ROCKEFELLER, MANCHIN ANNOUNCE FEDERAL FUNDING FOR TWO ORGANIZATIONS IN WV TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Senators Jay Rockefeller and Joe Manchin today announced $173,125 in federal funding for two nonprofit organizations in West Virginia to support their efforts to provide affordable housing and home ownership advice for West Virginians.

“Home ownership is a true achievement for families,” said Rockefeller. “These organizations help make sure West Virginians can get the help they need to purchase a home if it makes financial sense for them, and also help families learn about what buying a home really means.  By enabling families in need to access less expensive housing and by offering counseling services, advice and even loans that help make ownership more affordable and understandable, these organizations are helping put so many West Virginians on the right foot. This funding isn’t just good news for these organizations, but also gives families in our state real opportunities to live in a place they can call home.”

“As the housing market continues to face a slow recovery, it is encouraging that these two organizations have offered West Virginians a chance to easily get the information they need to make informed decisions on how to find affordable housing for themselves and their families,” Manchin said.

The federal funding was awarded to NeighborWorks America, a public nonprofit organization established by Congress that leverages federal funds to invest in local NeighborWorks organizations across the United States. Over the past five years, NeighborWorks America and its network of state affiliates have invested $20.5 billion in communities across America, and provided more than 1.35 million families with affordable housing and homeownership counseling.

The below organizations received the following awards:

• $88,125 — CommunityWorks in West Virginia, Inc in Charleston: CommunityWorks in West Virginia works with its network of  27 member organizations to help provide affordable homes and housing services in all 55 of West Virginia’s counties. CommunityWorks offers technical assistance and training opportunities. It also provides development loans for its members and mortgage loans for customers of member organizations.
• $85,000 — HomeOwnership Center, Inc. in Elkins: HomeOwnership Center, Inc is a private, non-profit housing counseling agency and equal housing lender.  They help residents of Randolph and surrounding counties afford home ownership through credit and budget counseling, and access to mortgage options.