Your Intermittent News & Updates |
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HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IS HERE! |
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As you may be aware, NYS Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that federal emergency grant funding up to $50,000 through the Homeowners Assistance Fund is available to all qualified New Yorkers impacted by COVID who are at risk of losing their homes because of foreclosure or tax delinquency. Home HeadQuarters has the resources and expertise to guide local homeowners through the process and help everyone that is eligible access the funds needed to catch up and remove the heavy burden of potential home loss.
Applications for assistance through the Homeowners Assistance Fund will be accepted starting on January 3, 2022 and will be open for a short 30-day window.
Please share this information with everyone you know and help us spread the word about the availability of this critical grant funding. This grant funding will not last long, so please contact us as soon as possible to get the process started.
The Homeowners Assistance Fund is a $539 million program administered by the U.S. Treasury to assist homeowners who are at the greatest risk of foreclosure or displacement.
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Join us for a free, virtual informational workshop on 12/21 at 5:30pm to learn more about the NYS Homeowner Assistance Fund! Our certified foreclosure prevention counselors will also explain how the judicial foreclosure process works in New York State; what your options are to avoid foreclosure; and what to expect once the bank files a foreclosure action against you.
Sign up at the link below:
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KeyBank Invests $75,000 in Home HeadQuarters to Help Build Economic Equity in Syracuse |
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KeyBank is investing $75,000 in Home HeadQuarters to support its efforts to provide safe and affordable housing through the work of its construction and maintenance crew Opportunity Headquarters. This transformative grant is part of KeyBank’s $40 billion National Community Benefits Plan and is symbolic of the bank’s longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
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Pictured from left: Kerry Quaglia, HHQ CEO; Kevin Schoon, SMNC Site Director; Latoya Allen, HHQ Deputy Director; Celina DeFrancis, HHQ Executive Administrator; Brian Petranchuk, KeyBank Commercial Relationship Manager; Carver Brown, Opportunity Headquarters Crew Member, Sabrina Webster, KeyBank Central New York Commercial Sales Leader; Stephen Fournier, KeyBank Central New York Market President. |
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Opportunity Headquarters, a skilled construction and maintenance crew that works on HHQ's property development projects, focuses primarily on new single-family home construction and substantial rehabilitation of formerly vacant and often distressed properties. Recently, Home HeadQuarters undertook efforts to improve the condition of more than 200 units of aging rental housing on Syracuse’s Southside in particularly impoverished neighborhoods. Opportunity Headquarters’ critical repairs and updates to this needed rental housing will improve the quality of life for the primarily low-income, minority families who call these rental units home, and will ultimately impact the well-being of the neighborhood as well.
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2022 HomeBuyer Education Schedule Set |
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HHQ's eight-hour course is the ONLY local HomeBuyer Course taught by HUD-certified housing counselors. It is also a requirement for homebuyers who wish to take advantage of any down payment and closing cost assistance and HomeBuyer Dream programs.
For more information on signing up for our online classes or homebuyer loans and grants visit our webpage at www.homehq.org and look under "Homebuyers."
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Meet Some of our Accounting Crew |
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While admiring our photos taken during a very important, um, meeting, we realized it's been some time since we introduced anyone to a few members of our amazing accounting staff.
First from left is our senior servicing specialist Lisa Wallace who joined HHQ this year. Lisa helps our loan customers stay on track and also posts payments and much more. Born and raised in Hawaii, Lisa didn't come to the mainland until her 30's and says she's never leaving because she loves the snow! Heather Roche, pictured next, has been with HHQ for three years as a senior accountant. While her current role has expanded to include reconciling receivables (is there a non-accountant way of saying that?), she still keeps a toe in on many of the payables and other special projects (her love for her various special projects is only surpassed by spending quality time with her eight year old son!).
Next is HHQ's director of accounting Kathleen McConnell. Kathleen joined HHQ this year from the financial world of higher education. She focuses on real estate accounting and reconciliations and works on special projects including forensic accounting. Kathleen recently received her graduate's degree and lives in Cortland with her son. MaryBeth Peters, pictured last, but certainly not least, brings more than 20 years of financial industry servicing experience to her role as servicing manager. Originally from Buffalo, MB has lived in Hawaii while in the US Navy and work with the US government and most recently lived in Chicago (fyi...world's best pizza and hot dogs). MB likes to travel when she's not kicking everyone's behind in cornhole.
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Ready to Get Your Finances Together in 2022? Amber Says Get to the FEC! |
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Amber saw an article about the Syracuse Financial Empowerment Center this past year. At that time, Amber says her credit was shot.
"I had made some poor choices, I got scammed, and so I decided to take the first step and see what the Syracuse FEC could do to help me."
What did Amber accomplish with the FEC's help? She saved some money, raised her credit score more than 100 points and decreased her credit report debt by $20,000. Now she says she's focused on something called debt stacking.
"The FEC is someplace that will give you a wealth of knowledge on credit and financial health. They take their time with you, give you great advice on how to better manage your money on a monthly basis. Over the last year, I shifted my priorities. I was living far beyond my means trying to provide for others, and that wasn’t the role I should have been playing. I needed to start focusing on my own goals, and the FEC was beneficial in helping me plan it all out."
What's Amber's goal now? She's planning on purchasing a house in Summer 2022!
Want to get in better shape financially for 2022? Contact the Syracuse FEC to make an online appointment today:
(315) 474-1939 ext. 5
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Employment, Home Improvement Programs, etc. |
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Home HeadQuarters is seeking a Mortgage Loan Originator or Lending Case Manager, a Housing Counselor, a Financial Counselor and more! Check out our Employment page on our website and get those resumes in!
Grants of up to $6,000 with loans of $20,000 are now available as part of the Onondaga County 1% Home Improvement Loan & Grant Program. Homeowners will need to demonstrate they have had a COVID impact and meet household income eligibility requirements, but let our lending staff help you with all of those requirements!
We've talked about all the home improvement programs through the City of Syracuse American Rescue Plan Funds, but did you know that there is also a Closing Cost Assistance Grant of up to $5,000? There are some eligibility requirements, but if you're looking to purchase a house in the city of Syracuse, you should look to see if you can apply! There are also closing cost assistance programs available for purchase anywhere in Central New York!
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It's the little things that make us smile at this time of year. One of the biggest sources of cheer is the decorating that happens at the homes of our new homeowners for the very first time. Some go all out for their family's first holiday in their own home and others just add a touch here and there. However you choose to celebrate and decorate, all of us at HHQ wish you and yours, plenty of brightness and joy. |
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