| In the first of their major community service program for 2007, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority delivered a much needed service to the residents of Madison who have always wanted or dreamed about home ownership but needed the guidance to navigate what could easily be an arduous and intimidating process. / A full assembly of professionals was on hand to discuss all aspects of the home buying process on Saturday, January 27, at the Northside Christian Assembly Church of Madison. The professionals included Jeff McAlister, a community relations officer from Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, (WHEDA); Gus Doyle, a private real estate agent from FirstWeber Realtors; Krystal William Oby, a real estate attorney and founder of Kingdom Legal Services, Inc; and a team of mortgage lenders from Dane County Credit Union: Joe Molke, Nancy Wynne and Jenny Wepking. With this solid team covering all aspects of home buying, the panel explained the financial process; the eligibility criteria for different programs that could help first time homebuyers; and, most especially, the different roles and interests the various professionals serve in the home buying process. The motivational and welcoming soror, Theola Carter, and the facilitator, Becky Peterson, both of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc, ensured the event went very smoothly and encouraged vigorous participation of the audience during the question-and-answer session of the seminar. Gus Doyle, who has been in the real estate business for 5 years calmed the anxiety most potential home buyers feel about purchasing in Dane County by assuring that it is not always the case that it is impossible to find affordable housing in the county. He noted that sometimes properties sell below assessed value. He advised that Dane County City Assessor's office is very helpful in finding out for yourself, what the property you might be interesting is assessed. The current season is considered a buyers' market because of the current high inventory of homes available in the market forcing sellers to come down on their prices. Some of the sellers are even offering incentives like paying a year's worth of condominium fees, or property taxes for 2007 or adding some upgrades to the property to satisfy the specific buyer's unique taste. The first step he encouraged is to determine your price range and location of the city you want to live in. Then work with an agent to show you what is available. That could indeed be a buyer's agent. Traditionally when purchasing property, both real estate agents who lists the property and the one that sells it are working for the seller basically leaving the buyer unprotected beyond the ethical responsibilities they owe him. However, as real estate transaction have become more complex and complicated, an additional level of service that represents the buyer as an exclusive agent has been added, according to Doyle, whose First Weber Realty provides such service. A buyer's agent shows you properties, represents you in purchase negotiations, critiques properties and floor plans, reveals how long the property has been on the market and the existence of other known offers or counter offers that have been made on the property, and works to obtain the best price and best terms for you, among other helpful negotiation strategies. At the seminar, the trio of the full service credit union, Dane County Credit Union, walked the participants/audience through the mortgage lending process. The credit union is part of a shared network of credit unions. Membership of the credit union is open to anyone who lives or works in Dane County. Sales Manager Joe Molke gave some insight into the loan approval process. According to him, the credit rating of a loan applicant is the linchpin to securing approval. He emphasized the need to build up credit and the pitfalls to avoid along the way, as well as some useful saving tips and creative ways to help you build credit. Among the criteria they use in approving loans, according to the Dane County Credit Union team, include capital, capacity and collateral. In other words, do you have the money, can you repay your debts and would a lender be fully protected. Working towards these goals or improving any deficient areas would highly improve the chances of a potential homebuyer in procuring a loan. Community Relations Officer Jeff McAlister adequately represented the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority on the panel. He covered materials from the WHEDA Homebuyer Education Program binder, which was presented to every participant. McAlister broke down in understandable bites the refreshing alternatives and various programs that WHEDA provides to meet the needs of those that might otherwise not be able to obtain loans from the traditional lenders. The WHEDA program comprehensively goes beyond the basics to educate participants on predatory lenders, consumer rights, budgeting and saving, home inspection services and homeowner's insurance among other cogent information. Though WHEDA loan rates are usually lower than commercial lenders rates, the Authority is further pushing very attractive programs, like the Urban Program and the Affordable Housing Program. According to McAlister, the target area for these programs in Madison is the 53704 zip code. Both programs attract up to $5000 grants respectively. The Urban program could require as little as $500 down payment, whereas the Affordable Housing Program would require the homebuyer to at least come up with 1% of the down payment. While these requirements are not exhaustive, the programs are highly lucrative considering any other option for lower income homebuyers or those with less than stellar credit history. Wrapping up what amounted to a full session of home buying seminar was a powerful and convincing presentation by Attorney Krystal William Oby, the founder of Kingdom Legal Services and real estate attorney. She made a good case about the necessity for homebuyers to engage legal services to protect their interest during the entire process. As helpful as real estate agents or mortgage lenders may be, they are still not primarily representing the legal interest of the buyer. She explained the intricacies of the community property laws in property acquisition by married individuals. She also harped on the common use of Quit Claim deed in transferring property within minority communities and how in some occasions such could spring surprises if proper research was not done prior to purchasing a home. Ms. Oby conceded that while the real estate professionals collaborate with each other in the service of their various customers, they however represent different interests/customers. This is why homebuyers especially should not negate the importance of having a professional solely advise and look out for their legal interest as they sign the dotted lines of what may be thousands of dollars purchase. For almost three hours of the home buying seminar, the audience/participants listened with rapt attention and took notes. They asked pointed relevant questions of all the panelists. WHEDA assured the participants that they have already completed a portion of their requirements for some of the WHEDA programs, which is to attend a home buying seminar for which participants will earn certificates. The sisters of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority capped the afternoon with light refreshment. It was indeed a community service event beautifully pulled off by these hardworking community-oriented sisters, whose goal was to help reduce the anxiety and stress that homebuyers encounter as they navigate the process of purchasing a home. |
| Zeta Phi Beta Sorority pools together area resources Demystifying the home buying process By Ike Anyanike |
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| (Left) Panelists answer questions at the home-buying seminar held at Northside Christian Assembly Church. |
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