Recently the federal government has been making steps to show its awareness of the need for lower-income housing options. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) budget released earlier this year detailed all of President Bush’s housing goals. $161 million were distributed to local governments to assist in down-payment programs, and $40 million has been marked for counseling programs to prepare families to own homes, identify predatory creditors, and help homeowners with payments. The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) has proposed two loan incentive programs to help with homeownership, the Zero Down Payment for families with strong credit history, and the Payment Incentive for those with weaker credit histories, which allows for reduction of interest over time with prompt payments. Other programs suggested to help meet the growing housing need include the single-family tax credit, which is a tax incentive for developers to manufacture cheap single-unit residences in lower-income areas. More funding for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, which provides loans and credit counseling and education is also proposed
Habitat for Humanity is one of the most important options for local families with financial concerns to be aware of. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit ecumenical Christian organization that strives to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness. Since the cost of purchasing a home in the Bloomington-Normal area is above that which many families can afford, Habitat offers a viable option for those who want to own their own home at a lower cost without having to deal with rental property or substandard housing. The way this program works is that families can apply to be considered for a 25-year interest-free loan on a home they help build. If they demonstrated sufficient need (living in overcrowded conditions, unable to pay rent and heat, etc), ability to pay (sufficient income to make payments), and willingness to partner (each family must put in “Sweat Equity” hours, meaning before they even break ground on their own house they have to help other families in the construction process). Once the house is built at cost by volunteer labor, the family receives a loan which as they pay the money back goes toward the costs of building yet another Habitat house. Each home is appraised at around $103,000 and yet costs the family only $56,000 to own. Through the use of Family Partnering, the program makes sure that the families are able to maintain the ownership of their homes. Family partners help them go through credit and money management programs, and each family is required to keep an account with money towards maintenance and repairs.
One option available to local families having financial difficulties in general is to take advantage of the Chestnut Health Systems resources. This is an organization that specializes in all sorts of behavioral health and human services needs, from chemical dependency to personal debt. If a family is facing debt due to overuse of credit cards, unexpected expenses, or any number of reasons, Chestnut Credit Counseling Services will help them with such money management issues as budgeting and debt relief. Chestnut is a non-profit agency, and professional credit counselors work personally with clients to stabilize their financial situation. These counselors are affiliated with the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, and work with credit organizations to decrease debt by asking for interest reductions and consolidating payments, while at the same time educating families about intelligent money management. There are offices throughout the state of Illinois, and all a family needs to do is contact one of the offices to start getting help.