Nehemiah Corporation of America launches Web community to amass surge in support for seller-funded downpayment assistanceMortgagePress.comNehemiah Corporation of America, downmpayment assistance, DPA
Nehemiah Corporation of America announced the launch of www.DPAGroundSwell.org, a
Web-based community established to mobilize the growing industry
opposition to the October 1 ban on seller-funded downpayment
assistance (SF-DPA). The ban on these programs was written into law
by President Bush when he signed HR 3221 Housing and Economic
Recovery Act of 2008 on July 30, 2008.
The site will bring together families and individual homeowners
as well as industry groups and local members of the real estate
market including brokers, bankers, lenders, homebuilders and others
to provide a central information and communication hub to fight the
ban.
"Since the passage of the Housing Bill, we have been contacted
by families, industry groups and individuals voicing concern about
the long-term impact of this ban on themselves and their
communities," said Scott Syphax, president and CEO of Nehemiah
Corporation. "When the Bill passed, we pledged to continue to fight
for these programs, and DPAGroundSwell.org is an important tool
that will enable us to harness the swell of industry dissent
against the ban by empowering individuals at all levels to
influence public-policy decisions. We encourage everyone to visit
the site find out how to get involved."
To date, SF-DPA programs have provided more than one million
credit-worthy families with the downpayment necessary to qualify
for a 3% FHA-insured mortgage and helped them realize the dream of
homeownership. Nehemiah Corporation of America is the largest and
oldest provider of SF-DPA, and has provided more than $1 billion in
gifts to 300,000 working-class families in the last decade.
Importantly, the site enables visitors to directly contact local
representatives and offer support for a bill introduced by Reps.
Maxine Waters, Gary Miller, Al Green and Christopher Shays on July
31, 2008, that would reinstate SF-DPA. If passed and signed into
law, the FHA Seller-Financed Downpayment Reform and Risk-Based
Pricing Authorization Act of 2008 (HR 6694) will allow downpayment
assistance to continue indefinitely.
This Web site has been built as a "participation-platform" and
includes strategic content to spark discussion, drive traffic to
the campaign Web site and harness creativity, information sharing,
and most importantly, collaboration among SF-DPA stakeholders and
supporters. By bringing together tools to engage Congress and the
Administration such as video sharing, micro-blogging, and more, www.DPAGroundSwell.org
provides a forum for everyday citizens to ensure that their voices
are heard on this important issue.
"More than 75,000 letters have already been generated through
this campaign," continued Mr. Syphax. "We expect to top 250,000
individual actions in the next 50 days, all helping us to save and
reform SF-DPA for the millions of potential homebuyers who need
this important program, in addition to the industry members who
rely upon this assistance to help candidates worthy of
homeownership."
For more information, visit www.nehemiahcorp.org.
