Odes to Abodes

NeighborWorks

For Immediate Release
February 11, 2005
Contact: Becky Fleischauer, 202-220-2360; bfleischauer@nw.org

NeighborWorks Marks February 14 with “Odes to Abodes”

“Homeownership not only warms our hearts, it helps families get ahead financially”

Washington, D.C. – While many celebrate Valentines Day with chocolates and roses, the NeighborWorks network is marking the occasion with “Odes to Abodes” – a listing of some of the most sentimental housing transactions in the national network of more than 235 nonprofit housing organizations. The series of heartwarming housing stories, which features residents in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Vermont, and West Virginia, can be found at www.nw.org/newsroom.

For example, after returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, 51-year-old Spencer Powell of Fairmont, West Virginia set out to fulfill the dreams of his family and become a homeowner. On the plane home from Iraq, Spencer thought of the dreams of homeownership his father and grandmother had for him and said, “I’m going to make them proud.” Spencer worked with NeighborWorks organization – Fairmont Community Development Partnership to establish credit, complete a homeownership education course, and purchase a home for his family.

Representing an increasing trend of single women buying a home, Vanessa Jackson of Columbus, Georgia obtained the homeowner education and financial tools she needed to buy a house for her two children. “I had thought about owning a home and I even drove around looking at houses, but I always felt like I needed a husband to buy a house,” Vanessa said. Working with NeighborWorks organization Columbus Housing Initiative, Vanessa overcame credit history problems and used an Individual Development Account savings plan to buy a three-bedroom home.

“The ties that bind a new homeowner and his or her family to their new home and neighborhood are truly worthy of celebration this Valentines Day,” said Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation CEO Kenneth Wade. “Homeownership not only warms our hearts, it helps families get ahead financially. American homeowners during the past year have increased their net worth with $8 trillion in home equity. We know that low-income homeowners had a net worth 12 times that of renters at the same income level.”

Wade is working to ensure that next Valentines Day even more citizens celebrate in homes of their own. He’s particularly concerned that prospective homebuyers follow their hearts and heads in making the biggest investment of their lives. As mortgage products become increasingly complex and personal debt and predatory lending increases, Wade wants homebuyers to get the most for their money and buy a home they can afford to keep.

The NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling is the largest certifier of homeownership counselors, who help homeowners successfully navigate the homebuying process. To date, NeighborWorks counselors have served more than 500,000 people with pre- and post-purchase guidance and education. Wade set a goal to increase national capacity to serve more than two million individuals each year by 2007. For those receiving high-quality education and counseling, delinquent payments at the 90-day mark are cut by a third. And a recent study found that borrowers who received counseling have half the default risk as those who did not. Homebuyers are counseled in finding an affordable mortgage rate, locating downpayment assistance, budgeting for their monthly payments, planning for contingencies such as repairs, and avoiding delinquency with better money management skills.

About NeighborWorks
The NeighborWorks network is a nationwide network of more than 235 community development organizations working in nearly 2,700 urban, suburban and rural communities across America. These organizations engage in revitalization strategies that strengthen communities and transform lives. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation provides financial support, technical assistance and training for the NeighborWorks network. In the last five years alone, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $8.5 billion in reinvestment and helped more than 500,000 families of modest means purchase or improve their homes or secure safe, decent rental or mutual housing.