INHP (Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership) is Indianapolis’ only accredited agency that can teach and certify education hours for potential first time homeowners to be able to receive certain grant monies or qualify for special programs. In fact INHP receives all of the state and federal money for housing and they dispense them between different agencies state wide. I went to them when I became a HUD listing broker and talked to them about the importance of homebuyers understanding the process of buying a HUD or bank owned home and specifically what “as-is” means. They were receptive to the idea and I began developing a simple powerpoint.
INHP has now added my segment to their required classes that these potential homeowners must take. I teach a class at least every other Saturday here in town. I go over the simple version of how a home gets to be a foreclosure and how it gets on the market and that they are in the MLS like any other property. I talk to them about banks that are making full repairs to properties. That some banks will do minimal repairs to qualify for FHA. I explain that HUD homes can have money escrowed for repairs. I also talk about how FHA 203k loans can help them buy foreclosures. INHP has given me extremely positive feedback and I always receive lots of questions from the audience, which I love.
I am involved with them in fundraising as well. I really believe in this organization. I always tell them that I think every single person who is buying a house for the first time should go through the program whether they are getting assistance or not. INHP’s other classes involve:
- Inspector talking about the process also general maintenance things that a homeowner will need to know (such as how to service your water heater and changing furnace filters)
- IRS representative talking about how to claim the interest on your taxes and other improvements you can make that are write off’s
- Mortgage person explaining all of the types of loans that are available
- Realtor walking them through purchase agreements and counter offers
- CDC (Community Development Corporation) talking about grant money to buy or build housing in revitalization areas with subsidies
- Internal INHP person talking about all of the available help – First time homeowners get up to 15K for exterior upgrades in certain areas of the city. Downpayment assistance from INHP. Repairs loans that are forgiven to get a furnace or roof on your house if you stay there for three more years. Etc.
- Money person going through how to budget your monthly expenses with unknowns that come with owning a house.
- Title company that walks them through what happens at closing.
Not only do these classes allow me to give back to the community it also gives me a unique marketing position. At the end of each class, I usually have at least 10 people come to me and ask for my card. They want me to help them with their first time purchase of a home. It is a very rewarding feeling being involved with INHD, but it has also brought me a great amount of business I would not have otherwise had.
