June 2014

AHFA's Servicing Department - $2 Billion and Growing
 
ServiSolutions®, a department of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority, passed the $2 billion mark in total mortgage loans serviced. 

AHFA has operated its own servicing department since 2005. ServiSolutions® has expanded beyond AHFA's loans to include those of small and/or community banks across Alabama as well as those of housing finance agencies in Washington, Mississippi, Missouri and North Carolina.

2014 HOME/HC Funding Awards Announced

On June 3, the AHFA Board of Directors approved the developments selected to receive allocations of 2014 HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds and/or Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.

Seventeen developments were approved and are expected to create 1,190 units of affordable housing across Alabama.

 

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First-time Buyer Finds Freedom in Homeownership

It is no new story that young Americans are putting off home buying until later in life. New data from the U.S. Census Bureau, however, show the rate of homeownership for those in the millennial generation has fallen to the lowest level in recently recorded history.

 

Limited personal savings and stricter lending requirements are causing first-time buyers to enter the housing market in fewer and fewer numbers.

 

First-time buyers are crucial for the housing market because they trigger a chain of sales, allowing homeowners to trade up. 


AHFA's Step Up program offers 30-year, fixed rate financing as well as down payment assistance, providing first-time buyers like Harris Carden with opportunity for ownership.

 

Carden, a 23-year-old Ashley Furniture warehouse manager, planned and saved to prepare for purchasing his first home--an existing home near Prattville.

  

"I had been saving for the down payment for a year," said Carden.

  

Reba Curtis, Anchor Mortgage recommended AHFA's Step Up program to Harris, which is designed for buyers who can afford a mortgage, but need help with the down payment. 

  

By choosing the Step Up option, Carden was able to maintain some of his hard-earned savings for home improvements instead.

 


Mike King Named MBAA Vice President   
 
In May, AHFA Single-Family Administrator Mike King was named vice president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Alabama (MBAA) for 2014-15.

 

Mike oversees all aspects of the single-family division and has been employed with AHFA since 1988.  

 

Established in 1929, MBAA is a trade association including more than 85 member companies from the state of Alabama and throughout the southeast.

AHFA Staff Busy this Summer Promoting Mortgage Programs

It has been a busy few months for AHFA's staff publicizing homebuyer programs and distributing promotional materials during the Mortgage Bankers Association of Alabama Annual Convention in May and the the Alabama Realtors Association Summer Conference in June.

Lisa Treece, AHFA's Affordable Housing Coordinator, also spoke in June at a continuing education session held at The National School of Real Estate in Huntsville. 
 
Over 40 real estate agents attended this event sponsored by FirstBank, an AHFA participating lender.