On the Road to Homeownership

For over 15 years, HOPE member Dianne Hall rented an apartment in New Orleans East with assistance provided by the Housing Authority of New Orleans (HANO) through the Housing Choice Voucher program. Housing Choice Vouchers provide assistance to eligible families and individuals (based on income, age or disability status) to rent or purchase a home on the private market. To use the voucher to cover mortgage payments, prospective homebuyers must be in good standing with HANO, employed full-time, making at least $14,500 a year, maintain a minimum credit score of 640 and have at least $3,000 in savings explicitly to buy a home.

HOPE, HANO and Ms. Hall all pooled their resources to make homeownership a reality. HOPE’s mortgage team tapped the Neighborhood LIFT program to provide $15,000 in down payment assistance which was used to reduce the cost of the mortgage and to cover closing costs. Ms. Hall also qualified for HOPE’s Affordable Housing Program mortgage which neither requires a down payment nor mortgage insurance which eats into the monthly income available to pay the loan. With the Housing Choice Voucher available to cover the mortgage, Ms. Hall became a homeowner. “I put my money on the side and sacrificed.” “[HANO] helped me out a lot, and the loans helped me out,” says Hall. Hall now shares her story with other Housing Choice Voucher tenants. “A lot of people think they can’t do it,” Hall said. “It needs to be known more … that it’s possible.”