A seller's agent, Realtor, loan officer, closing officer and representatives from a local housing group sat at the closing table of Colorado Land Title on Thursday.

A bottle of champagne with balloons stood in the middle of the paperwork that Megan and Stan Peña were signing..

The Bayfield couple started their trip to the table last June. On Thursday, they were signing the papers for a 3-bedroom, 2-bath in the Sunrise Estates subdivision in Bayfield, built in 2005.

Closing cost: $284,900.

"I've sold million-dollar homes," said John Ralph, real estate agent with the Wells Group, "But there's nothing as fun as selling a home to a first-time buyer."

Ralph said it's much tougher for average families in Durango to get credit to purchase property today than it was two years ago.

He's been with the Peñas since June, when he advised them to take homeownership classes before doing anything else.

He watched as inspections revealed problems with two prospective houses, then found the couple the Kramer Drive house, four houses down from their old one.

Also at the table was Jennifer Lopez, director of the Regional Housing Alliance.

"This is the best part of the job," she said.

The champagne could have been for Lopez and RHA - the Peñas' 30-year fixed rate home loan was the alliance's 50th since the housing authority was formed in 2007.

Because it was a mortgage-assistance loan, RHA contributed $15,000 to the closing cost of the Peñas' home. The loan helped "close the gap" between the closing cost and what is considered "attainable" for a local family making close to the average income. The loans have no monthly payments and are repaid only upon resale or transfer of the home. At that time, the original principal is due and payable, along with a share of the appreciated home value

The RHA's mortgage-assistance loans ranged from $14,500 to $80,000, with an average loan amount of $40,243. The average home price was $207,048 and the average monthly payment was $1,142.

Perhaps a more impressive statistic is that none of the RHA's other 49 clients have missed one monthly payment to their lenders since their visits to the closing table.

RHA programs manager Julie Levy - also at the table - attributes the number to RHA's education and counseling programs. RHA's loans go only to graduates of the alliance's homebuying courses who go on to satisfy income and credit history verification requirements.

RHA's mortgage assistance program began with a $1.1 million gift from BP in 2008. The BP fund is now depleted; the Peñas are the last clients to get this type of loan.

Sitting next to the Peñas at the table was their mortgage loan officer with Bank of America Home Loans, J.R. Spies.

Spies said that if prospective borrowers can't come up with at least a 3.5 percent down payment, he unfortunately doesn't have much room to wiggle with them.

"They walk away and say, well, bummer," he said. "From a mortgage-loan officer perspective, RHA is a great resource because you know they are an approved provider."

gandrews@durangoherald.com