06/18/2026
In celebration of , we want to highlight Ms. Maxine Degraffenreed. She completed a major milestone this month when she purchased her first home through HABD's 5H Living Legacy program! Today, on her birthday, we honored her with a ribbon cutting for this great achievement. Ms Maxine says her journey started several years ago when her sister encouraged her to look into buying a home. She was born in Greene County, Alabama, resided in several HABD properties including Tom Brown Homes, Collegeville, most recently Elyton Village where she has lived the last 6 years.
When she first started the 5H Living Legacy Homeownership Program, Ms Maxine was determined to follow every step to achieve homeownership. With the help of our partner, Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham, INC, she learned money management skills, budgeting, and the importance of credit. Her advice to anyone attempting to go through the home buying process is to, "Focus on yourself. Utilize every resource HABD offers and look for any program that will help you. You can't do that sitting at home! You have to get the information and use it."
She is now the proud homeowner of a beautiful 4-bedroom home in Birmingham. Ms Maxine we want to close by saying, "Happy birthday and welcome home!"
We want to thank those who have supported Ms Maxine during her journey to homewonership including Kimekia Holifield: First Horizon Mortgage NMLS #1842616, Councilor Crystal N. Smitherman, Jefferson County, Al District Two Commissioner Sheila Tyson, the HABD Board of Commissioners, and the HABD Real Estate Team.
