In November 2012, Crescensio Rodriguez and his wife, Edma Sotelo, were expecting their third child. The couple and their two children, Gabriela and Jonathan, were living in Crescencio’s trailer, but they wanted more space for their growing family. So they decided to purchase an owner-financed home.

Things were fine at first. While living in the home, their third child, Liliana arrived. Sixteen months later, they welcomed Destiny. Fortunately, there was plenty of room for all six of them.

But as the size of their family grew, so did the amount of their monthly house payments. After two-and-a-half years, Crescencio and Edma had to sell the house and move into a two-bedroom rental, where they currently live. The youngest shares one bedroom with mom and dad, while the remaining three children share the other bedroom.

Years before, Edma had heard about Bryan/College Station Habitat for Humanity when her mother’s neighbor applied for a home. So in September 2017, the couple applied to become Habitat homeowners. One month later, they were thrilled to learn they had been approved.
“Habitat is our second chance,” Edma said. “Our first one [home], we rushed into it, and it was too much.”

Their new four-bedroom, two-bath home in College Station will give them the space they need — and a principal mortgage payment that will never go up!

Crescencio and Edma have already completed 455 of their 500 sweat-equity hours, including attending financial fitness and home maintenance classes. The couple found the classes on saving and budgeting especially helpful, and their two oldest really enjoyed the fire safety class because a firefighter showed them how to use a fire extinguisher.

Edma says buying an affordable Habitat home will give them extra money to focus on education. Edma wants to go back to school and find work when all the kids are in school. They also want to put aside money for the kids’ education.

Crescencio and Edma are grateful to all the people who will give their money and time to help them provide a home where their family can put down roots and thrive. Their home is sponsored by Karen Smith and Smith Dairy Queens and Ernie and Arla Prochaska.

“Habitat would not exist without them,” Edma said.

They are absolutely right.