Nailing It Down
By Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty
Last week we reminded you that, as a nonprofit organization, we at NeighborWorks are dedicated to helping Grays Harbor with its housing needs. Our aim is to help create safe and affordable housing opportunities for all residents of Grays Harbor County.
We also mentioned that homeownership has been proven to stabilize and strengthen communities, and that our specialty is helping people become ready to become home buyers — even if that means starting by getting spending under control or helping strengthen credit scores.
Today we want to get you up to speed a bit on our current housing situation and give you the specifics of becoming a homeowner.
2 unique houses
The Grays Harbor residential real estate market is healthy, with demand for new homes the strongest in the East County submarket.
We think homeownership is so helpful for a community that, over the years, NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor has partnered with the carpentry classes at Grays Harbor College to create new homes. This win-win partnership means that local folks are learning the building trades under close supervision while new housing stock becomes available for home buyers.
Someday soon, why don’t you take a drive to see the latest of such houses? This three-bedroom, two-bathroom open-concept home at 701 Second Ave. in Aberdeen is waiting for just the right buyer.
In addition, we’ve recently refurbished an older home at 27th and Pacific in Hoquiam to make it ready for new owners. This three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house has all new electrical, appliances, flooring, weatherization and painting.
And these are just a couple of the homes available in the Aberdeen/Hoquiam area, where demand for houses is continuing to rise as the economy improves and more people discover what a great place this is to live. Recently, many homes in Aberdeen and Hoquiam entered the market from the estate of a major real estate investor, so the number of houses available in this market should increase some.
Preparing to buy
As we hinted at earlier, not everyone who wants to be a homeowner has the finances or know-how to do it. That’s where we come in.
First of all, we can help you with budgets to save money to make purchasing and maintaining a home a fiscal possibility.
Second, we can show you how to strengthen your credit.
And third, we actually have a revolving loan fund that could help your dream of homeownership become a reality. First-time home buyers could borrow up to 100 percent of the cost of the home, including closing costs if the appraisal allows for it.
Prequalifying
When you contact our housing counselor, Julie, at 360-533-7828, one of the first things she will advise you to do is to prequalify for a loan. Even if we’re the ones loaning you the money, you need to prequalify. And, if you don’t go through us and choose to get a loan from a financial institution, being pre-qualified fast-tracks the process. There is no cost to you for the housing counseling.
So, if you are a first-time home buyer, the way to go is the internet education platform at eHomeAmaerica.org. For just $50, this course (which is also available in Spanish) is available online so you can complete it at your own pace. When you are done with the course, we — again, at no cost — are available to make sure you understand the material.
We are a member of a Washington collaborative called HomeSage.org, dedicated to offering access to eHome America to every corner of this state. A national industry standard, this home buyer education course results in a certificate which is required for some of the best loan deals in the state and country. It is an excellent resource for potential home buyers and is the first step in the purchase process.
When you’ve completed the course and optional counseling session, you will receive a certificate of completion, which is accepted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington State Housing Finance and other lenders that require you to have completed a home-buyer education course to take advantage of their loan products.
Call us
Our business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Call us at 360-533-7828 to make a housing counseling services appointment. We want to help.
The home-buying process is pretty complex, and people usually have high emotional and financial investment in it. Maybe you just need an unbiased third party to help explain what typical protocol is, or to help define certain terms. We welcome those kinds of questions too. Just give us a call.
In addition, look for next week’s column, where we plan to define some of the basics terminology in the world of residential real estate. A little information can help a lot!
Dave Murnen and Pat Beaty are construction specialists at NeighborWorks of Grays Harbor County, where Murnen is executive director. This is a nonprofit organization committed to creating safe and affordable housing for all residents of Grays Harbor County. For questions about home repair, renting, remodeling or buying, call 360-533-7828 or visit 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen. Our office is fully ADA-compliant.
