo, her new home has everything she and her five children need.

"Everything about it," Ogbaugo said when asked what she liked about the house, which she moved to from a Section 8 rental last month. "Everything, especially my kitchen, and we have two bathrooms. The kids have rooms of their own."

She spent about eight years renting a home on Capitola Street in Kinston with assistance from the federal Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program, administered locally by the Kinston Housing Authority.

While she is great friends with the woman who owns the rental house, Ogbaugo needed a larger place for her children.

She is a participant in the KHA's Homeownership Program, which helps Section 8 residents -- who meet credit and income requirements -- make mortgage payments instead of rent payments, said Annetta Sanders, director of Section 8.

"She's done the work," Sanders said of Ogbaugo. "She just took all the suggestions that we gave her and it made her process successful."

Working with Sanders and other Section 8 staff at the Housing Authority, she found the four-bedroom, two-bathroom house on Jennifer Street after about six months. She and her family moved in Sept. 1.

"It's big for everybody now, and their friends," she said.

The Homeownership Program has existed for about three years; Ogbaugo is the fourth Section 8 resident to close on a house in Kinston.

Sanders stressed that it takes time for a resident to build up their credit history and income to the point where he or she can buy a house.

"When you work with someone who is starting at the bottom, it's a lot of work," she explained. "They have to do the footwork; we just link them up with the services and provide assistance to them."

Ogbaugo made the down payment on the house using money the KHA had deposited in an escrow account for her.

The Housing Authority makes matching payments of up to 80 percent of the monthly rent payments of Section 8 residents like Ogbaugo, who participate in its Family Self-Sufficiency component. The FSS is separate from the Homeownership Program.

Sanders said FSS participants spend five years working toward a chosen goal, whether it is repairing their credit, furthering their education or bettering their employment history.

Once they complete the program, they can tap the escrow account and spend the money how they wish.

David Anderson can be reached at 252-559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com.

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