Achieve the Dream breaks down mortgage barriers

KIERSTEN NESS | NEIGHBORHOOD ASSISTANCE CORPORATION OF AMERICA

Attendees at a Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America Achieve the Dream showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada upload documents. The showcase help low-income candidates navigate the homebuying process.

Homeownership is still within reach for low-income people.

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America’s Achieve the Dream showcase May 16-18 at the NACA Call Center, 5855 Executive Centre Drive, aims to make homeownership a reality for people of color and lower-income candidates who make up 90% of their clients, according to NACA founder and CEO Bruce Marks.

To reserve a spot, visit www.naca.com. Walk-ins are also welcome.

NACA, the nation’s largest HUD-approved nonprofit homeownership and advocacy organization, pushes for economic justice to homebuying by fighting off systemic racism.

Achieve the Dream events, which have been held nationally since 2017, help candidates navigate the four steps of homebuying in one day through documentation, workshops, personal counseling and mortgage qualifications.

“The control you have as a homeowner is crucial,” Marks said. “You control your home, you have a foundation there, and you’re not subject to the whims and greed of landlords and investors.”

NACA, unlike traditional mortgage lenders, doesn’t consider credit scores, which disproportionately creates a barrier for lower-income people.  Candidates can also use Section 8 housing vouchers for mortgage payment. Marks said NACA also eliminates excessive fees, down payments and provides lower interest rates to eliminate exposure to predatory lenders. It also uses below-market, fixed interest rates, which was 5.75% for a 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.75% as of May 9.

“There’s more criminals and predators in the mortgage and real estate industry than any other industry,” he said. “So many people are trying to rip off the home buyers, and they do some of it illegal and some legal, but all of it is predatory and so NACA has established itself as the trusted advisor.”

NACA counselor and mortgage loan officer Carol Clarke said he and his colleagues ensure home buyers are fully aware of what they are committing to.

“When you’re getting a house, and something happens, you call the landlord. You are the landlord, so that’s the counseling part of it,” he said. “When the refrigerator goes out, you’re responsible. If the water line breaks in the yard, you’re responsible. It’s not the landlord, so it’s a big difference.”

Clarke said the organization looks at different criteria than others to most accurately represent the mortgage rates needed for each buyer, including rent, employment, income and other monthly obligations, disproving credit scores. 

Counselors set candidates up with a reasonable budget to allow for them to close on a home in a reasonable timeframe, as well as educating them on where their money is going.

“You have to know where your money is and what you’re spending,” Clarke said. “And some folks swipe their lives to death,” Clarke said. “They swipe, swipe, swipe and don’t realize, but they’re swiping away everything they make.”

In the process of educating prospective homebuyers on what to do before buying, counselors become advisors as well.

NACA homeowner Kevin Prewitt, who closed on a home in March, said he was very grateful for the help of his counselor, Rochelle Montgomery. 

“Anything worth having is worth fighting for,” said Prewitt, who needed six months to close. “She assured me that I was able to fully understand that process in order for me to successfully not just buy the home but be able to keep up with my mortgages or keep up with my payments, just ensuring that the process after I closed was going to be as easy as possible.”

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