Making home ownership possible for people with dark skin

By journalist Dr. Ms. Jones

NEWBURGH – NACA, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, is a nonprofit homeownership and community advocacy organization. It is HUD’s largest housing counseling agency, providing over 30% of all housing counseling in America. Its goal is to make the dream of homeownership a reality. From August 16-18, NACA hosted its Achieve the Dream Event at NFA North. Over 1,000 prospective homeowners attended. This free three-day event ran from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. each day and included pre-purchase counseling workshops, financial document uploading, one-on-one counseling, underwriting, post-qualification workshops, and other assistance for those who desire the “American Dream.”

“After they go through extensive counseling and are submitted to qualify, they come to my team here, the underwriting team… We give them their approvals here. If not, we give them an action plan on how to qualify within three to six months. We tell them exactly what they need to do. It could be anything. It could be about paying your taxes for 2023… We need a letter from your landlord because you’re not paying your rent… where we can track that. So we need to get a rental confirmation to confirm that you’ve been paying your rent on time… Your student loans are in deferred payment, but we don’t know what the payment is because it’s showing zero… So we need to get the student loan documentation. Something simple like that,” said Dante Jackson, Newburgh’s own credit risk manager, who organized the event. “If they get approved, we send them to our buying meeting… They teach them how to find (a home). They tell them what they’re qualified for. They teach them how to find an agent and how to search for a home.”

90% of NACA’s clients are people of color. They have revolutionized mortgage lending by offering no down payment or closing costs, no mortgage insurance or fees, and a below-market fixed rate. It’s a character-based model that doesn’t even consider credit score, breaking down barriers that have led to historically dismal homeownership rates for people of color.

“Bank of America is our lending partner. They’ve committed over $30 billion to the program… We look at how (people) have paid their creditors over the last 12 to 24 months, and then we look at your rent as the basis for what you can afford for a mortgage. So if you can pay your rent without adding credit card debt, without taking out loans, without going into debt and paying it on time, then you can afford the same payment you would for a mortgage,” Jackson said. “NACA partnered with (Bank of America) and said, ‘Hey, we want these terms for our members.’ And over the last 40 years, even when the crisis hit, our foreclosure rate right now is less than 1%. So it’s 0.0001%. That means there are no foreclosures because when we underwrite our paperwork, we make sure it’s tight enough that we know what they can afford.”

100 people qualified during the Achieve the Dream event and are looking for a new home! Salena Moorer was one of those people and wants to buy her home by her birthday in December.

“I have friends who have gone through the process. They’re always talking about it online on social media… I got here at 8 a.m. this morning. My boyfriend drove me an hour and a half from LaGuardia,” said Moorer, who is a registered nurse from Brooklyn but lives in Atlanta and flew in to be there. “I’ve been approved for a mortgage before the traditional way… But of course you have to put down a down payment, and sometimes the money can be really expensive. NACA doesn’t allow a down payment. As long as you qualify, you don’t have to put down a down payment. You get one of the best interest rates on the market… I didn’t want to have to take out of my savings to buy a house… my 401K account… other investment accounts. So I decided to go this route to save some money. (I’ll save) about $23,000. And that down payment plus closing costs at current interest rates is what the average person is considering for a purchase.”

Moorer was approved by LaTonya Patrick, who is a mortgage specialist at NACA. She loves helping people become homeowners at live events.

“(My favorite part is) the clapping of hands, the smiling faces… (Also) Section Eight… using their vouchers… because they’re getting a home that they probably never thought they could afford, especially if they have kids. To me, it’s all because they’re actually able to buy a home… We have some people here who are struggling, who are barely making ends meet, who are finding they’re paying more in rent than they are in a mortgage. These are happy times. It’s emotional,” Patrick said.

NACA offers programs such as HOTPHA (Home Ownership Through Public Housing Assistance) as well as an HBCU program for faculty, staff and alumni. NACA also offers a Home Save program that helps people save their home through affordable mortgage payments. Brian Rodriguez of Newburgh became a mortgage counselor at NACA after NACA saved his mother’s home.

“I found NACA when my mom died…my brother and I wanted to do it together, but I wasn’t eligible because I own property…My brother was able to close the contract, so he closed at 3.3% interest. The house is still in the family today. He lives there today because NACA helped save the house because of the interest rates (and) no closing costs. He was fresh out of school…and now he has a daughter, a little girl who is one year old…To see her live in the house, that makes it all worth it,” Rodriguez said. “When I heard they were coming here, I wasn’t even on the list. I just thought, ‘I need to go home.’ I love Newburgh.”

NACA has 3.8 million members and membership costs just $25 per year. Angie Thibodeaux, the national director, keeps them engaged and motivated.

“Many of our services are free, and they’re free because a lot of the work and the backbone of the work is purely volunteer… This year we’re making sure that all of our members are motivated and activated and exercise their right to vote, because voter registration is a requirement and voter turnout is a NACA requirement… So we want our soon-to-be homeowners to understand that you vote to have a forum and to have a say in the issues that plague the neighborhood. Everything ends and begins under the roof, and how you strengthen or activate your authority in your community is through voting,” Thibodeaux said.

For more information, visit www.naca.com.

Journalist Mrs Jones