new teacher q & a
Where can I find out if I qualify for housing assistance?
Apr 12, 2007 4:19 PM
A: The best place to begin is by attending one of the free Home-buying Opportunities Seminars run by ACORN Housing, a community group, at UFT offices in all five boroughs. These comprehensive seminars introduce you to the spectrum of affordable housing opportunities in the city available to members and cover all aspects of how to buy a home, get a mortgage and apply for a housing grant.
If you attend a seminar, you will be eligible for a free one-on-one counseling session. An ACORN housing counselor will help you figure out how to finance the house, co-op or condo that is right for you, taking into account your individual needs, income, savings and credit. ACORN also can help you get a discounted mortgage rate and pay as little as 3 to 5 percent down with no private mortgage insurance (PMI) and no points or broker fees. It can even help you refinance your current home at a lower interest rate.
The seminars are just one example of the UFT’s partnership with ACORN and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) designed to help members find affordable housing. Housing grants are another example. Through its HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program, HPD offers grants of up to 6 percent of the purchase price of a first home, while banks, working with ACORN, offer grants of up to $8,000 toward down payment or closing costs to qualified homebuyers. (The HPD grants and the bank grants have different income caps.) You’ll learn more about these and other housing grants at the seminar.
Upcoming seminars will be held as follows:
- April 26, 6-8 p.m., UFT Queens borough office, 97-77 Queens Blvd.
- May 3, 6-8 p.m., UFT headquarters, 52 Broadway.
- May 10, 6-8 p.m., UFT Staten Island borough office, 4456 Amboy Road.
The seminars are open to all interested UFT members, but pre-registration is required. To register for a seminar, call 1-718-246-8080, and identify yourself as a UFT member. More classes will be scheduled, so please check the UFT Web site or the New York Teacher, or call 1-212-701-9421.
For general information on home-buying, go to http://www.uft.org/member/money/financial/mortgage/.
