GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Bryan Robles once thought he'd never be able to own a home for his family.
“It was like ten–15 grand for a down payment. I was like, 'This is insane,'" Robles said.
Robles thought wrong. A friend of Bryan's from church attended a seminar Matias Martinez hosted for first-time homeowners. The two connected, and the rest is history. Martinez runs an organization called "Giving Back Realty."
Robles qualified for numerous grants as a first-time homeowner and ended up purchasing a home through Habitat for Humanity. Martinez was there with Robles as he went from bank to bank searching for someone to approve the loan with deed restrictions. Eventually, it worked out.
With the help of multiple grants, the closing costs on the home ended up being just $35.
“We actually came from Puerto Rico, like, three years ago. So me buying a home in two years ... it’s kinda amazing,” Robles said.
Martinez has helped Robles and multiple other families navigate grants available at the state of Michigan, the city of Grand Rapids, and the city of Wyoming. Giving Back Realty also credits front-line workers with $1,050 to help cover closing costs through their program "Community Heroes."
“Just walk in the shoes of these families. They’ve been told no so many times. They’ve been treated maybe not in the way they should have been treated — in terms of financial knowledge and stuff. They go to the bank and they just run the numbers. They don’t think that you’re a human being. And that’s really frustrating,” Martinez said.
That's why Martinez says he does the work he does, all for free.
Twenty-five percent of Martinez's earnings are also donated to other local nonprofits.
