BALTIMORE — The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (NACA) kicked off an “Achieve the Dream” tour at the Radisson Hotel Downtown Inner Harbor— a one-stop mortgage operation with workshops, one-on-one counseling and underwriters for prospective homeowners from the Baltimore and Washington region on April 26, 2018.
NACA, the nation’s leading homeownership organization and a HUD certified, nonprofit community advocacy group, opened an office in Baltimore in 1997.
“NACA’s primary goal is to build strong, healthy neighborhoods in urban and rural areas nationwide through affordable homeownership,” said NACA CEO Bruce Marks. “NACA has made the dream of homeownership a reality for thousands of working people through comprehensive counseling, enabling even those with poor credit, to purchase a home or modify their predatory loan with far better terms than those provided in the prime market.
The organization has a documented track record of successful advocacy against predatory and discriminatory lenders and providing the best mortgage program in American with $10 billion in funding commitments, according to Marks.
“NACA’s confrontational community organizing and unprecedented mortgage program have set the national standard for assisting low- and moderate-income people to achieve the dream of homeownership,” he said.
The company has earned praise for its mortgage offers of no down payment, no closing cost or fees and below market and fixed rate. The buyer doesn’t have to possess perfect credit and approval for a home loan isn’t based on credit scores.
Marks says that it’s a reality that the system is structured to prevent low and moderate-income families and minority homebuyers from purchasing a home.
“Real Estate agents won’t represent them, sellers won’t do a contract, and lenders will deny most of the applications,” he said.
However, homeowners with an unaffordable mortgage are also encouraged to meet with NACA representatives, a theme of their recent Dream event. Marks said NACA has set the national standard in doing more than 144 Save the Dream events for thousands of homeowners.
They’ve successfully modified more than 250,000 mortgages and continue to effectively save the homes of many by making mortgages effective, he said.
“It’s important Baltimore residents know about NACA because people want to be homeowners, they’ve been locked out. Baltimore is the perfect place to buy a home because of the affordability and because of the purchase rate,” Marks said.
NACA has also designed a program for the housing authority, which would allow public housing choice voucher recipients – Section 8 recipients – to become homeowners, known as the HOT-PHA, or Homeownership through Public Housing Assistance.
Additionally, NACA provides property renovation assistance and membership assistance for NACA homeowners and the organization’s Home and Neighborhood Department addresses repair issues, and where appropriate, provides rehab assistance throughout the renovation process.
“The membership assistance program at NACA provides comprehensive counseling for members who are delinquent on their home payments, including establishing payment agreements and providing financial assistance to help Members avoid foreclosure,” Marks said.
For more information about NACA, visit www.naca.com