DALLAS, Aug. 17, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A $5,000 Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) was awarded to Tarika Hodges, a first-time homebuyer and 32-year-old single mother of two in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This grant, made available through Whitney National Bank, helped Ms. Hodges purchase her first home.
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Ms. Hodges said the assistance she received from FHLB Dallas gave her the extra boost she needed to make her monthly payments more affordable.
"This grant brought my monthly payments down, enabled me to cover my down payment and closing costs, and helped me with so much," said Ms. Hodges. "My experience with Whitney Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas has been great. Since I've always wanted to be a homeowner, I knew that the HELP grant would be perfect for me. I wanted to have my own home for the sake of my kids, and to have something that I can call mine. Thanks to all of the help I have received, now I can."
Brandy Blankenship, Community Development Assistant at Whitney National Bank, submitted the funding request for Ms. Hodges's HELP grant.
"Submitting the grant application to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is a very easy process," said Ms. Blankenship. "Everybody there is extremely helpful, and the funding always comes very quickly. The recipients want to close as soon as possible, so the timely manner in which funding is made available is always appreciated."
In 2009, FHLB Dallas set aside $2 million of its annual Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds for HELP to assist income-qualified, first-time homebuyers with down payment and closing costs. Each HELP recipient is eligible to receive $5,000. The amount increases 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, 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 $72.1 billion as of June 30, 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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