Quite often, Realtors® will get together and help with programs that benefit their communities.

In November, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) recognized the city of Fort Smith for a program which Realtors® have been heavily involved with for a decade – the City of Fort Smith Homebuyers Assistance Program. That program – which was formed by the Crawford-Sebastian Community Development Council, the city and the Fort Smith Board of Realtors® – was put together in an attempt to help people in need of a little help.

The NAR is impressed by the program and named Fort Smith a 2007 Ambassador City. Since 1997, over 200 families have purchased homes with the assistance of the program. The NAR and the U.S. Conference of Mayors launched the Ambassadors for Cities Program in 2004 to encourage cities and local Realtor® associations to form partnerships to promote homeownership and increase affordable housing in their communities.

Sharla Lau -- a Greenwood and Fort Smith Realtor®, 2005 ARA president and an NAR director – said the program is a boon primarily to first time homebuyers who have damaged credit or can’t come up with the down payment necessary to secure a mortgage. She said there are plenty of local, state and national resources available to homebuyers in need of assistance, and the program helps put prospective homeowners in touch with those resources.

Lau pointed out that, often, people run into credit trouble over medical bills or other major events that sap their finances. People with credit problems are typically hard working and can easily afford a mortgage, so the Homebuyers Assistance Program is a great way for those individuals to secure a good home at a low interest rate.

Also, she said Realtors® participating in the program can help find resources for individuals having trouble coming up with down payments – a common problem among younger couples just starting careers and having difficulty saving money.

Lau said another feature of the program is the requirement that applicants go through a credit counseling class. Through credit counseling, Lau said, people can learn how to avoid credit trouble and learn what they need to do to repair spotty credit histories.

In addition to the importance of good credit, Lau said the class teaches about the responsibilities of home ownership. For example, budgeting for home maintenance is addressed, as is the fact that property taxes and home insurance are often lumped in with a mortgage payment and people need to consider that when thinking about how much owning a home will actually cost.

Lau said the Home Assistance Program stands as evidence of the types of things Realtors® can get involved in as a group. Home ownership is an important part of the “American dream,” and Lau said helping people realize that dream is a worthwhile endeavor.

She pointed out the program is particularly needed by people worried about credit or down payments. Those prospective buyers may have, in the past, resorted to dealing with high risk mortgage brokers. There is still a lot of money out there for people having trouble securing traditional, 30 year mortgages. The program was set up to help people find those sources of money and obtain fixed rate mortgages with low interest rates.