Gretchen refers to the way she grew up in East Austin, Texas as “The Good Life” filled with swimming, fishing, and playing outside all day long. 

“I wasn’t born here, but I moved here when I was 3,” she said.

55 years later, Austin is still Gretchen’s home.  The mother of three with 12 grandkids is surrounded by family members—a majority of them either live in Austin or surrounding areas. Family means a lot to Gretchen, especially since she’s reached a point where all her relatives are now younger than her.

“I only have one sibling alive and she lives in Virginia. My mother and grandparents are gone. A lot of them are gone,” said Gretchen.

Challenged with a disability nearly 15 years ago, Gretchen admits she isn’t as active as she used to be.  However, she remains busier than ever trying to keep up with seven of her 12 grandkids who live close by. Currently, she lives with her two youngest children in a house that she recently purchased. Becoming a homeowner and getting to share her space with her family was important for Gretchen.

“They hated to come to my place before because in the apartment [I lived in] there wasn’t even a playground for them to go to. I didn’t trust the community there, it wasn’t safe. So they were stuck inside with me,” she said.

Gretchen learned of the Austin Community Land Trust early last year when her youngest son mentioned that it would support her in purchasing a house.

“I’ve always wanted to purchase a house, I just didn’t have the funds. Being a single parent, I had decent jobs but I never made enough to qualify,” said Gretchen.

She applied in Summer of 2023 indicating that she wanted to become a homeowner and sought resources to do so. As she recalls, a couple months later when there was a house available, a representative called her to see if she was eligible for a new opportunity called the UpTogether Austin Homeownership Fund where she could receive unrestricted cash investments with no requirements to pay the money back. 

“I didn’t believe her,” said Gretchen. “I asked how much we had to pay back. I asked a lot of questions about that because I had never heard of you guys [UpTogether] and I didn’t trust it at first.”

She was eligible and quickly enrolled in the UpTogether Austin Homeownership Fund. Excited, she wanted to use the money to buy out her lease and purchase the home that she previously heard about. However, instead of jumping right into a home purchase that only had one bathroom just because it was available, she weighed her options and decided to wait a little longer for a different home that could meet her needs.  

“I stayed at the apartment and we bought some things that we had been needing that we would also use at the house. I helped my sister and son with some finances, things that they needed,” Gretchen said. “The remainder I just saved until it was time to do closing costs.”

The direct cash investment that she received through the UpTogether Austin Homeownership Fund went towards inspections, closing costs, insurance, turning on utilities, and initial payments. 

“I think all of it added up to about $4,000 and I didn’t have that money,” Gretchen said. 

Only earning income through disability benefits, Gretchen admits she would not have been able to save and make the closing costs without the investment through the UpTogether Austin Homeownership Fund.

“I thank God for what I get from disability, but it’s not enough to survive off of or purchase a house,” Gretchen said.

She says being able to choose how she wanted to spend her cash investment made a real difference.

“It was a big relief because I have received funds that I can only use for a certain thing. Which, I’m not complaining about, but there are other things that are necessary besides food,” she said.

Now, Gretchen’s home always filled with family. She says you can always find at least two grandchildren playing and enjoying the home no matter the day.

“They like it better here because they can go in the fenced in backyard,” said Gretchen, before proudly sharing how she really brings the family together. “BBQs are at Granny’s house now!”