Community Housing Innovations

CHI Inaugurates New Approach to Preventing Foreclosure
Bankers fly to White Plains to meet with Homeowners seeking loan modifications

The simple courtesy of meeting face to face with your banker is being denied Americans seeking relief from the worst mortgage crisis since the Great Depression. They remain frustrated with endless waits on “800” numbers and lost paperwork. Millions remain in limbo, frustrated and in stress.

But starting Monday, thanks to an initiative by Community Housing Innovations, in collaboration with five other HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies, 100 of these homeowners will get the chance to meet face to face with a Bank of America loan officer empowered to modify their mortgage and allow them to stay in their homes. On June 21, 22 and 23rd, 100 homeowners will be among the first to participate in the CHI Fast Tracktm Loan Modification program in White Plains. Each has received free counseling and help in preparing for a private hour-long meeting by the participating agencies. The hope is that with good documentation, including proof of hardship, the bankers can provide relief on the spot or within a few days to reduce interest rates to as low as 2% or extend the term of the loan.

Announced by CHI Executive Director Alexander Roberts, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino and Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the program is funded by a private foundation and could not have proceeded without the cooperation and participation of Housing Action Council, Human Development Services of Westchester, Westchester Residential Opportunities, Putnam County Housing Corporation and Rockland Housing Action Coalition.

If you, or someone you know is having trouble paying their mortgage, help from CHI is free at 1-877-HUD COUNSELING.

Watch the News 12 report announcing the program:
Visit the Westchester County website for additional information.
Click here for The Journal News article.
Click here for the Westchester County Business Journal article.
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First Time on Long Island: Community Housing Innovations
Expands Homebuyer Assistance to Families Earning $100,000+

In 13 years, Community Housing Innovations (CHI) has provided $9 million in down payment assistance grants to 425 first time homebuyers with incomes up to 80% of the Area Median Income. Today, however, thanks to an award of $580,000 from the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation, the nonprofit agency is expanding its First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program to Long Island households up to 100% of AMI, which is $103,600 for a family of four. The move to assist higher income households is part of an ongoing effort by the organization to increase workforce housing options and to recognize an underserved market – namely, first-time homebuyers making too much money to be considered low-income, but who are still unable to afford the expensive housing market on Long Island.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS & RESTRICTIONS
Your household income may not exceed the following maximum amounts.
Nassau/Suffolk

1 PERSON	2 PERSON	3 PERSON	4 PERSON	5 PERSON	6 PERSON
$72,600	$82,900	$93,300	$103,600	$111,900	$120,200

The CHI Homebuyer Assistance Program now offers grants of up to $25,000 each for these higher income wage earners, with the actual amount of the grant varying based on the needs of the applicant. Each grant will include a forgivable mortgage with a balance that will decline to zero after 15 years. To qualify, the property must be within Nassau County or Suffolk County and may be a house, coop or condo. Reflecting the state’s commitment to improve existing housing, at least 51% of the value of the grant must be applied to renovation work to restore the home and implement energy efficiency initiatives.

In order to be eligible for the grants, prospective homebuyers must attend a first-time homebuyer training seminar and complete an application documenting that their overall gross household income does not exceed the maximum income guidelines. The 2010 maximum income (100% AMI) for Nassau/Suffolk is $72,600 for an individual; $82,900 for a two-person family; $93,300 for three-person family; and $103,600 for a four person family, etc. The homebuyer must be able to contribute at least 3% of the purchase price into the transaction. Applications are available at the CHI website, www.chigrants.org.

“Long Island has a critical need for workforce housing,” stated Alexander Roberts, Executive Director of Community Housing Innovations. “And, until now, two-income families often exceeded the thresholds for help.”

Earlier this year, Felipe and Zaida Flores qualified for a grant to buy a new home, but when Zaida received a promotion to supervisor in her job working for New York City, the extra income put them just a few thousand dollars over the previous maximum income at 80% AMI. Felipe works as a First Assistant at McDonald's and they have two teenage children. The Flores family lost the grant, along with hope of finding an affordable home. Since CHI expanded the Homebuyer Assistance Program to 100% AMI, they are now eligible to apply for a $25,000 grant to buy the home of their dreams in Westbury.

“We are so happy that we can now buy a home,” Zaida said. “We have wanted to buy a home for ourselves and our children so badly for two years."

Stephanie Zambito, an insurance broker who lives in Brentwood and works in Jericho, was denied a grant because while her salary was within the 80% AMI guidelines, she received a one-time $20,000 real estate sales commission last year that sent her income over the limit. Now that homebuyers up to 100% AMI are eligible, she can apply for homebuyer assistance and can start looking again. Ms. Zambito wants to stay in Brentwood.

"My boyfriend and I were just saying how we are good people and we just can't catch a break,” Stephanie said. “Then, we heard about this new grant. I’m just so happy I could cry."

While the grants are awarded to homebuyers who choose their homes, a grant of up to $50,000 has been set aside for the purchase of a two-family home at 31 First Avenue in Bay Shore, a property owned and recently rehabbed by CHI. The house is being marketed at $359,000.

For more information on Community Housing Innovation’s Homebuyer Assistance Program, call Lavien Eugene at (914) 595-0979, email leugene@communityhousing.org or visit our web site for information on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.

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Bucking the real estate trend, only four of 14 condominiums remain for sale at CHI’s workforce development at 5 Minerva Place in White Plains. Five have already closed and another five are in contract. With grants, the brand new, energy-efficient condominiums cost as little as $210,000.