For Baton Rouge native Katrina Bell, the summer of 2020 will always hold special memories. She reached a major life milestone in June when she closed on the purchase of her first home.

Katrina’s journey to homeownership began in 2019 when she attended one of UREC’s homebuyer seminars. She desired to gain as much knowledge as she could about the home buying process and found valuable resources at her disposal. “The seminars themselves are very informative especially because there are different loan companies that come and speak so you can decide which one is right for you,” she said.

After the seminar, Katrina decided to reach out to BancorpSouth Bank after becoming interested in a particular loan program they offered. She began working with Bryant Moore who helped usher her through the entire process, ending months later with her receiving the keys to her new home.

Although difficult at times, Katrina says the most rewarding moment of her experience was seeing the joy on her children’s faces in having their own bedrooms.She advises other prospective homebuyers to not lose sight of their goal, no matter what challenges may arise, saying, “Be patient!! It is a long, stressful, time-consuming ordeal, but the outcome is amazing!”

UREC is a nonprofit community development organization that transforms communities by investing in people and transforming neighborhoods. UREC hosts homebuyer seminars throughout the year with community banking partners to educate future homebuyers on how to purchase a home. For more information call 225-356-8871 or email info@urecbr.com.