If You've Ever Dreamed of Owning a Home

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make in your life. And buying your first home can be especially challenging if you don't know what to expect about the process of obtaining a home or maintaining a home. The Non-Profit Alliance for Home Ownership program helps homebuyers - and particularly first-time homebuyers - navigate through the process with confidence, and prepares you for the realities of being a homeowner.

From beginning to end, you work with a team of professionals who volunteer their time and expertise to explain what to expect, what your options are, and what you need to do. They guide you as you make the decisions that are best for you and your family.

Since the program began we have worked with hundreds of people just like you, who were willing to do the work they needed to do to own an affordable home. And if you are ready and willing, we will help you become able, no matter where you are starting from, even if that means working with you for a year or more, which is often the case.

We won't succeed until you succeed. And we won't quit until you succeed.

Down-Payment and Closing Cost Assistance

One of the biggest obstacles that first-time homebuyers face is coming up with the money for a down payment and/or the fees needed to obtain a mortgage (closing costs). The Non-Profit Alliance for Home Ownership helps with down payment and closing cost through grants, down payment assistance loans, and seller contributions.

You'll speak with a volunteer counselor who will explain Non-Profit Alliance's role, how the home buying process works, and all the costs and fees for which you will have to be prepared. The counselor's job is not to convince or persuade you, but rather to make sure you have all the accurate information you'll need to comfortably make a decision about whether you are ready to do the work it will take for you to own a home that you can be proud of, and that you can afford.

Taking Care of Credit Issues

We start with one, small step. First, we analyze how you look to a mortgage lender based on your current credit scores and credit history. We start here because this is the area that typically will take the longest to improve. Our volunteer mortgage professionals assess your current ability to qualify based on the credit information lenders will see. This loan specialist will explain everything to you, answer any questions you have, and make sure you understand the actions you will need to take in order to meet the credit qualifications for mortgage approval.

Most importantly, however, the loan specialist will be able to identify specific actions you can take in the next 90 days to improve your credit scores, even if they are already high enough to qualify. Why is this important? Because under the government's policy of "risk-based pricing," the higher your credit score the better the rate and terms you will receive on a mortgage, and even small differences in rate translate into savings of thousands of dollars over the life of a loan. Non-Profit Alliance will work with you to improve your scores right up to the time you get the keys to your home so you can get the best rates available to you.

The credit analysis tells you and tells us the funds you will need to handle any credit issues and the actions to take to get you credit-ready. Once we know where you are starting from and what work you need to do, we'll tailor a plan of actions specifically for you, and we'll put in place all the things you'll need to qualify and be ready to buy a home.

Planning Your Savings and Spending

We're not going to tell you how to spend your money. We are, however, going to make sure you know how you are spending your money.

Our job is to make sure that you see the choices that you are currently making and that you see where there are opportunities for other choices that would support you in reaching your home ownership goals. Until you know what it is going to take, you don’t know how long it is going to take or whether you are willing to make those choices in order to have a home.

Non-Profit Alliance for Home Ownership will work with you to develop a personalized spending and savings plan so that you have the funds you need when you need them to get into a home, and so that you have the reserves you will need as a homeowner to keep up and keep your home.

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