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AHFA Hosts #MyAlabamaHome Selfie Contest to Celebrate National Homeownership Month
On June 1, AHFA will launch the #MyAlabamaHome Selfie Contest to celebrate National Homeownership Month!
The contest is open to anyone who has used an AHFA program to buy their home (or who closes on a home in June using an AHFA program)! Simply snap a selfie inside or outside your home and tell us what you love most about your Alabama home, and you could win a $250 Visa gift card.
Participating lenders & Realtors - help us get the word out about the contest to your former customers and customers who close in June and use an AHFA program to purchase their home.
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AAHA Annual Conference: Manager of the Year & Scholarship Recipients Announced
Kimyatta Banks of Olympia Management, manager of Evangeline Heights in Phenix City and Legacy Senior Village in Eufaula, has been named the 2017 Manager of the Year.
The Manager of the Year award recognizes outstanding management staff at AHFA-funded multifamily housing developments. Nominees are evaluated on tenant relations, experience and education, the complex's curb appeal, and AHFA program compliance.
Other nominees were:
- Arlean Alexander, New Haven Apartments in Birmingham
- Linda Bonsell, Beaver Cove Apartments in Scottsboro
- Barbara Butts, Shellbrooke Pointe in Fairhope
- Malinda Herrod, Providence Place in Northport
- Pam Hunley, Regency Pointe I & II in Foley
- Holly Key, Ridgecrest Estates in Anniston
- Tony Peterson, Annie Lee Gardens in Arab
- Kimberly Randolph, High Forest I & II in Jasper
- Eddie Williams, Magnolia Gardens I & II in Selma
Watch for more information on Banks in an upcoming Success Story.
Also at the event, the Alabama Affordable Housing Association (AAHA) announced this year's recipients of its annual resident scholarships. Sixty-five scholarships were awarded for 2017, 42 were renewals to past scholarship recipients and 23 went to new applicants.
The scholarship program is open to qualified tenants and resident family members living at an AAHA-member apartment complex and to property/divisional management staff of AAHA-member companies and their children. Applicants must be accepted or enrolled in an accredited vocational or technical school, college or university; have at least a "B" average or 3.0 GPA; and meet all other application criteria.
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AHFA Updates MCC Income Limits, Effective May 12
AHFA has revised the maximum family income limits for the Mortgage Credit Certificate program.
The newly updated income limits were released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and are based on the state's median family income, which is $55,500. Home buyers can earn up to $83,250 in urban areas and $77,700 in rural areas, depending on family size and location.
The purchase price limits for the MCC program were updated earlier this year. Effective March 23, the maximum sales price in target areas is $310,211 and $253,809 in non-target areas.
AHFA's Mortgage Credit Certificate program reduces the amount of federal income tax homebuyers must pay, which in turn increases available income to qualify for a mortgage.
An MCC is a dollar-for-dollar tax credit of up to 50 percent of the mortgage interest paid per year, capped at $2,000 annually.
Homebuyers can choose to receive immediate savings, which will increase their monthly take home pay, or choose to receive the credit once a year when filing federal income tax returns.
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Realtor Spotlight:
Justin Humphries
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Keller Williams Realty Metro North
Justin Humphries is new to the real estate business - really new. He started the first week of April 2017 as a Realtor with Keller Williams in Gardendale. Although he is new to the business, Humphries has already had a buyer close using AHFA's Step Up program, and has a few others set to close in the near future who are also using Step Up.
Humphries is a former railroad conductor and traveled all over the country as an organizer with its national labor organization. He decided to make the jump to real estate to fulfill a life-long goal of becoming a full-time real estate agent and helping people achieve their goal of purchasing a home. Humphries is active on social media, and believes he stands out due to his superior customer service.
Q: How did you hear about AHFA programs?
A: From my broker at Keller Williams Metro North, Karon Tubbs. She discussed the Step Up and Mortgage Credit Certificate programs in one of our new agent training classes, which is what lead me to do more research on the programs.
Q: What do you think is the greatest benefit of AHFA programs?
A: I believe the greatest benefit of Step Up is that it helps homebuyers achieve their goal of purchasing a home without having the stress of "breaking the bank" with a down payment and at the same time, paying for all the upfront costs of getting a mortgage.
I had some buyers who just closed using Step Up, are first-time homebuyers, and are expecting a baby in the next two weeks. The program helped them save on the upfront costs just in case something came up after the baby is born. This relieved them of a good bit of stress!
Q: What do you enjoy most about your job?
A: The thing that I enjoy most about my job is helping a first-time homebuyer purchase a home when they thought they would never be able to. The programs that AHFA offers have been that one thing that has allowed them to achieve the impossible. I find it very rewarding to know that I had a role in helping them achieve every American's dream of owning a home.
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Tuscaloosa Mother & Son Credit HHA with Saving Their Home After a Job Loss
"Her angels" - that's how Denise Tierce refers to the Hardest Hit Alabama counselors who helped her through the process of applying for and receiving mortgage payment assistance to save her home. After she lost her job, Tierce said she had lost hope. Then she contacted
Hardest Hit Alabama, and said the team truly helped her through a terrible time in her life.
HHA offers programs including mortgage payment assistance for unemployed or underemployed homeowners, as well as loan modification and short sale options for borrowers facing financial hardships.
Hear more of Denise & son Hayden's story:
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AHFA's #OurAlabamaHome Tour Made Stops in Auburn and Ozark in May
This month, the
#OurAlabamaHome tour found AHFA at two prominent city-center landmarks - Toomer's Corner in Auburn and the Carillon and Bell Tower in Ozark.
#OurAlabamaHome is AHFA's theme for 2017. We regularly take road trips to visit with customers who have bought their home or found affordable rental housing because of AHFA programs.
As we travel to visit these customers, we're also highlighting the city or town they live in to celebrate Alabama and illustrate how AHFA's programs reach across the state. Together, our customers' testimonials bring
#OurAlabamaHome to life.
Keep track of our travels on
Facebook,
Instagram, and
AHFA.com.
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Toomer's Corner, Auburn
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Carillon & Bell Tower, Ozark
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ServiSolutions Customers Can Go Paperless
Don't be afraid to "Go Paperless!" Online statements are convenient, secure, reduce clutter and FREE! Signing up is easy - just follow the steps below:
- Go to www.servsol.com
- Click on the Customer CareNet button
- Sign in to access your mortgage account OR register for CCN if you are a new user
- From the top menu, select the Statements & Documents tab, and then click Mortgage Statement from the drop down menu
- Now you are on the Enroll page. Verify your email address, and if it is correct, click Enroll. If you need to change your email address, click Edit, enter your new email address, and then click Enroll.
- That's it! You'll see a message that your request has been received, and you will then receive an email monthly when your statement is ready.
If you should wish to cancel e-billing, you may do so at any time through
Customer CareNet. Go to the same Mortgage Statement tab from Step #2 above and click Deactivate under Stop Receiving Statements.You will then be asked to confirm and submit your request.
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AHFA Offices to Close for July Holiday
The AHFA, ServiSolutions, and Hardest Hit Alabama offices will be closed Tuesday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day.
We will reopen at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5.
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