FREDDIE MAC, CHASE, TEJANO CENTER, NAHREP WORK TOGETHER TO INCREASE FINANCIAL LITERACY, HOMEOWNERSHIP IN HOUSTON

CreditSmart® Español Financial Literacy Workshops Offered

McLean, VA – To help prepare Houston's fast-growing Hispanic community for the financial responsibilities of homeownership, Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), Chase Home Finance, the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) and the Tejano Center for Community Concerns are working together to help Latinos overcome the barriers to homeownership.

This unique initiative addresses the barriers to homeownership in the Houston Latino community, which include lack of credit, language and cultural barriers, and lack of information about the homebuying process. The initiative combines homeownership education and counseling with flexible credit mortgage products for families who think that homeownership is out of their reach.

"Financial literacy is one of the keys to success in life, and homeownership is the most prominent means for families in America to build lasting wealth," said Craig Nickerson, vice president of Expanding Markets for Freddie Mac. "With this initiative, we are addressing both needs and are helping to narrow the homeownership gap for Hispanic families." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the total homeownership rate in Houston is 61 percent, compared to 47 percent for Hispanics.

As part of this initiative, NAHREP members will conduct the Freddie Mac-developed CreditSmart® Español consumer education workshops at local churches and community organizations. The Tejano Center, a nonprofit housing counseling agency, will help families develop a work plan to address any financial and credit issues they may have, as well as provide pre- and post-home purchase counseling.

Once individuals have completed the workshops and are ready to apply for a mortgage, they will work with Chase Home Finance, which offers mortgage products with flexible downpayment options.

"Our partnership today represents a significant step to increasing homeownership and providing financing options for Houston's Latino community," said Ron Branch, vice president and regional manager of community lending at Chase Home Finance. "We know this joint effort will work because we have the right people with the right focus and dedication to improve the quality of life for these consumers. We realize that being underserved is not simply a matter of economic status, but rather matters of outreach, access to information and having the tools and resources to effect change."

Manuel Lopez, executive director, Tejano Center for Community Concerns, added, "Tejano Center's mission, to improve opportunities for children and families, is being fulfilled through this CreditSmart-driven initiative. What better way to open doors for children and families than though an opportunity for homeownership? In addition to creating wealth, it provides a household with roots, a sense of belonging, and emotional stability. We are proud to say that our partnership with Freddie Mac, Chase Home Finance and NAHREP has served to expand our outreach capabilities, to increase our client numbers, and our capacity to meet the housing needs of our community."

Marisol Moreno, media committee chair, NAHREP Houston, said, "NAHREP, in cooperation with the aforementioned entities, has been created precisely to educate any professional interested in working with the Hispanic/Latino community. As a result of this approach, professionals are helping individuals attain the American dream of home ownership in a much more understandable and comprehensive way with the extraordinary support of CreditSmart Español. Education is one mechanism to achieve a vision for the consumer and for the well-informed practitioner. Being part of NAHREP, the real estate professionals receive the proper training to work with the Latino people communicating their knowledge in a more convinced manner; consequently obtaining more confidence from their clients. Education is knowledge; knowledge is power."

The CreditSmart Español bilingual curriculum is designed to help increase consumers' financial literacy by providing life-long money management skills. It provides important information about credit and credit management, insight into how lenders assess credit histories, and how credit plays a profound role in achieving one's financial goals, like renting an apartment, buying a car or home, or getting a job.

The curriculum is taught in workshops every Sat. from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at The Tejano Center for Community Concerns located at 2950 Broadway in Houston. Classes are taught in English and Spanish. For more information about attending a workshop, call 713-673-1080.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and nearly four million renters in America.

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