Housing
Natalie Gentry stands outside her condominium in central Denver on Dec. 19, 2024. Gentry was able to purchase her home through the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth’s program that helps first-time Black homeowners with down-payment assistance. Photo by Joe Mahoney / Special to The Colorado Trust
Natalie Gentry, a former journalist and social worker living in Denver, moved eight times between 2009 and 2022. The moves came on the heels of her divorce in 2009, forcing Gentry to start her life over again. That meant rebuilding the massage therapy business she had taken a step back from while dealing with fertility issues and marital problems in the years before her divorce.
As Gentry built up her massage therapy business and started saving money, hoping to buy a home in the Denver area, housing prices began skyrocketing. So, she kept renting. Meanwhile, rents were rising, too. Gentry moved into a friend’s place and stayed for a year, and then she moved to another place where she was immediately charged $300 more per month than the previous tenant. After a year, the landlord raised the rent by another $300.
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