Yesterday on August 3rd, I finally attended a NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) First-time Buyer Workshop. About a year ago or so, a co-worker of mine told me a little about the program. She never went through it but said she knows a friend who had. She said if she knew about when she bought her home years ago, she would have gone through NACA. I sign up for a workshop and have missed the workshop 4 times for various reasons until Saturday.
The workshop was held at the Main library downtown Baltimore at 10am. I was late, by 30 minutes but the program didn't start until almost 11. They first played an outdated video, good information but outdated in the sense of housing crimes, banks that no longer exist, outdated clothing, everything. I'm sorry if that's shallow, but I like updated videos for the current times. It’s like watching that sexual harassment video every workplace manager makes you watch and it's from the 80's. It's 2013, time to update.
After the video, a volunteer spoke about the process and a recent homebuyer spoke about her experience. Her experience is what made me say okay, i'll give it a chance. She and her husband were able to go thru the NACA program in 10 months and get the house of their dreams. Now that sounds like a long time, but to get a mortgage, that requires no downpayment and a low interest rate seems worth the wait. Another attendee told me her friend's process took 3 months. The workshop ended abruptly at 1p since another group had to use the library auditorium. We turned in our contact forms and left.
The information from the speakers was good. I am willing to give this program a chance. I will not go into details of the program since I do not work for NACA and do not want to screw up informaiton. I will say from what I gathered at the workshop, this program requires patience, organization and more patience. It is not just for people with bad credit or low income. It will not hurt to attend a workshop in your area. I will update after my first counseling session.
*********August 20th Update*********
About a week after the workshop, I received a welcome email. The email contained my ID and a link to reset my password. I could not log in to my account. I called and the lady informed me I had an appointment at 2p on the 20th. That doesnt work for me since I work standard business hours.
*********September 5th Update*********
Well, I decided to postpone my journey. Looking through the documents, we decided to save more (although NACA allows you to save while going thru the program) The worksheets are great, I recommend going online and downloading a copy of the book. My main reason for stopping at this point are bills and my savings account. I would like sometime next year with less bill and more $$$. Good luck to those on their journey!
