Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix (Trellis) was awarded a $287,800 grant from NeighborWorks America (NWA) for FY 2014 in support of programs and services that make stable homes and communities in Arizona possible.
The funding is appropriated through Congress and will help Trellis continue to offer housing counseling, education, down payment assistance, flexible mortgage programs and the development of affordable single-family homes throughout Maricopa County.
“We are pleased to be the recipient of NeighborWork’s support. With consumer confidence rising, greater employment opportunities, and steady affordability, Trellis is positioned to help more people achieve the dream of financially-stable homeownership,” reports Trellis President & CEO Patricia Garcia Duarte. Despite rising interest rates and tightened lending standards, Trellis has seen an influx of potential buyers who are looking, not only for financial assistance and affordable homes, but are seeking out education to avoid the pitfalls of the past. Couple that good news with ‘Boomerang’ buyers ready to flood the residential market’ as reported by the Phoenix Business Journal (3.14.14), Trellis looks to leverage NWA’s investment to meet an increasing demand for homebuyer education classes and financial management workshops.
Established by Congress in 1978, NWA and its network assisted almost 300,000 families and invested nearly $5.8 billion dollars in distressed communities in 2013.
Last year, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission underscored the important value of quality housing counseling. According to the report, Housing America’s Future, “…housing counseling can improve prospective borrowers’ access to affordable, prudent mortgage loans, especially for families that otherwise might not qualify or who may experience other barriers to mainstream lending.”
“Homeownership remains a driving aspiration for our clients and we know that our homebuyer education and counseling serves to provide an excellent foundation for sustainability”, states Garcia Duarte. “NWA’s financial support is especially welcome this year as we move forward to expand lending opportunities and build new single-family homes.”