Janelle Hall was ready to purchase a home but was concerned about having too much of her income tied up in mortgage payments. An operations manager at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Hall was about to graduate with a communications degree from Mercer University, and she knew her student loan payments would be coming due soon.
She attended a homebuyer education program where she learned there were down payment assistance programs that could help lighten her load. Eventually, she qualified for a mortgage and a $15,000 down payment assistance grant through NeighborhoodLIFT®. She was able to purchase a beautiful three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home in Adams Park, becoming the last of 378 NeighborhoodLIFT home owners in neighborhoods across the city of Atlanta.
“Buying this home allowed me to look beyond my current situation and empowered me to improve my financial future,” said Hall. “And it really means something when you can say you’re a homeowner.”
The NeighborhoodLIFT program is a collaborative program from Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks® America. With Wells Fargo providing the funding and NeighborWorks administering the program, NeighborhoodLIFT programs launched since early 2012 have assisted more than 7,500 homebuyers in 28 cities. Wells Fargo has contributed $220 million to the effort.
In Atlanta, Wells Fargo committed $8 million to the program, with more than $6 million for down payment assistance. About $2 million was spent on the launch of the program and a separate local initiative — providing $1 million for the city’s Centers of Hope.
A total of $1.6 million, including other gifts from Wells Fargo, went to the Centers of Hope. This allowed programming to expand at the centers, which provide after school programs at community centers emphasizing not just academics, but character building, fitness, and service to surrounding neighborhoods.
With the help of Invest Atlanta, which handled homebuyer qualification and approvals; NeighborWorks affiliate Resources for Residents and Communities aka RRC, which provided homebuyer education and counseling; and NeighborWorks Columbus, the nonprofit community lender in the partnership, NeighborhoodLIFT brought new homeowners to neighborhoods across Atlanta.
Ernestine Garey, executive vice president of Invest Atlanta, said the program provided help beyond the creation of hundreds of new homeowners. “Every new homeowner in a neighborhood is a positive sign and a beacon that shines on everyone else. We are so pleased to have fostered homeownership through NeighborhoodLIFT,” she said.
Jill Arrington, RRC’s CEO, pointed out one of the important advantages of the program. “Requiring homebuyer education, one of the things RRC did through NeighborhoodLIFT, has been shown to make homeownership more lasting,” she said. “We are happy to have played our part.”
Cathy Williams, president and CEO of NeighborWorks Columbus, said “This program allows NeighborWorks Columbus to expand our reach as a community development financial institution and work with top-notch partners to ensure its success.”
Local program leaders look toward future
With nearly 400 new home owners helped, local architects of the program are pleased at the outcome and looking to the future.
“NeighborhoodLIFT has served a great purpose in Atlanta,” said Mike Donnelly, Atlanta region president for Wells Fargo. “It boosted homeownership and helped neighborhoods become more vital at a critical time — after the end of the great recession.”
Said Donald Phoenix, regional vice president at NeighborWorks America, “This creative collaboration with NeighborWorks America and Wells Fargo broadens the benefits of home ownership to more people like Janelle who are ready for a mortgage, but need a little ‘lift up’ to achieve their dreams of owning a home. The program also provides education and counseling that prepares consumers with the information they need to be a successful owner.”
Homebuyer assistance is also still available. A number of housing agencies in the metro area administer down payment assistance programs. Ask your real estate agent or mortgage loan officer for help in accessing them. For the city of Atlanta, get in touch with Invest Atlanta at www.investatlanta.com.
