Home, With Some Help From CCNLA
By Joe Bulger, Acting Executive Director, CCNLA
When Lauren C. came Catholic Charities of North Louisiana for our First-Time Homebuyer’s Class, she already knew a few things about credit. Her grandmother made sure of that. A banker for over 30 years, Granny also opened up her home to Lauren and her other grandchildren for as long as they needed a place to stay. Now Lauren, a nursing student in her 20s with a child of her own, was ready for a house of her own, so Granny graciously brought her to Catholic Charities for the eight-hour class. What Lauren didn’t know was that buying a car on credit could change her debt-to-income ratio and impact her ability to qualify for a mortgage. “I was literally in the process of buying a car.” she said. But when she heard that, she paid attention. She held off on buying the car and was able to purchase a home six months later and then buy a car after another six months.
Carl Piehl, one of our HUD-certified Housing Counselors, drove to her home to personally present her with a Lowe’s gift card, to congratulate her on the home purchase and help with the maintenance costs that come with homeownership. She tells her friends that if you “save, get your credit right, and budget,” anybody can buy a home. In fact, another client of ours was recently able to buy a home on an income of only $943/month. She achieved a credit score of 800 and obtained $21,000 in down payment assistance after attending a homebuyer class taught by Yvonne Bartley, another of our HUD-certified counselors.
Our First-Time Homebuyer’s Class is free and consists of four two-hour sessions over the course of two weeks. Completion of the course allows prospective homeowners to take advantage of a variety of down payment assistance programs and mortgage products designed for first-time homebuyers. If you know someone who could benefit from the class, please have them call us at 318-865-0200 to register for this month’s class.
CCNLA would not be able to provide HUD-certified Housing Counseling and our other Family Strengthening programs without the generous support of our grantors and donors, including:
Beaird Family Foundation, Catholic Charities USA, Grayson Foundation, Sisters of the Holy Spirit, Louisiana Bar Foundation, City of Bossier, Caddo Parish, First Methodist Church, The Westerman Foundation, Poindexter Foundation, Beth O’Brien Memorial Fund, Walmart Foundation, Walmart Stores, Red River Bank, Cadence Bank, Jonesboro State Bank, and United Way of Northeast Louisiana.
