HOMEBUYER EDUCATION

Green Forest Community Development Corporation (GFCDC) has a history of housing, business development and cooperative ventures that benefit the community to include launching the “Call DeKalb H.O.M.E.” homebuyer education program that provides Freddie Mac approved homeownership counseling at various community venues within Metro Atlanta and the South DeKalb community.

In 1998, Green Forest Community Development Corporation and Freddie Mac launched the “Call DeKalb H.O.M.E.” homebuyer education program that provides Freddie Mac approved homeownership counseling at various community venues within Metro Atlanta and the South DeKalb community.

As stated by Mr. Vaughn Irons, South East Regional Manager, Community Development Lending of Freddie Mac, “We have worked on several initiatives with GFCDC and have found them to be one of the best community partners for us. One example is their participation as the lead agency of our “Expanding the Dream® DeKalb” initiative. During the first year of this program GFCDC helped over 300 families move along the path to homeownership. We were so proud of this collaboration that we featured them in the Freddie Mac publication “Catalyst for Community Development Lending.”

Freddie Mac is deeply committed to increasing minority homeownership rates across the country. The homeownership rate among African Americans and Hispanics currently stands at about 46 percent, 20 percentage points less than the national rate.

To help close this gap, Freddie Mac uses a seven –pronged Community development lending approach:

1. Develop national alliances and initiatives with key organizations
2. Foster stronger ties to minority-owned lenders
3. Create loan products geared to meet the needs of minorities
4. Focus efforts geographically
5. Provide comprehensive counseling to potential minority homebuyers
6. Demystify the homebuying process
7. Reach out to minority-based trade groups

In “Expanding the Dream DeKalb”: Freddie Mac, DeKalb County, Georgia government, Green Forest CDC, National City Mortgage, two minority-owned lending institutions—Citizen's Trust Bank and Infinity Mortgage Corp.—and retail sector participants collaborated on this unique minority homeownership outreach initiative. Wal-Mart and South DeKalb Mall provide the space for educational kiosks which direct potential homebuyers to homebuyer education classes, financial counseling assistance, down payment assistance from the county and mortgage loans from participating lenders. The kiosks are open seven days a week; lenders arrange for loan officers to be available on weekends; Freddie Mac credit education brochures and other materials are available; and mortgage loan applications are accepted and referred to participating lenders.