Ties to our communities>Family stories

Frontier Helps Kentucky Flood Victim Rebuild Home
In October 2005, Frontier customer Joann‘s Mauk‘s husband of 27 years passed away after a four year battle with lung cancer. He was the love of my life and my best friend. I was devastated.

Joann was forced to place their home in Nicholasville back on the market to avoid foreclosure.

She added her name to a waiting list, hoping to move into a desirable apartment complex in her hometown of Olive Hill. When an apartment became available, Joann moved in and began rebuilding her life. Though she deeply missed her husband and her only son, who was stationed at a Military base in North Dakota, Joann was happy in the apartment for four years.

In May 2010, Olive Hill experienced devastating damage in a wave of flash floods. Joann’s ground floor apartment was destroyed. The place was full of muddy water I lost so much. Pictures of my husband, everything. Joann moved 5 times before finding another affordable rental.

Because she suffers from both Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia, Joann‘s mobility is limited and she is often in pain. Despite all she has been through, she is remarkably optimistic. She enjoys restoring antique furniture, attending church and helping others. In May 2011, she helped organize a fundraiser to benefit a friend with lung cancer.

Some days are better than others, she says, There will probably come a time when I can‘t do as much for myself, but I‘m not going to sit around and wait until it does.

Joann found out about Frontier from a brochure. I was looking at an advertisement, and one of your brochures fell out. It said If you qualify, you could own your home‘. I‘d wanted a house so bad, and God knew that he was telling me that it was time.

Frontier serves North Eastern Kentucky as a true One Stop Shop to homeownership offering homebuyer education, affordable lending and financing options, land to build a new home and a wide selection of home designs customizable to meet families‘ needs.

Like all prospective Frontier customers, Joann began her journey home by making an appointment with the Homebuyer Education Coordinator. Frontier‘s profes-sionals strive to make the homeowner-ship process easy and pleasurable for customers of various means, both first-time homebuyers and individuals, like Joann, who have owned a home before. Joann was able to take comfort in not having to struggle with unforeseen challenges alone.

“Everything went really smoothly. Within a few weeks, I was qualified. Some-times, I lie in bed at night and think . . . Is this really happening?”

Joann would not have qualified for a home loan through a conventional lender alone. Frontier was able to serve her with a loan package that fit her unique needs. Joann qualified for the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) through the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Cincinnati, which provided a significant portion of the funds for building her home. Kentucky Bank supplemented the loan package through a partnership with FHLB.

Disabled and living on a fixed income, Joann was eligible for the Housing Choice voucher program, commonly known as Section 8 to Homeownership. This is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. Joann will receive payment assistance each month over the life of the home mortgage. All things considered, Joann‘s house payment will always be affordable—providing her with a permanent refuge and a sense of security she hasn‘t felt for a long time.

It‘s the independence of having your own place where nobody can come and tell you to move. It‘s like a treasure. Your home is your castle.

Joann‘s house is complete and she will be moving in this month. Needless to say, she can‘t wait. On one of her frequent visits to observe the progress of her castle, Joann peeks in the back window of her home and visualizes its future.

She sighs, “I feel this home is truly a blessing from God.”