2006 Affordable Housing Committee Report

The CBR Affordable Housing Committee:
Your resource for information on the Central Ohio Affordable Housing Market

Did you know that the CBR Affordable Housing Committee considers affordable housing in the greater Columbus area as homes priced $125,000 and below? Do you know that there are affordable housing financing programs posted on the CBR website? If you look there you can find out about financing programs from area lenders and area agencies that may suit your clients. Does your client need down payment assistance? No problem. Grants? Those programs are there too. Who knew that you could find all that information in one place? Isn't technology great! Do you know how to bid on a HUD home? Do you know about the auction process in listing and selling a home? What about Predatory Lending and credit scoring? These are a few topics from our Affordable Housing Roundtables, which are held the second Friday of each month, except for August and December, 11:00 a.m. at CBR. The roundtables are open to all CBR members and best of all there is no cost to attend. Did you know that if you go to the Latino Festival or the Hilltop Bean Dinner you just might find us there? What about the Columbus Urban League Minority Homeownership Expo? We are there too. Last year we had our first annual Super Sunday Affordable Housing Open House at no cost to the agents who participated in the event. All of the funding for the event was raised through corporate donations! We anticipate that 150 agents will participate in this year's event on Sunday, May 7, 1-4 p.m.

Camille Danzeisen , Co-Chair Michael Gencur, Co-Chair

Did you know that you can become a Certified Affordable Housing REALTOR®? You can also promote your affordable housing listings and buyer needs at our meetings. Where else can you find a captivated audience of people to tell about your new listing or loan program? Who knew! We have lots of things going on at the Affordable Housing Committee and always need your help. Let us tell you a little bit about our committee.

The Columbus Board of REALTORS® Affordable Housing Committee is charged with implementing programs that address affordable housing issues and also track information about financing programs available to those buyers and sellers in the $125,000 and below market. Through information sharing at our meetings, the development of education programs on affordable housing and community outreach programs we are able to provide members with knowledge of all aspects of the affordable housing market. We are your resource to information on the affordable housing market.

The Affordable Housing Committee is one of the Board's largest committees. Because we have many members we have divided ourselves into subcommittees as follows:

Affordable Housing Online Finance Manual Subcommittee
This subcommittee has posted the affordable housing programs online on the CBR website. They are charged with collecting and updating new and current affordable housing financing program information. On this link you can find affordable housing programs available through area lenders and also HUD, Fannie Mae, Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), The City of Columbus, and many more. Feel free to give us a call if you know of other programs out there that could serve the affordable housing market.

Affordable Housing Education Subcommittee
This subcommittee develops continuing education programs geared to the affordable housing market. Classes they have been presented in the past and will present again include Bidding on HUD Homes, Affordable Housing Finance, Down Payment Assistance Programs, and Train the Trainer. Look for dates and times of these programs in your In Contract magazine.

Promotions and Review Subcommittee
This subcommittee promotes affordable housing projects and oversees the Certified Affordable Housing REALTOR® Certification program, which recognizes REALTORS® who through education, listings, and community outreach and board participation have gained expertise in working the affordable housing market. If you would like to know more about the CAHR certification click on the Affordable Housing link on the CBR website.

Roundtable Subcommittee
This subcommittee is in charge of topics and speakers for the Affordable Housing Roundtable which takes place immediately after our regular meetings. The Roundtable lasts for one hour and has included a large variety of subjects that include auctions, predatory lending, credit scoring, bidding on HUD homes, mold issues, radon issues, termite and other pest issues, 203K rehab financing, working with multi-cultural clients and many other topics. This month's topic is on Foreclosure and will be led by Amanda Stark and Scott Stevenson with Northwest Title. In June, Tom Walker with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) will talk about first-time homebuyers. If you would like to suggest a topic or know a speaker please give us a call 614-475-4000 ext 248.

Cooperative Ventures Subcommittee
This subcommittee is charged with finding opportunities for the committee as a whole to participate in. Last year this committee came up with the Super Sunday Affordable Housing Open House idea and raised money to pay for all of the advertising. They are currently working with the Columbus Public Schools to provide opportunities to promote affordable housing and home ownership information at PTA meetings. Past and future programs include participation in the Columbus Urban League Minority Homeownership Expo, Habitat for Humanity projects, Columbus Housing Partnership's Tour of Affordable Homes, Columbus Mortgage Bankers Association Homeownership Extravaganza, and HUD's National Homeownership Month.

International Subcommittee
This subcommittee was formed a year ago to address the needs of a growing number of non-native cultures in the Columbus area. They are presently working on putting together a list of lenders and other housing related agencies who speak other languages. They are also helping to get a variety of CBR forms translated into Spanish so that Spanish speaking buyers and sellers will be able to read the purchase contract and other forms in their native language.

HUD/National Homeownership Month Subcommittee
This subcommittee works with HUD and other real estate related industries to plan and implement programs to commemorate National Homeownership Month in June.

 As you can see we always have something going on at our meetings! We meet on the second Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m. The Roundtable immediately follows at 11:00 a.m. The Roundtable topic is published each month in the In Contract magazine. We have a great committee and would love to have you join us!