HomeChoice Makes
Collector’s Dream
a Reality
G U L F P O R T , M I S S I S S I P P I
Eddie and Judy Davis both are visually
impaired and have had the same lifelong
desire to own a home. Through the Home of
Your Own program, a network of organiza-
tions dedicated to empowering people with
disabilities to own their own homes, Eddie
and Judy, with their children Tim and
Sharon, moved into a spacious home in a “This home has made many of our
quiet neighborhood. dreams a reality,” said Judy. “It’s wonderful
Ernestine Bilbrew, assistant vice presi- to have enough room to display my doll
Pictured left to right are Cassie Hicks, Miss. Home of Your
dent and community lending officer for Own; Ernestine Bilbrew, Trustmark Mortgage Services; collection and comforting to be part of a
homeowners Judy and Eddie Davis; Maura Phillips,
Trustmark Mortgage Services, thought Fannie Mae’s Mississippi Partnership Office; and Mike community.”
Montgomery with Miss. Home of Your Own.
Fannie Mae’s HomeChoice mortgage loan
would be ideal for the Davises. HomeChoice
live with family members with disabilities to
is designed to enable low- and moderate-
buy homes.
income borrowers who have disabilities or
“HomeChoice is an exceptional option
for people with disabilities,” said Ernestine.
“When we closed on this loan, the joy the
Davises felt was incredible. It was the far-
thest thing from their minds to own their
own home.”
HomeChoice borrowers make down
payments from $500 up to 2 percent of the
home’s sales price, depending upon their
income. Qualification for HomeChoice con-
siders a borrower’s household budget
instead of strict reliance on traditional
Pictured are homeowners Judy and Eddie Davis (center),
debt-to-income ratios.
and children Tim and Sharon Murray.
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Shown are (left to
right) Carolyn Loan,
executive director,
Affordable Accessible
Homes;
Lisa Contreras,
w
Margie Saunders and
community lending, her son, Joseph.
Bank One Mortgage;
Margie Saunders; and
Elisa de la Vara with
Fannie Mae’s Phoenix
Partnership Office.
O
“
wning a home has always been a dream for Joseph and me,”
says Margie Saunders, a single mom and first-time home buyer who is
a sergeant in the United States Air Force. Margie and her disabled son,
Joseph, 17, moved into their own fully accessible home in a Phoenix suburb,
thanks to Fannie Mae’s HomeChoice mortgage loan. HomeChoice loans are designed to
meet the needs of low- to moderate-income people who have disabilities or family members
with disabilities living with them.
The Phoenix Partnership Office worked for 18 months to make the loan possible by helping to form a HomeChoice Coalition
that supports homeownership opportunities for people with disabilities, a prerequisite for HomeChoice lending. The Partnership Office
also partnered with Affordable Accessible Homes (AAH), the lead organization of the HomeChoice Coalition, and with Bank One Mortgage,
Fannie Mae’s exclusive HomeChoice lender partner in Arizona. This resulted in AAH securing a line of credit to facilitate $10,000 in
accommodations to the home.
According to Lisa Contreras with Bank One Mortgage, “Fannie Mae approved Bank One for HomeChoice mortgages in Arizona.
We use this program with the help of AAH.”
As for Margie, she’s feeling blessed. “I don’t have to worry about Joseph now because he can get around everywhere. He loves it!”
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Frank Landy (center) is joined by
Heyward Bannister (right) with
Fannie Mae’s South Carolina
Partnership Office, and David
Garrett with Homeowners
Mortgage Enterprises, Inc.
V ietnam veteran Frank Landy is confined to a wheelchair. Until
last November, he lived with his sister in a house where he could enter only
w
Frank Landy, in front of his
one or two rooms. “I couldn’t even get in the bathroom,” he said. handicapped accessible home,
financed with Fannie Mae’s
Thanks to Fannie Mae, the Veterans Administration, and Homeowners Mortgage Construction to Permanent
Enterprises, Inc., Mr. Landy’s living space is no longer confined. He owns a new handicapped- 2000 product.
accessible home, his first, in his hometown of Wagener, South Carolina. It was financed with Fannie Mae’s Construction
to Permanent 2000 mortgage product.
“If Fannie Mae had not been willing to make an exception for the lender, this loan would not have been possible,” said Heyward
Bannister, director of Fannie Mae’s South Carolina Partnership Office. The modifications made to the home to make it handicapped
accessible, combined with the rural location, made it impossible to get an adequate appraisal. “Fannie Mae’s flexibility and willingness
to grant a variance on the loan-to-value really made it possible for Mr. Landy to get the loan,” said David Garrett, vice president of
construction lending for Homeowners Mortgage.
Mr. Landy says being self-sufficient changes everything. “It’s hard when you can’t even get in and out of the bathroom. Having
someplace where you can get around makes life a whole lot better.”
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