Public Employee Press

Housing fair offers tips for first-time homebuyers

Some 200 DC 37 members and retirees participated in DC 37’s annual housing fair on June 25 at union headquarters.

To help renters become homeowners, the daylong event included realtors, mortgage specialists, home inspectors and representatives of the Housing Preservation Dept. and grassroots housing programs like the Housing Partnership and the Bridge Street Development Corp. The fair, sponsored by the union’s Municipal Employees Housing Program and several banks, also offered workshops on credit repair, saving, home ownership and foreclosure prevention. A Kings County assistant district attorney led a session on mortgage scams and identity theft.

More than a year into a national mortgage crisis, housing prices have declined, sales are slow and New Yorkers are feeling the economic pinch. Since the housing bubble burst, banks have set stricter lending policies that require higher credit scores and larger down payments, and interest rates are up slightly.

“But first-time homebuyers should not be discouraged. This is still a good time for working people with good credit ratings and some savings to buy, and our program guides members through the process,” said DC 37 Assistant Associate Director Henry Garrido, who manages the housing program.

One incentive for qualified first-time buyers is the $8,000 tax credit the Obama administration is offering until Nov. 30, said MEHP Program Manager Franklin Golding. This federal tax stimulus sparked an uptick in the housing market in June as hundreds of house hunters scrambled to take advantage. To qualify, first-time homebuyers must purchase a principal residence on or after Jan. 1, 2009, and before Nov. 30, 2009, and meet income requirements and other qualifications. For details, visit the Web site http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/index.html. New York State is offering a similar tax credit through an ongoing program for qualified buyers.

Municipal Employees Legal Services counselors at the June fair explained that DC 37 members and retirees can get free legal representation at closings, a benefit that can save about $2000.

DC 37’s MEHP — the nation’s first and most comprehensive labor-sponsored affordable housing initiative — helps city employees obtain grants and mortgages to purchase condominiums and co-op apartments, one-to-four-family houses in the five boroughs and second homes outside the city, and refinancing through participating lenders. The program offers credit counseling and repair, help with foreclosure prevention, construction loans, reverse mortgages, a 5 percent set aside in HPD apartment lotteries, federal Section 8 vouchers and aid to homeless city workers. For more information, call MEHP Counselor Jorge Ortiz at 212-815-1814.