March 2015 - In This Issue:
Big Announcement for Home Buyers Coming April 1
TSAHC will be making a big announcement on Wednesday, April 1st.  We will be announcing a special raffle for home buyers who use TSAHC's Down Payment Assistance and Mortgage Credit Certificate programs to buy a home between April 1 and June 26. 
 
Stay tuned and look for an email on April 1, 2015. We promise this isn't a joke!  For more information on our home buyer programs, click here.   
Thank You to Amplify Austin Donors and
New Texas Financial Toolbox Sponsors

 

TSAHC participated in Amplify Austin for the second consecutive year and is happy to announce that we raised more than $1,300 from 19 donors, topping last year's fundraising mark. Amplify Austin is a 24-hour giving campaign supporting Austin-based nonprofits.  

 

 

Thank you to the following generous donors:

 

Chad Kimbell, Nancy Hadsell, Matt Earhart, Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, Michele Wilt,  

Rex Wilt, Sherrie Young, Nick Weynand, and an anonymous donor 

 

 Thank you also to the following donors who used Amplify Austin as an opportunity to become a sponsor of TSAHC's Texas Financial Toolbox:

 

Pamela Jones, REALTOR® 

 Greg Weber, REALTORS® 

 

Down Payment Resource

 

Mike Hammer, REALTOR®

 

Kim A. Lewis, TSAHC-Approved Lender  

NFTN, Inc./Premier Nationwide Lending 

 

Jill Clifton, TSAHC-Approved Lender

Cendera Funding, Inc.

 

Beth Elston, TSAHC-Approved Lender

Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc.

 

Karen Trevino, TSAHC-Approved Lender

Georgetown Mortgage

 

Kay Haggard, REALTOR®

Trellis Real Estate, LLC

 

Jana Dahl, Broker Associate

Horizon Realty

 

Thanks to our donors for making our second Amplify Austin day another success!
Discounted Home Available for
Eligible Veteran in Laredo

 

TSAHC is always looking for eligible veterans interested in purchasing a discounted home. As part of TSAHC's Affordable Communities of Texas-Veterans Housing Initiative  (ACT-VET) program, these properties throughout the state are available at a discounted rate of 25% off the listing price to disabled and/or low-to-moderate income veterans.   

 

A home recently just went on the market in Laredo, and we encourage local veterans services providers, Realtors®, and housing partners in the Laredo area to advertise this property to veterans who may qualify.      

 

Learn more about the ACT-VET program.

Congrats to Our February 2015 Texas Statewide Homebuyer Education Program Training Participants

 

 

TSAHC would like to congratulate the housing counselors who successfully completed our Texas Statewide Homebuyer Education Program February 9th - 13th in Austin. These 27 housing counselors represent 22 organizations in 17 cities across Texas.

Furthermore, Bank of America's sponsorship allowed TSAHC to award 17 counselors with a scholarship that covered the cost of their hotel stay during the week long training. We're proud to announce that 100% of the counselors would recommend this training to others.

If you're interested in attending a future Texas Statewide Homebuyer Education Program, we're offering two more trainings this year.

June 1st-3rd in San Antonio

HO370: Advanced Financial Coaching-Taking Your Practice to the Next Level - 3 days

Registration will open for this in early April. 

 

October 12th-16th in Houston

HO247: Post-Purchase Education Methods - 5 days

 

TSAHC has partnered with NeighborWorks America to provide these courses. For more information about the courses offered and the different certifications provided by NeighborWorks, including requirements to obtain or maintain a certification and the application form for each, click here.

 

Questions?

 

Feel free to contact Sarah Ellinor at sellinor@tsahc.org or (512) 220-1171.  

Learn more about the Texas Statewide Homebuyer Education Program.  

 
Welcome Aboard New TSAHC-Approved Lenders

Welcome to the most recent lenders now approved to offer TSAHC's down payment assistance and Mortgage Credit Certificate programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For information on how to become a TSAHC-Approved Lender, contact Paige Omohundro at pomohundro@tsahc.org.
Check Out Our Updated Website

 

 

Our website www.tsahc.org has a new menu structure and new section. Check out what's new.  
 

The Home Buyers & Renters section now provides: 

  • Step by step information on our home buyer programs, 
  • Assistance available for Texas heroes, and 
  • Resources  to help Texas consumers reach their financial goals.

The Developers & Property Managers section now provides:

  • Loan products for developers,
  • Properties for sale, and
  • Compliance info for property managers.

And finally, the new Non-Profits & Governments section provides:

  •  Resources for housing counselors,and
  •  Information about grants available through the Texas Foundations Fund.  

We encourage you to update your bookmarks or website links to our new menu links. 

 

We hope you will make full use of the new website features and that our website continues to be a useful resource.  If you have any feedback or suggestions on the website features, please email Janie Taylor at jtaylor@tsahc.org . 

Visit the new and updated TSAHC website.     



The below piece is an excerpt from On The House, a weekly blog TSAHC launched in 2014 on affordable housing topics. We invite you to drop by On The House every Friday as we share information on important housing issues, provide an inside look into our programs, and share other valuable resources. Click here to sign up to receive the blog every Friday.  

The Social and Economic Benefits of Homeownership 

For many families, there are financial benefits to owning a home, including tax deductions (the  topic of an earlier blog post) and building wealth through home equity.

sold-home-sign.jpg

 

But did you know that there are social and economic benefits to owning a home as well? These benefits are harder to quantify, but should still be considered when deciding if homeownership is right for you and your family.


According to an article published by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), stable housing created by homeownership offers the following benefits: 
  • Improved children's educational achievement.  Families who own a home tend to be more financially stable, creating opportunities for parents to focus on positive parenting behavior that can lead to improved educational outcomes.
  • Improved civic participation. Homeowners have a great financial stake in their neighborhoods, leading them to volunteer more and be more politically active.
  • Improved health outcomes for families. Homeowners tend to report greater happiness and more control over their lives, leading to better physical and psychological health.  Owner-occupied housing also tends to be better maintained than rental housing, leading to improved safety and health.
  • Reduced neighborhood crime rates. Because crime rates can negatively impact property values, homeowners have more incentive to create and participate in voluntary crime prevention programs.

And there's more.  NAR also studies and reports the economic impact of buying a home.   According to their analysis, one job is created for every two homes sold.

For additional research conducted on the social and economic benefits of homeownership, click here.