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NALC President William H. Young and the union's Washington,
DC Branch 142 president, Joseph Henry, in a ceremony before
letter carriers at a U.S. Postal Service facility in the
nation's capital, launched a nationwide educational effort
to alert NALC members of the initiative created by the AFL-CIO
Housing Investment Trust in cooperation with Countrywide
Home Loans, Inc., a national leader in residential finance,
and Fannie Mae.
"Purchasing their own home
is the dream of most American workers, including letter
carriers, but they are often stymied by the difficulties
in saving enough for down payment and closing costs that
are necessary to qualify for the loan," Young said.
"This program not only helps to ease the initial
economic hardship, but also offers special counseling
so that those who are denied at first, can qualify for
a loan at a later date."
 Young
said the program will be especially helpful to letter carriers
in high cost-of-living areas where home prices are high,
with correspondingly higher down payment requirements. The
initiative can also be used for refinancing a loan. Young
emphasized that the HIT Home initiative is not a guarantee
of a loan for all NALC members that apply. Each would still
have to meet the required criteria, but assistance is available
to help individuals attain that goal.
Under the program, HIT HOME participants
receive $500 credit toward closing costs in high cost markets
of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington,
DC. In other areas of the nation, the credit is $250.
"Helping letter carriers
who reside in high cost of living areas has been a longtime
concern of the NALC," Young said. "I am pleased
this program will be of assistance in meeting that geographical
inequity."
Henry, whose local branch has over
2,300 members, said his local was ready to kickoff an information
campaign so that members can quickly avail themselves of
the initiative. The Washington, DC branch plans to host
a home buyer seminar on October 6.
"Purchasing a home
in a high-cost real estate market like Washington has
always been a problem," Henry said. "This initiative
could be the spark that leads a number of our members
to home ownership."
Carol Nixon, chief investment officer
for single family finance at the AFL-CIO Housing Investment
Trust said the organization was excited about the opportunity
to work with the NALC and its local branches.
"HIT HOME will provide NALC
members across the country with information about the
value of home ownership, the home buying process, and
real cost savings when purchasing a home or refinancing
an existing home mortgage," she said.
As part of the initiative, Countrywide
Home Loans will accept and process mortgage loan applications
from eligible borrowers. Fannie Mae, the nation's largest
source of financing of home mortgages, purchases all eligible
loans under the initiative and packages them into securities,
many of which are then purchased by the AFL-CIO Housing
Investment Trust.
"Fannie Mae applauds the
leadership of the National Association of Letter Carriers
for bringing such a valuable benefit to its members,"
said Charles Jones, chief program officer for Fannie Mae's
Washington, D.C. Partnership Office. "All of the
partners gathered here today recognize the importance
and value of home ownership. The Washington local branch
initiative will serve as a model for similar initiatives
in other HIT HOME cities."
Benefits to home buyers include the $250-$500
credit toward closing costs; a Working Family Mortgage which
shortens the length of the loan and saves thousands of dollars
in interest; fast up-front loan approvals for eligible borrowers;
a wide selection of competitive-priced home loans, including
zero-down payment programs; free home buyer education, and
a dedicated local staff and a toll-free, telephone line
with bilingual loan experts.
Countrywide originated more than 4,000
mortgages under the initiative since its inception for a
20-city pilot project in November 2000. Financing totaled
over $500 million. The program is open to some 13 million
members of the 68 affiliated unions of the AFL-C IO and
is expected to generate 10,000 loans with a total volume
of $1.2 billion in the next three years.
There are some 130 different mortgage programs
available at Countrywide Home Loans, ranging from a zero
down payment plan to those with minimal down-payment or
a plan to schedule automatic electronic deductions from
a borrower's bank account to coincide with paydays, allowing
the loan to be paid off sooner and saving thousands of dollars
in interest.
NALC members can obtain information about
the HIT HOME program by going to the union's website at
www.nalc.org or by calling Countrywide Home Loans
at 1-866-HIT-HOME.
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