Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc. and NeighborWorks America Bring Mobile HomeOwnership Center to Times Square
Learn to Achieve Successful Homeownership the NeighborWorks Way
NEW YORK, NY – May 31, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc. (NHSNYC) and NeighborWorks America kick off National Homeownership Month with a mobile HomeOwnership Center beneath a 600 sq. ft. tent June 1 in Times Square that will offer consumers a one-stop information resource related to affordable and sustainable homeownership. National Homeownership Month takes place throughout June. NeighborWorks organizations around the country, including more than one hundred HomeOwnership Centers, are intensifying their outreach to consumers this homeownership month to help them be better informed about the home buying process.
NeighborWorks America is the pre-eminent affordable housing and community development corporation in the U.S., and supports a network of more than 235 locally-based and independent nonprofit organizations operating in all fifty states and Puerto Rico. Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City has been a member of the NeighborWorks network since 1982 and has helped more than 6,000 New Yorkers become successful homeowners.
The mobile HomeOwnership Center in Times Square provides an opportunity for people to receive a brief overview of the home buying process, including information about mortgages, down payment assistance, budgeting, credit management, home maintenance and how to avoid lending scams. NeighborWorks America and NHS New York City are focusing on a new initiative called Homeownership the NeighborWorks Way.
- Homeownership the NeighborWorks Way is based on three principles:
1. Prepare for homeownership by becoming an educated homebuyer
2. Invest in homeownership by making a wise and affordable investment
3. Retain homeownership by and maintaining your home and managing your finances.
“Neighborhood Housing Services is looking to help even more individuals and families obtain their piece of the American Dream through Homeownership the NeighborWorks Way,” said Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC CEO Bernell Grier. “Mortgage rates are at historic lows and there are many homes for sale throughout the city. But jumping right into homeownership without the proper knowledge puts people at risk of becoming another foreclosure statistic. Working with the Neighborhood Housing Services and pursuing Homeownership the NeighborWorks way — Prepare, Invest, Retain — is the way to go.”
Just as Times Square is called the “Crossroads of the World,” the mobile homeownership center on Broadway between 46th and 47th streets is where all of the information prospective homebuyers need for success can be found in one place.
“NeighborWorks HomeOwnership Centers are one-stop shops that both homebuyers and homeowners can trust for unbiased information from trained, professional staff. NHS of NYC is one of more than one hundred HomeOwnership Centers around the country, all of which will be especially busy in June educating consumers about the steps they need to take to be successful homeowners,” said Deborah Boatright, director of the eleven state Northeast Region of NeighborWorks America. “People can locate a HomeOwnership Center near them or on our website: nw.org/homeownership.”
Thousands of people are expected to visit the mobile HomeOwnership Center set up by NHS NYC. Once inside the mobile HomeOwnership Center, they will have the chance to talk with homeownership advisors, and arrange to receive more in-depth information from an advisor in one of NHS of NYC’s seven locations, or receive information about other NeighborWorks Homeownership Centers around the county. Informational brochures and giveaways also will be available that visitors can take back to their homes.
“Our goal today in Times Square is to make the right kind of information as accessible as possible to as many consumers as possible,” said Grier. “Homeownership the NeighborWorks Way is the right first step for everyone.”
About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation’s leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.
About Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc.
Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, Inc. (NHSNYC) serves the metropolitan area of New York City. In addition to providing services throughout New York City, NHS is a community-based organization with targeted impact in the following Neighborhoods: Bedford-Stuyvesant, East Flatbush, the North Bronx, Northern Queens, and the South Bronx. Through financial empowerment and affordable lending, NHS enables individuals and families to invest in, preserve and improve their Neighborhoods, their Homes and their Future. NHS is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency, a NeighborWorks® Chartered organization and a National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program (NFMC) grantee. Please visit our website at www.nhsnyc.org to learn more.
Contacts:
Susan Jouard, 
