Joe was ready for a change. He’d been through a tough divorce and needed a clean slate. So he started looking for a rental home with his realtor, who quickly pointed out that Joe was a great candidate for Divvy. Joe was surprised to discover there was a stepping stone between renting and purchasing his home, and he was all in. He recalls that Divvy was the perfect avenue to get the help he needed to save for a down payment. With Divvy’s program offering built-in savings, it’s designed to get customers mortgage-eligible in 3 years or less.

When Joe found his dream home, he knew it immediately. “I walked in the door and fell in love with the house.” The custom fireplace and the built-in bookcases ready for his extensive library were the standouts—that is, until he saw the garage. “That was the kicker,” says the lifelong mechanic. He knew the block garage would give him space to receive customers, consult on their cars, and work on his own gearhead projects, including his 1973 F-250 Highboy. When the home inspection resulted in credits for new wiring and his monthly payment turned out to be comparable to renting, Joe moved in. 

Less than two years later, Joe’s monthly home savings would grow enough that he bought his home. Though he didn’t end up needing the flexibility to walk away without purchasing, he appreciated knowing it was an option. “There might be a reason that you didn’t want to buy,” he explains. “You might decide the school district isn’t what you liked…or you don’t get along with your neighbors. Something could be going wrong and you could just decide, okay, this house isn’t for me. And Divvy’s cool with that.”

But happily for Joe, every day in the home he owns has been full of making and planning investments, from a cold frame greenhouse and a new wood-burning stove to stained glass windows. “Owning my own home allows me space to decide what goes in it, what stays in it, what to put out, what to take in.” What he loves most, though, is the sense of refuge. “To me, home is a place to kick back, have friends over, enjoy fellowship time, [or] have nobody else around at the moment and enjoy a good book. Watch a movie by yourself. Not having to hear anything, having the room to do what you want.” 

Now that he’s a homeowner, Joe finds a lot to be hopeful about. “Since working with Divvy, my life has turned a corner and it’s only gotten better. I think it’s the beginning of a payoff for a long life of hard work.”

Hear it straight from Joe in his Ready. Set. Own. commercial: