Frances Darden, a disabled mother of three from Boston’s Dorchester neighbourhood, long dreamt of owning her own home. Several banks turned her down for a mortgage because she did not earn enough. She was starting to give up hope.

But in September 2004, an advertisement in the local newspaper for a home buyers’ seminar caught her eye. “It was so appealing,” she recalls. “It said: ‘You can afford your dream home. Let’s make history’.”