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Counseling, loan program ease housing transition
By Marilyn Miller
Beacon Journal
Published on Monday, Jul 07, 2008
When you walk into Sheila Valentine's home, she welcomes you with a huge smile.
''This is my palace,'' she says.
That's because the 52-year-old Valentine feels like a queen in her new three-bedroom, two-bath house with a two-car garage, built on a quiet corner lot in Norton, just three blocks from the Barberton line.
''I always knew one day, I would own my own home,'' she said. ''It was always my goal. I wanted to be independent.''
Valentine was finally able to buy a house, after years of renting, with the help of Neighborhood Conservation Services (NCS) of Barberton Inc.
It's a nonprofit agency that offers help with financial counseling, housing rehabilitation, weatherization and affordable home-buying.
But Valentine's journey to home ownership was a difficult one. She had two failed marriages, raised three children, almost lost her life to a virus 15 years ago and worked two or three jobs at the same time to help pay bills.
''I realized there was nothing to be ashamed of, if you can't afford your own home,'' she said. ''But I learned there are people out there who can help.''
On the recommendation of a friend, she turned to the agency. Through the program's home counseling sessions, she was able to straighten out her finances.
Saving became easier. First, she was able to put away $50 a week, and then she stepped it up to $100 a week.
''It's not hard to stay on a budget when you want something big,'' she said. ''I now concentrate on getting the big things first. The smaller things will come later.''
She went back to basics, stretching five pounds of ground beef into several meals: spaghetti, lasagna, meatloaf and sloppy joes. A lot of salads and peanut butter sandwiches were also on the menu.
To get to her 12-hour shifts at Akro-Mills Inc., a plastics company in Wadsworth where she has worked for seven years, she carpooled with two co-workers.
For entertainment, she went to yard sales.
Valentine qualified for the NCS home-down-payment assistance program.
Rules for qualification
Shelly Leach, special programs manager at the agency, said that to qualify for this program, the applicant must have a low to moderate income, have adequate credit and be employed for at least two years.
Valentine's $125,000 home was financed through Fifth Third Bank in Barberton. She got a second mortgage from NCS for $13,900 and a third one from Summit County's HOME program for $30,000.
Leach said no payments are due to NCS or the county at this time. These two loans brought down the monthly payments so the house would be more affordable. Valentine has to pay only on a balance of $81,100.
The HOME program, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, offers no-interest, deferred loans with no payments. After the owner lives in the house for 10 years, the loan is forgiven.
''The NCS loan is deferred and does not have to be repaid as long as the owner lives in the home,'' Leach said. ''But if the owner sells the home, the loan is due in full upon the transfer of the house.''
Warren Walfish, senior administrator of Summit County's Department of Community and Economic Development, works with the HOME program.
''No one has to live anywhere they don't want to live,'' he said. ''But there are consequences for leaving before 10 years. The county will recapture the loan that helped you afford the house to begin with, but the loan is amortized. Every year of residency, the owner is credited 10 percent in equity.''
Walfish said since it began in 1994, the HOME program has helped more than 300 people with housing-related expenses, including weatherization, rehabilitation and down payments.
Neighborhood Conservation Services has been in existence for 29 years and has placed about 40 families in newly built homes.
Walfish said such programs are more popular now.
''Primarily because there is no other avenue to go,'' he said. ''No one can get credit and the homes they can afford need substantial rehab. Coming to us is a means to afford a house in standard condition.''
He praised nonprofit agencies like NCS for finding good candidates to take advantage of the subsidized programs.
Default rate
The latest survey by the Ohio Conference of Community Development reported the default rate on these loans is less than 1 percent, Walfish said.
Valentine plans to stay in her dream house until she dies. And now she wants to start working on smaller things, like buying a lawn mower and flowers to plant.
''Buying a home on my own has made me a stronger person,'' she said, ''and I am very proud that I reached my goal.''
And she has set a new goal: to pay off her new home in 15 years.
''I get things done when I really put my mind to it,'' she said.
For information about the HOME program, contact Holly Miller at 330-643-8013.
To contact Neighborhood Conservation Services of Barberton, call Leach at 330-753-8500.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.
When you walk into Sheila Valentine's home, she welcomes you with a huge smile.
Get the full article here.
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