Thursday, September 28, 2008, ten Latino families from the metro New Orleans area took the first step towards becoming homeowners.  Huddled together in a small classroom in an Iberia Bank in Gretna, these students listened intently to Puentes Instructor, Reyna Croft, as she wrapped up the twelve hour class with a discussion on home buying resources and options in the community.

Hurricane Gustav could have severely diminished this class, which had its first session the week before evacuation.  The students, however, made it quickly known that they were motivated to finish what they began, and within two weeks, with a revised aggressive schedule to make up for the lost time, the class resumed and graduated.

Armed with confidence about the home buying process, each student proudly accepted the completion certificate that will enable many first time homeowners to secure their first mortgage.  First time homeowners who complete a certified home buyer training class, such as the one offered by Puentes New Orleans, Inc. in partnership with Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Greater New Orleans, become eligible for down payment assistance and soft second programs offered by city, state, federal and private agencies throughout the metro area.  In the City of New Orleans, qualified homebuyers (according to income levels established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) who completed a certified home ownership course are eligible for a forgivable loan that may cover up to $65,000 of the value of the home.  Programs such as these enable many families to afford their first home.

The home buying class is scheduled six times per year by Puentes and is offered weeknights in a one-month span.  The next class is scheduled for 10/28/2008 and runs through 11/20/2008.  The class will be offered in a central location in New Orleans.  Refer to the Puentes website for more information.

Tags: first time home buyer, hispanic community, home buyer training, home owner training, home owners, latino, latino community, latinola, louisiana, new orleans, new orleans region, puentes

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 7:00 am and is filed under Archived News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.