Celebrate Homeownership Month With Us!

The Minnesota Homeownership Center and the Homeownership Advisors Network are partnering with Minnesota Housing, MN Association of Realtors®, USDA Rural Development and the Minnesota Department of Commerce to promote homeownership and stabilize Minnesota’s neighborhoods by sponsoring homebuyer education in June.

In celebration of Homeownership Month in June, the Center is pleased to announce the availability of free homebuyer education.   This opportunity is available thanks to the generous support of several public and industry partners.

Quality homebuyer education is the foundation of successful homeownership and is key to stabilizing Minnesota’s neighborhoods.  A recent study conducted by Neil Mayer & Associates and the credit bureau Experian found that homeowners that receive pre-purchase education and counseling services are 30% less likely to become seriously delinquent on their mortgage in the first two years after closing.

In Minnesota, homebuyer education is available online and in-person.  Both courses include an in-depth understanding of the homebuying process, how to choose the right home, the importance of credit and good financial management, how a lender determines how much to lend, the importance of working with a real estate professional and the buyer’s rights and responsibilities once they become an owner.

Free in-person Home Stretch Workshops are available at participating locations throughout the state from June 22-29.

Framework, the most comprehensive online homebuyer education course available, will also be free to the first 100 customers who sign-up and use the special coupon code: MNPROMO13 

Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership Awarded USDA Housing Preservation Grant

Used under Creative Commons
License.  Photo by  ario_ 

Funding will help maintain housing stock in SW Minnesota


The Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership (SWMHP) has been selected to receive a $69,000 Housing Preservation Grant through USDA Rural Development. The grant will be used to assist 11 very-low and low-income households in the cities of St. James, Sleepy Eye, Winthrop, Gibbon and New Auburn make essential improvements and repairs to their homes.


SWMHP is a member of the Center's Homeownership Advisors Network and offers Home Stretch workshops and counseling, refinance counseling and foreclosure prevention services in dozens of counties in Southwest Minnesota.


The Housing Preservation Grant program provides funding to intermediaries such as town or county governments, public agencies, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and non-profit and faith-based and community organizations. These organizations then distribute the grants to homeowners and owners of multi-family rental properties or cooperative dwellings who rent to low- and very-low-income residents.  


Grants may be used to make general repairs, such as installing or improving plumbing or providing or enhancing access to people with disabilities. Funds may also be used to weatherize and make homes more energy efficient.


To learn more about the Southwest MN Housing Partnership, visit their website at http://www.swmhp.org/.  


Improvement and rehab programs available through the Southwest MN Housing Partnership are included in the Center's "Repair and Rehab Matrix" that we've created as a resource listing improvement, rehab and repair programs in local communities throughout the state.  Programs included in the Matrix include:

• emergency repair, 
• energy efficiency, 
• lead hazard abatement, and 
• general repair. 

Some funds are grants and others are loans, usually with below market interest rates.  Looking for help with repair or rehab on your home?  Visit the matrix page of the Center's website here: http://www.hocmn.org/en/rehab.cfm

Dollars available to purchase in rural Minnesota

Looking to buy a home in rural Minnesota?  USDA Rural Development has about $2.4 billion available to assist individual and families, who make less than 80% of their Area Median Income, become home owners in 2010. Rural Development recently began a new campaign: "All the Way to 20K" to help assist at least 20,000 families achieve homeownership in 2010 through its Direct Home Loan program.



Some of the highlights of the Direct Home Loan program include:

• Targeted at very-low and low income applicants who do not qualify for traditional financing.
• Non-traditional credit accepted.
• Interest rates as low as one percent depending on income and interest rate subsidy.
• Low or no down payment.
• Fixed interest rates.

Are you thinking about purchasing your first home... and wondering if you might qualify for these funds through Rural Development?  Not sure what your next steps should be?  Speak with a non-profit housing counselor!  For more information about housing counseling... click here.

Another Indicator of Struggling Families?

The USDA (US Department of Agriculture) has published their monthly data on the use of Food Stamps (now known as SNAP - Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).


You can access the data here.


The data shows that Minnesota families and individuals continue to struggle. The most recent numbers show that usage of the SNAP program increased 3.5% from March to April, 2009; and increased an astounding 20.7% from April, 2008 to April, 2009.


While there is no data that shows the percentage of HOMEOWNERS using the SNAP program... this is just one more indicator Minnesota families are continuing to struggle with ALL of their payments.


If you're falling behind in your mortgage - or are afraid you might fall behind soon - the Center's network of Foreclosure Prevention Specialists are available to help... and all services are FREE. Click here for more information.