FREDDIE MAC LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN COLUMBUS TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT HOME BUYING MISCONCEPTIONS

Columbus, OH – In an effort to enable more African Americans and Latinos to become homeowners, Mayor Michael Coleman joins with Freddie Mac and Chase Home Finance to announce today a new awareness and outreach campaign called “Homeownership. Let the TRUTH Move You.” The campaign debunks common misconceptions about homeownership that are stopping financially able families from even considering buying a home.

The Columbus Housing Partnership and the Columbus Board of Realtors are collaborating with Freddie Mac in this campaign and are joining in the announcement.

According to research conducted by Freddie Mac, reliable, accurate information about home buying is not reaching all communities. The research uncovered common misconceptions about home buying among African Americans and Latinos. For example, almost half of African-Americans and Latinos believe that they need a 20 percent down payment to buy a home, and that they need almost perfect credit to get a loan. In addition, more than half of African-Americans and Latinos believe that they must have the same job for at least three years to get a loan.

In addition, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, homeownership rates for Hispanic and African American households are 25 percent lower than the rates for non-minority households.

“We believe that lack of access to accurate information is a barrier to homeownership,” said Dave Stevens, Senior Vice President, Mortgage Sourcing, for Freddie Mac. “We can’t allow misinformation to be a barrier for the families who want to buy a home.”

The campaign, designed to address the misconceptions found in the survey, will provide straightforward and up-to-date information about all aspects of homeownership, including costs associated with home buying and credit history requirements. A radio advertising campaign and grassroots outreach efforts seeks to motivate individuals to learn more about the home buying process and call a toll-free number (1-866-7-TRUTHS or 1-877-ATREVE1 for information in Spanish) to register for free one-hour educational sessions in English and Spanish. The Columbus Housing Partnership will be hosting the educational sessions at their offices in Columbus and can also provide homeownership counseling.

“The strength of this campaign,” says Stevens, “is that it is a continuation of efforts by many organizations working together in the community to address the barriers faced by minority homebuyers. Freddie Mac is honored to be working with grassroots organizations that really understand how to reach people who may be facing obstacles to buying a home. Like us, our co-participants in this campaign are committed to accelerating the growth of minority homeownership.”

Amy Klaben, Executive Director, Columbus Housing Partnership adds, “It’s critically important for us to get the right information about home buying into our communities. Buying a home can be intimidating and knowing what information to trust can be challenging. The Columbus Housing Partnership is glad it can be a source of reliable, accurate facts about homeownership.”

“We are dedicated to getting information to people in the community so that they can realize that they may qualify to buy a home,” says the Columbus Board of Realtors’ Robert “Skip” Weiler. “Chase Home Finance joins Freddie Mac in its commitment to increase minority homeownership, and we are proud to be working with trusted organizations with strong ties to African American and Latino communities.”

“Our goal at Chase is to strengthen communities by increasing homeownership” said Dennis Maag of Chase Home Finance in Columbus. “Chase offers a broad range of home financing solutions to individuals nationwide, and we are pleased to be working with Freddie Mac to provide the African American and Latino communities with useful information on navigating the mortgage process and on how to qualify to buy a home.”

“Any individual’s knowledge is only as good as the information available to them,” Stevens added. “We and our co-participants are determined to improve our delivery of important homeownership information to individuals who want and need accurate information.”

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage passthrough securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than two million renters across America.

Columbus Housing Partnership is a private, nonprofit organization founded in the belief that a decent and affordable home is the cornerstone of family life and a healthy community. Columbus Housing Partnership provides quality, affordable housing and related services to low to moderate income working households in Columbus and the surrounding area. Through its activities, Columbus Housing Partnership is a partner in building communities as enhancing the lives of its residents.

With the recent merger of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank One Corp., Chase Home Finance’s parent company now includes more than 2,400 Bank One and Chase bank branches in 17 states. Chase Home Finance, an Equal Housing Lender, is headquartered in Edison, New Jersey and is one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders, servicing more than four million customers through 600 branch-based offices.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.1 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and businesses, financial transaction processing, asset and wealth management, and private equity.

Homeownership. Let the TRUTH Move You

MYTH	FACTS
Need almost perfect credit rating to qualify for a mortgage.	You don’t need a perfect credit record. Even with past credit problems, you may still be able to buy a home. And, you can fix and improve your credit record.
A down payment of as much as 20% is required to buy a home.	You may be able to buy a home with a downpayment of 3 percent or less. Today, the downpayment needed to buy a home is much lower that it once was. However, closing costs, property taxes and moving expenses are part of the cost of buying a home.
Lenders share personal financial information with each other and the government.	Banks and other financial institutions protect your personal financial information – it’s the law.
People who do not have a checking or savings account cannot buy a home.	Having a savings and checking account is a good idea. But you can buy a home without having a bank account.
You must have the same job for at least three years to qualify for a mortgage.	Steady income is more important than how long you’ve been on the job. Income from second and third jobs can also be used when trying to get a mortgage loan.

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