Public Employee Press

Union helps renters and buyers
A roof over your head

Seminar tells how to own your home

More than 150 members hoping to make the roof over their head their own for the first time participated in a union seminar Nov. 30.

“Your future is determined by the steps you take now,” said Franklin Golding, who manages DC 37’s Municipal Employees Housing Program. “Homeownership may not be an option for everyone, but it outpaces a lifetime of rent payments.”

With the average cost of a home at a half million dollars, New York is the nation’s most expensive city for homebuyers, and renters (see 'Workshops teach tenants' rights') face a dismaying shortage of affordable apartments.

The hardships members face in finding affordable housing prompted DC 37 Executive Director Lillian Roberts to work with the city in 2005 to start the MEHP and to lead the successful fight to relax residency rules on city workers.

To date, MEHP has helped more than 250 union members purchase one- to four-family homes, coops and condominiums and started hundreds more on the road to ownership through financial readiness. Seminar participants learned about savings programs, discounted New York State mortgage loans (SONYMA) and other low-interest, fixed-rate mortgage products for qualified buyers.

Buyers’ market

The current housing market favors buyers, and while interest rates are low, “banks have tightened their lending requirements,” explained MEHP Coordinator Jorge Ortiz. Most lenders want at least 3 percent down and prefer buyers with a 20 percent down payment, he said.

An additional incentive right now is the $8,000 tax credit the Obama administration recently extended to cover homebuyers who enter into a contract of sale by April 30 and close the deal by June 30. Golding urged potential buyers to use professional tax preparers to get the credit on their federal tax returns.

Real estate attorney Thomas Lauro walked members through the steps toward purchasing a home. “It’s important to review your contract with your attorney. Buyers of a home under 15 years old in New York State are now entitled to a warranty,” he said.

DC 37 members can save $2,000 on attorney’s fees by using the union’s Municipal Employees Legal Services to close on apartments and one- and two-family homes in the five boroughs.

MEHP currently works with eight banks to obtain the best mortgage deals, and many of these banks waive or reduce fees. Moreover, MEHP can get HomeFirst grants of up to 6 percent of the purchase price toward closing costs for qualified first-time buyers. MEHP also helps with refinancing, reverse mortgages, Section 8 grants and rental apartments through HPD lotteries. For more information, please call MEHP at 212-815-1814.

“This is part of your union benefits,” said Ortiz. “There’s no need to pay outside brokers a percentage of the purchase price when DC 37 provides these services free.”

— Diane S. Williams