SHREVEPORT, La., July 22, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Until
recently, Litasha Sloan lived in the
same neighborhood where she grew up. The 42-year-old hospital cook
and mother of two had been living in the same rental house for 10
years and wanted a home to call her own.
"I tried to buy the house from the landlord several times," said
Ms. Sloan. "Finally, I just decided it would be better to buy my
own home instead. I wanted something to call my own."
A Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) grant from Red
River Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) gave Ms. Sloan the
necessary capital for a down payment on the home. The $7,000 grant also helped with closing costs.
HELP grants are offered by FHLB Dallas through its member
financial institutions, like Red River Bank, to assist
income-qualified, first-time homebuyers with down payments and
closing costs on newly constructed or existing homes.
"There are many people who can afford to pay a monthly mortgage,
but are unable to save enough money for a down payment," said
Judy Madison, assistant vice
president of Community Outreach and Mortgage Lending at Red River
Bank. "Thankfully, the HELP grants assist with down payments and
closing costs, giving our customers the assistance they need to
become homeowners."
Ms. Sloan said her new three-bedroom home is a significant
upgrade to her previous home, which she described as very small,
with only two bedrooms. She also said that while she had been
saving money for a down payment for a new home, without the grant,
it would have taken her much longer to save the money.
In 2015, FHLB Dallas awarded $1
million in HELP grants that assisted 199 families. The
$1 million in 2016 HELP funding, made
available in January on a first-come, first-served basis, has been
exhausted. Since the program's inception in 2002, HELP grants
totaling more than $16.2 million have
assisted more than 3,100 families.
Greg Hettrick, first vice
president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said
HELP grants impact the community in more ways than one.
"In assisting income-qualified, first-time homebuyers purchase
their first home, FHLB Dallas is not only helping people achieve
the dream of homeownership, but we are also helping our member
institutions provide greater value to their customers," he
said.
Ms. Sloan enjoys owning her own home.
"Since buying this house, everyone in my family has said at some
point how proud they are of me," she said. "My mom, my dad, even my
kids, they all say they're happy for me. That's a good
feeling."
About Red River Bank
Red River Bank is a full service community bank headquartered in
Alexandria, LA. Red River Bank was
chartered in 1998 in Rapides
Parish and began operating its first banking center in
Alexandria in 1999. Red River Bank
offers consumer and commercial banking services and products,
mortgage lending services, and investment services. For more
information, logon to redriverbank.net.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the
FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total
assets of $49.5 billion as of
March 31, 2016, is a member-owned
cooperative that supports housing and community development by
providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to
approximately 850 members and associated institutions in
Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and Texas. For more
information, visit fhlb.com.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
www.fhlb.com
(214) 441-8445
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SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas