The Michigan city of Grand Haven has provided hope for financially-strapped homeowners who want to buy homes but do not have the money to do so and for those who defaulted on their mortgage payments.
The Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Grand Haven is touted as a Department of Planning and Community Development program that helps a lot of homeowners. It provided grants for both homebuyers and homeowners in the city.
The program also provided housing counseling service for all residents of Ottawa County. These services include pre-buying homebuyer education courses and protecting properties from becoming foreclosure houses.
NHS Neighborhood Development Coordinator Char Seise said that the biggest obstacle facing the program is disseminating information to distressed residents that help is provided to allow them to buy properties, repair their homes or avoid foreclosures.
She noted that the current economic downturn and housing crisis has affected people from all walks of life, adding that no one is exempted. She pointed out that many people who needed the NHS services are in situations that were created by mitigating circumstances such as job loss, sickness or divorce.
Seise said that while working with NHS, she observed that many people who seek their help do not know how to budget. She adds that the service teach these people how to create spending plans and to make wise consumer choices.
She pointed out that many people, especially those who have just experienced financial constraints, do not have any idea whom to turn to and the resources that are available for them.
The Planning Department created the NHS when it made affordable housing its priority. Seise recalled that during that time, the biggest obstacle facing the program is determining the meaning of affordability to the community.
Affordability, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, means spending not over 30 percent of the individual’s gross income on cost of housing.
The housing program was able to obtain about $180,000 under the Home Purchase Rehabilitation Program of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
The state grant is used to help eligible buyers acquire properties in an area in Eastown. Most of the older homes in the designated area are fixer-uppers.
The program’s foreclosure prevention and intervention counseling services include financial options and management with the goal of helping individuals hurdle obstacles and remain in their properties.
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