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Homeownership Help is a Personal Mission
Housing
coordinator
assists local
minorities
Rita McCain-Walker sees herjob
as homeownership coordinator for
the Portland Development Commis
sion as a personal mission.
“I worked in the banking indus
try for 14 years, and I began to hear
all sorts of stories from people about
w hy they c o u ld n ’t b ecom e
homeowners,” she said.
McCain-Walker, who lived in
Milwaukee, Wis. at the time, be
came determined to change that.
She went to work for the Wisconsin
Housing and Economic Develop
ment Authority, where she spent
learn about financial management
as they purchased homes. Under
M cCain-W alker’s leadership, the
W isconsin H ousing and E co
nomic D evelopm ent Authority
became a major housing partner
in Milwaukee.
“I have a passion for this,” she
said. “I’m just really concerned
about people being able to afford
their own homes. I believe that if
you give people the ammunition
and knowledge to overcome the
obstacles, they can become suc
cessful homeowners.”
McCain-W alker brought that
passion to Portland when she
moved here in November to join
PDC. The appeal of warmer weather
Rita McCain-Walker shares a passion
-
Rita
McCain-Walker,
PDC
homeownership
coordinator
and
new experiences drew her to
for helping others attain the American
the
Rose
City, where she works
dream of owning a home.
with Portland’s diverse immigrant
more than 12 years assisting in a
McCain-W alker’s primary goal erate incomes. She played a cru community.
homeownership campaign to in was to increase hom eow nership cial role in establishing a Home
“My jo b here is to increase
crease opportunities for Milwau opportunities for minority bor Buyer Education Program that homeownership overall, and espe
kee residents.
rowers and those on low to m od helped thousands o f fam ilies cially for minorities and immigrants
My job here is
to increase
homeownership
overall, and especially
fo r minorities and
immigrants coming
into the city.
coming into the city,” she said. “If
you look at the loan programs, it’s
particularly the African-American
and Hispanic populations that are
not getting the loans. There are
some good programs out there, but
we need to connect with those com
munities and let them know about
them.”
PD C’s commitment to increas
ing hom eow nership opportuni
ties and its partnerships with other
housing agencies bode well for
the success of its outreach ef
forts in a housing market where
home prices are on the rise and
many people are struggling eco
nomically, she said.
“There a lot of challenges, but
they are good challenges,” McCain-
Walker said. "The first thing we
have to do is get people to see that
homeownership is something they
can achieve. There are products
and money out there, but they have
to know they can do this.”
MM MMHMMMNM
Spring Weather Brings Con Artists Civic Leader Guides Housing Panel
Homeowners
beware of home
improvement
scams
Along with the warm weather of
spring often come the home im
provement scams.
Con artists show up at your door
offering an array of services from
repaving your driveway to roof re
pair, and usually demand a hefty
down payment up front. They might
offer a “great deal,” based on using
materials left over from a previous
job, but homeowners should re
member that a “great deal” isn’t
always what it seems.
Frequently, these fly-by-night
operators drive vehicles with out-
of-state license plates or set up
temporary offices from which they
can move quickly once authorities
start looking for them.
Before writing that check, and
especially before allowing any un
known individual into your home,
the National Association of the
Remodeling Industry suggests that company that wants your business
you follow these tips:
will be more than willing to allow
Get the name and address of the you the time to do your homework.
company the person allegedly rep Don’t fall prey to high-pressure
resents; get all details of the offer in tactics such as “this is the only
writing and carefully review it; un chance you have” or “by tomorrow
derstand everything in the con the extra materials will be gone."
tract and that any verbal promises
Be skeptical if anyone comes to
your door unsolicited; uses high-
pressure sales tactics; requests full
puymeut. before .completing,,the,
work; gives a post office box with
out a street address or phone num
ber; and promises to begin and
complete the work more quickly
and cheaply than any other com
pany.
Beware if the solicitor says they
ju s t fin ish e d w ork on your
neighbor’s house and have just
enough materials to do repair work
on yours; or they might say they
made are included in the contract. can give you a better bargain if you
Determine how long the com let them do the work today since
pany has been in business and call they have the supplies now.
organizations with which the con
For more infromation call the
tractor is affiliated, such as N ARI or NARI National hotline at 800-611-
other trade associations to deter 6274 and request a free brochure,
mine the firm’s legitimacy. Ask for “How to Select a Remodeling
references and contact each one. P r o f e s s io n a l”
or
v is it
Remember that any legitimate www.RemodelToday.com.
Remember that
any legitimate
company that wants
your business will
be more than willing
to allow you the
time to do your
homework.
vice president for development
at Cornerstone Development
Co.
Her experience in affordable
housing ranges from work at
the Boston Housing Authority
in the 1960s to serving as a
founding board member and now
chair emeritus of the Oregon
Corporation of Affording Hous- *
ing, which does business as
Homestead Capital.
Harriet Cormack
PCRfl
Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc.
Meeting the affordable housing needs o f the community.
4829 NE MLK, Portland, OR 97211
(503) 288-2923
Homeownership
Is Possible
, In a society in which the minority
population finds itself constantly
struggling to close the gap of eco
nomic segregation, it is no surprise
that while the Census Bureau re
ports a 68 percent homeownership
rate among Americans, less than 50
percent of African Americans fall
A community leader with a
strong history of civic service
recently joined the Housing
Authority of Portland’s Board
of Commissioners.
Harriet Cormack is retired
from 25 years in private and
public service real estate man
agement and development.
,She previously served as di
rector of the Portland Center
for Performing Arts and as
w w w.pcrihotne.org
Harold Strong
fflÊ
L* f i i
Broker
> (503)780-4094
Fax:(503)671-0121 • Office: (503) 671-0221
Address: Washington Square Office; 9020 SW Washington Sq. Dr # 100;
Portland. OR 97223
E-Mail: harolds@iohnscott.coni
John L. Scott PTL • Washington Square Office
This office is independently owned and operated
**N0W TAKING RENTAL APPLICATIONS**
MONDAY-FRIDA Y 8:30am-5:0()pm
t=2
3uhn i. Scott
REAL7 ESTATE
, Wade
Timmerson,
author o f a
homebuying
guide for new
investors.
TH E T O T A L VALUE OF OUR P R O D U C T
into that category.
The American dream, for all
Americans, may not be as out of
reach as it appears. Real estate in
vestment is the means by which
Wade Timmerson not only makes a
living, but by which he is able to
genuinely help people who think
their dreams are not attainable.
Through a process called “rent to
own," many who believed the road
to owning a home was riddled with
insurm ountable obstacles have
made the trip successfully.
Negative or non-existent credit,
inconsistent job histories are some
of the challenges that hinder poten
tial hom eow ners, according to
Timmerson. These can also make
them good candidates for a rent to
own sale.
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The thing about num bers is, they usually d o n ’t tell the whole story. Take the ones
on y o u r gas m eter. O h su re, they m easu re how m uch n a tu ra l gas you use.
But they d o n ’t factor in ev erything th a t’s available to you, at no extra charge.
Like the person who’ll com e out to your hom e to make sure all your gas equipm ent
is w orking safely an d efficiently. O r rebates an d fin a n c in g p la n s th a t m ake
installing high-efficiency gas e q u ip m e n t sim ple a n d affordable. O r pay m en t
plans that m ake household budgeting easier. You u n d erstan d , th e re ’s no way we
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helpful N W N atural p ro g ra m s, visit n w n a tu ra l.c o m , o r call 1-800-927-6123.
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