Bank of America Invests
$1.5 million in Home HeadQuarters’ FlexFund Home Improvement
Loan Program

Bank of America, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, recently committed $1.5 million in lending capital to Home HeadQuarters’ FlexFund Home Improvement Loan Program. The Bank of America lending capital will allow Home HeadQuarters to assist Central New York homeowners in need of property repairs or energy-efficiency improvements, but lack enough equity on their homes to borrow from traditional lending institutions. To date, more than 1400 Central New York homeowners have taken advantage of the program, borrowing more than $16 million for improvements such as new roofs, windows, added insulation and new furnaces.

In addition to the $1.5 million in lending capital, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation has also provided $30,000 in grants to Home HeadQuarters since 2008, to support the administration of this program, as well as other HHQ services, including: homebuyer education, pre-purchase homebuyer counseling, post-purchase homeownership counseling and financial fitness programs. Bank of America’s support of Home HeadQuarters, Inc., is part of the company’s commitment to homeownership and neighborhood preservation and aid for distressed homeowners.

Prospect Hill – "Plan B"

Home HeadQuarters, along with neighborhood partners St. Joseph’s HHC, the MDA, Housing Visions and the North McBride Neighbors Association, were dismayed when the Prospect Hill Neighborhood Plan didn’t receive RESTORE NY funding, but a “Plan B” was immediately implemented. With the help of Senator DeFrancisco and a Downtown Heritage Award along with NYS Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding, Home HeadQuarters is focusing renewed efforts on Hickory Street where the plan encompasses blighted property removal, property rehabilitation and new homebuyer incentives.

Loan Amnesty Week

If the holiday season or employment challenges made it difficult to keep up on your monthly payments, Home HeadQuarters is offering a ONE-TIME opportunity to waive your late fees (not including NSF fees) and bring your account current.

Beginning Tuesday, February 16th to Friday, February 19th and for a special time on Saturday, February 20th from 10am-1pm, Home HeadQuarters staff will be available, in person, to accept loan payments. Payments must be in the form of a money order, no personal checks or cash will be accepted.

Call or email now to make an appointment to take advantage of Loan Amnesty Week: (315) 474-1939 x258 or info@homehq.org.

New Westcott Neighborhood Homeowners

Kimberly Bolen and Jesse Daino made sure that this was a Christmas they won’t soon forget. Not only did the couple celebrate the Holidays in their newly purchased first home, they also got engaged on Christmas Eve during a gathering at their house.

Now, after Christmas, the newly-minted beaming fiancées sit in their new living room and still express some shock at how everything has turned out. Both Kimberly and Jesse repeatedly speak about how easy they found the home buying process after their initial forays and how their Home HeadQuarters’ rehabbed house in the Westcott neighborhood is everything they hoped for and more.

“When we first started looking for a home, we would look in our price range and realize that we would have to sink so much money into making the house livable that it wasn’t worth it.” said Kimberly. “And the banks wouldn’t return our phone calls in any case.”

Sharon Owens

As many of you may already know, Sharon Owens Home HeadQuarters’ HomeOwnership Director recently accepted the position of Deputy Commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development for the City of Syracuse. While we’ll miss Sharon (on a daily basis!), we know the city is moving in a great direction and our neighborhoods will only benefit from all of her first-hand experience in homeownership, foreclosure and resident issues.

A Good Search

Next time you’re searching for something on the internet, go to www.goodsearch.com and put your searching to good use. By using www.goodsearch.com as your search engine and designating Home HeadQuarters as your charity of choice, Good Search will direct a portion of their advertising dollars to charity. Every search can earn Home HeadQuarters a penny, which doesn’t sound like much, but can add up throughout the year. Try it today--every little bit helps!

Home HeadQuarters is a not-for-profit organization committed to creating housing and related opportunities that improve the lives of underserved Central and Upstate New York people and revitalize the communities in which they live. Established in 1996, Home HeadQuarters offers Nationally-certified Homebuyer Education for first time homebuyers, financial and homeownership counseling, Foreclosure Prevention and real estate planning and development. Home HeadQuarters is also one of the largest regional providers of affordable home and energy improvement loans and grants to area homeowners.