A Home of Their Own

Thanks to a partnership between the town of Manchester and the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA), Angel and Ruby Ruiz and their six children now have a home of their own.

By taking advantage of the new Pilot Downpayment Assistance and/or Closing Cost Program for Manchester, the couple, formerly from Coventry, closed on their first home on Strant Street in July.

The program, a coordinated effort between the town, CHFA, local lenders and real estate companies, utilizes federally funded Community Development Block Grant monies offering qualified buyers up to $4,000 from the town at zero percent interest to be used toward the downpayment and/or closing costs of the purchase of a home. For each year the buyer stays in the home, 20 percent of the loan is forgiven completely, thus creating an incentive to stay in the home for five years or longer. In addition, the program offers buyers a reduced first mortgage interest rate of 0.25 percent below CHFA's regular Homebuyer Mortgage Program rate for a 30-year term.

"[Ruiz] got a great rate with very little down," said Brian Pelletier, Residential Lending Specialist with First Niagara Financial Group, one of four particpating lenders in the program. The new program builds on an earlier succesful pilot rolled out through CHFA about four years ago by Pelletier, his sister and member of the town Board of Directors Cheri Pelletier, and former State Representative Ryan Barry. 

"We had in mind some targeted areas in town that were investor saturated, neighborhoods that needed revitalizing and the three of us got together to try to figure out what we could do for first time home buyers in those areas," said Pelletier. Because of the program, the town was able to obtain federal funding for infrastructure repairs such as street lighting, sidewalks and curbing in the targeted neighborhoods, he said.

Angel Ruiz said he and his wife were working with some of the big banks in the area when they met Pelletier and also Donna Connolly, an agent with Anne Miller Real Estate. The Ruiz's attended a workshop organized by the town for first time home buyers that broke down the program, helped them learn the lingo around home buying, and generally feel better prepared.

"After taking that workshop, we realized we could do this," said Angel Ruiz.

The two liked the idea of getting a little extra help to purchase a home large enough to accommodate their family in an area that also could benefit from home ownership.

"We've already painted the deck, and each day I try to do a little bit outside," said Angel Ruiz. "Sometimes when things aren't maintained, whole blocks and then communities can go down. You've got to do your share and be a part of the change," he said.

Rose Holbrook, marketing and customer service coordinator with CHFA, said the first pilot program allowed CHFA to assist in the purchase of 30 homes through $300,000 in earmarks from the Community Investment Act.

"It was a great success," Holbrook said. "Last year the town approached us again, expanding on the eligible areas in town."

The new pilot, for which the Ruiz family were the first to participate, uses CDBG funds which can be expected to produce another 30 loans.

According to the Program brochure, individuals and families may qualify if they have an annual income at or below 80 percent of the area median income set for the town of Manchester, adjusted for family size. The loans can be used to purchase a single-family home, a condominium unit or a two- to four-family owner-occupied dwelling. Additionally, all borrowers in the program are required to attend an eight-hour Homebuyer Education class before closing on their loans.

Connolly, who assisted the Ruiz family in finding a home in the targeted areas, said the process was smooth and easy with the entire process taking only about 30 days from the time the family put a bid on the home until closing.

"I'd have no reservations about doing this again," said Connolly. "This is a great program and I would definitely encourage anyone who qualifies for a CHFA loan to look in those [targeted] areas first to see if there might be a home that's right for them."

"One of our objectives in community development strategies is to increase home ownership, get resident landlords, and improve property conditions. All of these things go hand in hand," said Mark Pellegrini, Manchester's Director of Neighborhood Services and Economic Development. Pellegrini added that the mortgages offered through the program are "plain vanilla fixed-rate loans with no balloons."

"This program helps us to help a particular income group and improve utilities, parks and roads in some of our older core neighborhoods," he said.

While the heaviest part of the loan underwriting falls on CHFA, Holbrook said that before a property is put on the approved list for the program, it first must be visually inspected by the town to ensure there is no lead paint present.

"[The town] really went the distance and provided that extra layer of security that made us feel good about our decision," said Ruby Ruiz.

The town also assesses the prospective buyers on income guidelines and eligibility, providing a letter of approval to participating lenders. At the closing, the town provides the check for the grant amount which is recorded on the land records as a lien.

"It's really a win-win opportunity," said Holbrook. "A lot of these properties were landlord-owned rentals, but where there's home ownership in neighborhoods, there's more stability. We're hoping this second program will be as successful as the first," she said.

Added Angel Ruiz, "I think Manchester is a really great town, and one of the area's best kept secrets. It's affordable and there are all kinds of things to do here. The people are really nice, too. Already someone came over with cookies. I thought that only happened on T.V.," he said.

For more information about the Pilot Downpayment Assistance and/or Closing Cost Program for Manchester, contact the CHFA Customer Call Center at 1-860-571-3502.