Guild Mortgage’s program was welcomed news for winery owner Mark Blanchard and his wife, Kalle, a nurse.
Despite making a decent living, the couple estimated they would wipe out their savings if they put 20% down on a home in Healdsburg, a Sonoma County town that’s a hot spot for tech workers to purchase a second house.
So this year, they put only 1% down to purchase a more than $400,000, three-bedroom townhouse a short walk from downtown.
“This really was a dream come true for us, as locals, to buy within our own community,” the 38-year-old Blanchard said. “The response from my peers … was how is that possible? How did you buy in this town?”