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Veteran receives mortgage-free home in Kyle
A nonprofit is trying to make homeownership more attainable for veterans to thank them for their service.
KYLE, Texas - A nonprofit is trying to make homeownership more attainable for veterans to thank them for their service.
Lance Cpl. Eziyah Sims, a Marine Corps veteran, and his children got the keys to their new home in Kyle. He shared some of his story.
"Originally, I wanted to go culinary, and my mother's like, 'you should go military,'" he said.
He went to boot camp six days after 9/11. After he was honorably discharged in 2005, finding someplace affordable was a challenge.
"It was the housing market in 2021, me and my ex-wife, we were looking and things went very south with the housing market and then south with us, and it just became a lot more strenuous," he said.
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Program helps veterans starting businesses
Statistics show only half of businesses survive in the first five years and for veterans it can be even more challenging. PenFed Foundation President Andrea McCarren and Ryan Johnson, Bugle co-founder and graduate of the PenFed Veteran Entrepreneur Program, talk about the challenges and the program.
Mertiage Homes and Operation Homefront thanked him for his service with a mortgage-free home, part of the Permanent Homes for Veterans program.
"It's one of the most exciting things I do all year, is to have a family come in," Clint Szubinski with Meritage Homes said.
"So many military families are struggling. Sometimes the dream, the American dream of home ownership is not possible for them. This program allows them to realize that dream and just have a wonderful, strong, stable and secure future," Susan Ziesman with Operation Homefront said.
"I'm seriously amazed. It just feels good," Sims said after seeing the inside of the house.
He says he loves the personalized details.
"The pictures of me and my kids, those were beautiful, but just the interior, the design that was put into the home. For me, I'm no interior designer. I'll go basic, and I'll be happy, but it feels home," he said.
There's a swim-themed room for his four-year-old, a Marvel-themed room for his 15-year-old, and a playground set in the backyard.
Sims says owning a home now is somewhat surreal.
"It is like, 'this is really mine.' 'No, that's not.' 'Yes, it is. Stop psyching yourself out. This is yours, and you finally got what you wanted for your kids.' It's a very heartwarming feeling," he said.
He says his favorite part is the kitchen, and can't wait to start cooking.
"My son wants chimichangas. I was like, 'what's the first thing you want me to cook in the house?' He's like, 'chimichangas,"' he said.
For more information on the Permanent Homes for Veterans program, click here.