SANTA FE, N.M., April 6, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thirty-year-old Isabel Herrera wanted the stability in her life that owning her own home could provide.
Ms. Herrera had always rented and said her life felt unsettled, but that changed in 2009 when she was able to buy her first home. Ms. Herrera moved into a two-bedroom condo in Santa Fe on December 19, one day after closing on her mortgage loan. She was able to qualify to buy her condo thanks, in part, to a $5,000 Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) grant she received from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), distributed through First National Bank of Santa Fe.
Ms. Herrera, a Santa Fe native who works as an insurance services administrator, said she would not have been able to qualify to buy her home without the HELP grant, and that becoming a homeowner has made a big difference in her life. "I wanted a place to live that I could call my own so that I would never have to move away from it," she said. "This was the best decision I've ever made."
Betty Vega, vice president and community development banker at First National Bank of Santa Fe, said the HELP grants distributed by the bank are available to provide cash for down payments to Santa Fe homebuyers who have received assistance from other agencies. The bank started working with the FHLB Dallas's HELP program four years ago and has given out about $200,000 during that time.
First National Bank of Santa Fe also partners with Homewise, a private, nonprofit agency in Santa Fe, to distribute many of the grants. Homewise promotes affordable homeownership through financial counseling and educational classes designed to help low– to moderate-income Santa Fe residents become homeowners. Ms. Herrera went to Homewise to get assistance with buying her condo.
"With our partnership with Homewise, the HELP program has worked out really well for us and FHLB Dallas has been an incredible partner," Ms. Vega said. "It has allowed us to provide really effective, affordable housing in Santa Fe."
Homewise works with its clients to help them secure financing to buy a home, said Tina Knaut, vice president for lending and home purchase director for Homewise.
"Our partnership with First National Bank of Santa Fe allows us to help two homebuyers a month with HELP grant funds," she said. During its most recent fiscal year ending April 1, Homewise clients received a total of $105,000 in HELP grant money.
In 2009, FHLB Dallas, through its members, awarded nearly $3.2 million in HELP and subsequent HELP II grants throughout its five-state District, including $174,000 in New Mexico. HELP II was a special, one-time allocation in 2009 because of overwhelming demand for the funds. Each HELP recipient is eligible to receive $5,000. The amount may be increased up to $7,000 if a member financial institution or another mortgage lender contributes at least $350 toward costs associated with providing the mortgage to the homeowner.
For more information about FHLB Dallas programs, please contact the Corporate Communications Department at 214.441.8445.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $65.1 billion as of December 31, 2009, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. For more information, visit the FHLB Dallas web site at fhlb.com.
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