February 2018 - Spring is in the air (really!)
Old World Charm Meets City Living

About six years ago, Home HeadQuarters partnered with the University Neighborhood Preservation Association, a group of historic preservationists and architects and other community stakeholders to save the old Jewish War Veterans post on East Genesee Street in Syracuse.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places 2004, the structure had remained vacant for more than a decade and was slated for demolition to be replaced by a drug store. Neighbors rallied to save the home, and through a unique partnership, the structure was restored featuring four upscale condo units. 

One of those units is now for sale and offers one of the most unique living spaces in the city. If interested in finding out more, visit CNY Affordable Realty or call Shannon at (315) 671-6008 or (315) 506-3341.
New City Landlord Program Offers up to $50,000 in Grant Funds for Property Repairs 

Landlords who own property in targeted areas within the city of Syracuse can now take advantage of a new property repair program to address code violations and lead-based paint hazards in 1-4 unit rental properties. The Syracuse Landlord Improvement Loan Program offers up to $25,000 per unit for needed repairs, half as a loan at 6.99% interest with a seven-year term, and half as a deferred loan with no payback required. Landlords can also use their own funds to match grant funding. Landlords can choose their own contractors, but contractors must provide proof of insurance and EPA Lead Certification. Property owners must be current on property taxes and water bills to participate in the program. 
 
The Syracuse Landlord Improvement Loan Program is made possible with funding through the City of Syracuse and coordinated through the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative at Home HeadQuarters. For more information and program applications, visit HERE or call HHQ at (315) 474-1939.

How Darius Improved his Credit Score

When Darius, a single dad living in Syracuse, first visited Home HeadQuarters' HomeOwnership Center, he  knew his credit score was pretty bad. Darius had been using credit cards to stay afloat, to reward himself and to purchase restaurant dinners he couldn't afford. On top of that, he wasn't paying off balances every month.

"When Jenna first pulled my credit score and I saw that number on paper, I freaked out. I didn't know my score was that bad!" 

Darius signed up for a Financial Fitness course and continued to meet with Jenna and other housing and financial counselors at the HomeOwnership Center. Darius, with everyone's help, came up with a plan to pay off his cards and lower his regular use.

"It was going to be Texas de Wegmans instead of Texas de Brazil for me. I needed to be disciplined, stop going out to dinner all the time and pay off those revolving balances."

Now, just a year and a half later, Darius' credit score has improved more than 200 points and he's enrolled himself in a First Home Club to purchase his first home. He credits Jenna and the rest of the HomeOwnership Center staff with making sure he kept pushing and staying on task. "I wouldn't have gotten to where I'm at now without Home HeadQuarters' help!" said Darius. "Thank you!"

Sign up for a Financial Fitness Class HERE!
Meet Carrie Hanno

Please help us welcome Carrie Hanno as Home HeadQuarters' new senior accountant. Carrie joins us from Cayuga Centers where she was the Finance Director. Carrie is learning all aspects of our non-profit business and says at this early point that she likes it even though it is challenging learning about all the different aspects of HHQ.  Carrie lives in Auburn with her husband and one of four children still at home.  In her spare time, she is a cellist with the Auburn Chamber Orchestra, choir director at her church and plays a mean game of racquetball. She enjoys the drive into Syracuse every day and is catching up on all her audio books.
NeighborWorks Works!

You may not know that Home HeadQuarters is a member of the national NeighborWorks America network. We're one of almost 250 members across the nation who benefit from financial support, cutting-edge professional guidance and some of the best community development training and certification in the country.

This year marks NeighborWorks America's 40th anniversary of its Congressional charter in 1978. In those 40 years, NeighborWorks and its members (like us!) have assisted almost 8 million people through affordable housing and counseling and generated more than $30 billion in community reinvestment.

Gloria, Amanda, Jenna and Miguel from our HomeOwnership Center and all of us at Home HeadQuarters wish NeighborWorks America a happy 40th and for another 40 years of working together to make Syracuse and every community a place of opportunity!

For more information on NeighborWorks America, visit their website  HERE!
MARCH CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
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MARCH 7 or 21
FREE, 60-minute orientation will introduce you to the basic steps to becoming a successful homeowner and how Home HeadQuarters can help. Orientations are offered on Wednesdays either at 10:30am or 5:30pm.

BEGINS MARCH 12 - MON. & THURS. 
5:30pm-7:30pm, this 8-hour course provides all the information you need to become a successful homeowner. Trained housing counselors provide class instruction and one-on-one financial counseling.

MARCH 14
FREE, 60-minute orientation will introduce you to the basic steps to becoming a successful homeowner and how Home HeadQuarters can help. Orientation is at 5:30pm.

MARCH 20
5:30pm-7:30pm, FREE, 2-hour informational workshop looks at how to avoid foreclosure, how the judicial process works and what to expect once a foreclosure action is filed. 

MARCH 28
1:00pm-3:00pm, FREE, 2-hour informational workshop looks at how to avoid foreclosure, how the judicial process works and what to expect once a foreclosure action is filed. Held at Cortland Community Services Building, 2nd Floor conference room, 111 Port Watson St. Cortland.

For a full 2018 Class Schedule, click HERE!

Where's Juliette?

We seem to have lost our grant writer and reporting specialist this month. Juliette Crellin, who started right out of S.U. as an intern with Home HeadQuarters, left this month for a world-wide travel excursion that includes a stint in Eastern Europe with the Peace Corps.

Juliette tried to tell us that she would continue to read HHQ's newsletter from all her various international locations, but we didn't believe her for a second. 

We wish her the best and miss her like it's nobody's business.
We're Looking for the Tulips...
We're working on two new single-family homes on the city's Southside--one on West Kennedy and the other on West Borden. The construction site on Borden was the kickoff location for last year's Block Blitz. We hope to have two new families in before Block Blitz time this year.

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Home HeadQuarters, Inc. | 538 Erie Blvd. W., Suite 100, | Syracuse, NY 13204  
p. 315.474.1939 |  www.homehq.org | email: [email protected]
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