Washington Homeownership Center

August 12, 2006, Saturday
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
10811 - 12th Ave SE, Seattle
Contact: Ben Brown, 206-957-1316
Information will be provided in English, Spanish, Mandarin & Cantonese Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Khmer (Cambodian), Amharic, Tigrigna, and Samali

Delridge Affordable Housing & Resource Fair - Seattle

September 16, 2006, Saturday

Youngstown Cultural Arts Center

4408 Delridge Way SW, Seattle

Contact: Phillipia Goldsmith, 206-923-0917

Pasco, Washington

The Self-Help Housing Program at Community Health Center La Clinica in Pasco, Washington, helps low-income families achieve the American dream of owning a home. The program’s mission is “Helping Families Build Quality Homes, New Friendships, and Healthy Neighborhoods One Block at a Time.”

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Ortiz built their home in Pasco with eight other families. These nine families worked together—under the direction and guidance of La Clinica’s Construction Supervisor and Housing Group Coordinator—for approximately 10 months. Mr. Ortiz says, “Before we built our home, we had lived in rental housing for over twenty years; La Clinica’s program helped us achieve the dream of becoming homeowners.” Mr. and Mrs. Ortiz, who are seasonal farm workers, stated, “With the help of this program, we were able to obtain a bank loan, a subsidy, and now we are the proud owners of a four bedroom home. We feel more secure and stable; we are now a part of a community. Building our home in a self-help group gave us many useful skills in construction and a strong sense of neighborhood.”

Each building family contributes 20 to 30 hours per week of their own labor toward the construction of their home. Direct program staff also includes a Housing Manager and Secretary. The staff works with the families from the moment they walk in the office, guiding and supporting each family through the entire ten-month building process.

The families receive a subsidy, administrative assistance in obtaining a bank loan, credit counseling and (as needed) repair support, and first time homebuyer classes. All homes are three to five bedrooms with two complete bathrooms and a two-car garage. Prices range from $102,537 to $108,628, and subsidies from $12,000 to $22,000 depending on families’ financial needs.

La Clinica’s Affordable Self-Help Housing Program may be contacted at:

2508 E. Adelia Street

Monroe, Washington

This summer sixteen families will begin construction of their own homes at Housing Hope's Sky Meadow East and Sky Meadow West building sites in Monroe. The up to two-year-long process begins with education covering budgeting, establishing and maintaining good credit, how to maintain good landlord/tenant relations, and how to maintain stable employment—all requirements for eligibility for low-interest financing provided by the US Department of Agriculture/Rural Development, without which homeownership for the families would be a distant goal, rather than an attainable one.

At no cost to the families, Housing Hope oversees land acquisition and permitting processes and directs loan packaging and bookkeeping services. Housing Hope recruits participants, assembles the building groups, teaches construction skills and work organization, and coordinates subcontractors, material suppliers, and building inspectors. Group and individual counseling is also a significant part of Housing Hope’s efforts as the owner/builders share in the “blood, sweat and tears” involved with learning how to build a group of houses from start to finish.

Each family contributes a minimum of thirty hours of labor per week during the ten to twelve month construction phase. Working in groups of five to ten families, the Self Help builders provide the bulk of the labor needed—as a group—to construct their own homes. Rain or shine, the construction process carries on, while job and family commitments must still be maintained. Nobody moves in until everybody moves in.

Since 1992, Housing Hope has assisted 22 other groups of Snohomish County families achieve the same dream, representing almost $25 million in investment in our community. The families have created jobs and stability along with their houses.

Housing Hope’s Self-Help housing program can be contacted at:

For more information about Habitat for Humanity in Washington, see http://www.habitat.org/local/affiliate.asp?place=72

Ever since we moved into our new house we have been getting flyers in the mail about refinancing. All of the offers seem pretty tempting. How do we know if we are getting a good deal?

Thinking about Refinancing

Dear Thinking about Refinancing,

The first thing I would ask yourself is why are you getting all of the solicitations? Did you ask for information on refinancing or are these companies sending you the information in hopes that you will do business with them?

If you really are interested in refinancing I would start shopping for a lender just like you did when you went to get your first mortgage. The lender is going to ask you questions about why you want to refinance, so establishing what you are hoping to accomplish with refinancing before you make any calls might be helpful. Are you hoping for a lower monthly payment? Do you want to get cash out? Or, are you trying to consolidate your 1st and 2nd mortgages? Depending on why you are refinancing the lender may need to look at your debt to income ratio and look at your credit report. Just like with your first mortgage, these things are going to affect the interest rate, fees and products you are offered.

The following are questions to ask lenders that will help you determine if refinancing is right for you:

It may take several years to see the true monthly savings. Be realistic about your situation—if you are refinancing to consolidate all of your debt think about how you are going to make the new mortgage payment and what the ramifications will be if you can’t keep up with the payments.

As you did the first time around, ask lots of questions, make sure you are clear on what is being offered and that you are comfortable with the loan.

I filed for bankruptcy several years ago. Since then I have been paying my bills on time and have kept my debt to a minimum. Will I ever be able to buy a house?

Getting Back on Track

Dear Getting Back On Track,

It sounds like you have taken the steps to get going again and you could be on the path to homeownership. Depending on when you filed bankruptcy and if you filed Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 you may have a few different options.

If you filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy most lenders are going to want to see that your bankruptcy has been discharged for at least two years. If you filed a Chapter 13 and/or are enrolled in a Consumer Credit Counseling program the lender may look at the last 12 months of your credit history. Everyone has a different situation and depending on why you filed bankruptcy a lender may be able to work with you even if you are applying for a loan sooner. The lender may qualify you for an FHA loan—this loan is going to have a slightly higher interest rate due to the fact that you are considered a higher risk loan than someone who has not filed a bankruptcy. However, there are many mortgage products out there and depending on your situation you may qualify for a loan that is not FHA. The longer you show that you can pay your bills on time and stay out of debt, the more options you are going to have available to you when shopping for a home loan. Just remember to watch out for companies that tell you your credit and bankruptcy filing don’t matter—these may be high cost loans that in the long run are going to cause you more financial problems.

'Ask Emily' is written by Emily Nolan, Program Manager for Washington Homeownership Center.

(enolan@homeownership-wa.org)

Except from, “Twenty-three Tips for Keeping the House Cool,” Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings, by Alex Wilson, Jennifer Thorne, and John Morrill.