Housing Works helps future homeowner
Housing Works, the affordable housing agency in Central Oregon, announced Tuesday that their seventh participant in the Tutor Home program will begin their path to homeownership.
The Tutor Home, located in southwest Redmond, will serve a low-income family over the next two years by providing stable housing as well as case management designed to assist the family in obtaining the goal of homeownership and economic self-sufficiency.
To qualify for the Tutor Home Program, renters must follow a monthly budget and complete educational components designed to increase their success as homeowners. They must demonstrate that by the end of the lease, their income will support a mortgage and other expenses of homeownership, and their credit will be sufficient to secure mortgage financing.
Each program participant has an Individual Development Account, a state tax credit program in which their savings gets matched three to one, to create a fund for a down payment on a home purchase. Housing Works also sets aside a portion of the tenants rent that will go towards the down payment.
Housing Works has acquired the homes placed in the Tutor Home program through partnerships with the City of Redmond, the Redmond Police Department, Home Federal Bank and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Housing Works has also partnered with Heart of Oregon’s Youth Build program to complete the remodeling work on the homes. YouthBuild helps young people ages 16-24 work toward their GED, high school diploma or college credits, learn job skills and serve their communities by building affordable housing, and transform their own lives and roles in society.
“This is a great opportunity for families to address obstacles that may prevent them from becoming homeowners” said Housing Works Client Services Manager Kelly Fisher. “It is great to be part of a program that is having such a significant impact on our community” she said. “Not only are we helping create homeowners, which is a community asset in itself, we are also removing blighted homes while providing youth with much needed employment skills.”
Housing Works will be holding an event at 4pm, Tuesday, January 21st to give the keys to the new Tutor Home participant and to acknowledge the hard work and collaboration needed to make the program possible.
Housing Works is the largest affordable housing provider in Central Oregon. It provides people with quality, safe and affordable homes; and through a number of collaborations, it provides the resources to help people stabilize their lives. Housing Works obtains public funding from federal, state and local governments and leverages these funds with private capital from local financial institutions and foundations to provide quality housing that meets communities’ needs.
Housing Works developments in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras and Sisters have won awards for innovation, economic impact, design, beautification, and historic preservation and enhancement. For more information, visit www.housing-works.org.
