Summer 2002
Keeping the GW Community Close to Home
Home Program Launched to Help Employees Live in the
District
By Matthew
Nehmer
GW has teamed with Riggs Bank, Fannie Mae, and the District of Columbia
Housing Finance Agency (HFA) to launch the “GW Home Program,”
a new benefit that will provide eligible faculty and staff the opportunity
to apply for down payment and/or closing cost assistance toward the
purchase of a primary residence in the District of Columbia.
The program, administered by GW’s Department of Human Resource
Services, also will assist prospective homebuyers through its Education
Resource Center, which will offer home-buying seminars, workshops, and
other housing resource materials.
To qualify for the program, GW employees must meet certain criteria
regarding length of employment and must hold a full-time faculty or
staff position. The employee must be seeking a primary residence in
Washington, DC, and they must be first-time home purchasers in DC. Eligible
staff and faculty may apply for financial assistance under the following
programs:
• The GW Loan Program — offering up to $5,000 for closing
and down payment costs assistance;
• Monetization Loan Program — based upon adjusted household
income, employees can receive from $2,500 to $5,000 in assistance;
• The Lender Credit Program — a $250 credit for the first
40 buyers to use towards settlement costs.
“Not only is our nation’s capital a great place to work and
teach but a great place to live,” says GW President Stephen Joel
Trachtenberg. “We established the GW Home Program to help faculty
and staff looking to buy their first home in the District of Columbia
make their dream a reality.”
Milton J. Bailey, executive director of HFA agrees. “We are sure
this comprehensive program will open the doors of homeownership for
University employees,” says Bailey. Through financing provided
by Fannie Mae, HFA will administer the GW Loan Program’s down payment
and closing cost assistance and conduct homebuyer education seminars.
So far interest in the program has been robust.
“We received about 50 calls in the first week,” says Yvette
Hicks, the program’s coordinator. “We are enthused and our
partners are enthused.”
The program’s Education Resource Center also will provide assistance
to employees in their search for properties within the District. In
addition to a full-time coordinator, the office will be staffed on a
regular basis with a representative of Riggs Bank, who will conduct,
on-site, one-on-one mortgage counseling for employees. Due to early
interest in the program, a home buying workshop is scheduled for June
20 and a Riggs Bank workshop is in the works for July.
For more information on the
workshops call 994-5369. Information on the program visit www.gwu.edu/~gwhome
or E-mail gwhome@gwu.edu.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
