A few years ago, Radio Milwaukee's Tarik Moody tried to buy a house in the city. Every offer got outbid by LLCs with out-of-state addresses and cash offers that closed in two weeks. He gave up.

Recently, Tarik spent time with someone else who went on that journey — with a very different outcome. Keilyn Borrero, a single mom of four, was in the same headspace Tarik was at the start. She convinced herself it would never happen. One income. Prices spiking. The math just didn’t work.

Of course, she said all of that while standing in the house she now owns thanks to the City of Milwaukee’s Homes MKE program. Then she walked Tarik through her new place on the north side: the pantry she insisted on, the big yard where her 10-year-old finally has space to kick a soccer ball, the spot where she wants to plant lavender next spring.

"I was crying the whole time," she said about the closing day, when she thought to herself, "This is finally happening, for me and for my kids."

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Podcast host: Kim Shine
Guest host: Tarik Moody

This story was reported with the assistance of A.I. tools, which were used primarily to outline and create a working draft. Radio Milwaukee staff conducted all interviews, compiled all of the audio and edited all of the media involved with the project.

Uniquely Milwaukee is supported by our Radio Milwaukee members and sponsored by the Milwaukee Public Library.