GETTING CREATIVE WITH OUR MONEY: "Hawthorne Advantage" Program Approved, Plus Emergency Assistance For Hawthorne Homeowners

Photo By Bryan Thao Worra

The following information comes via email from Jeff Skrenes, Housing Director of Hawthorne, for immediate distribution...

On Thursday, January 8, the Hawthorne Neighborhood Council board approved two changes to its housing programs. First and foremost, the "Hawthorne Advantage" program for purchasers of owner-occupied houses in Hawthorne. Here's how it works:

Just for buying a house AND LIVING IN IT in Hawthorne, we'll help you out with 3 percent of the purchase price, up to $4,000. And if you buy a foreclosed or boarded/vacant property we'll kick in an additional $1,000.

This assistance will stay as a lien against the property for ten years, but has no monthly payments and ZERO interest. From year six through ten, the amount is forgiven at 20 percent a year until it is completely forgiven when you have stayed in our fine neighborhood for ten years.

Applying The Numbers

Let's put a real-life example or two into this. If you buy a $120,000 house in Hawthorne from another owner-occupant, you'll qualify for the maximum initial assistance amount of $4,000 (3 percent of sales price)

But let's say you find a $50,000 house that just went through foreclosure. (This may be high for foreclosed homes, but it makes the math easy) You'd quality for the 3 percent down payment help of $1,500 plus an additional $1,000 for turning a foreclosed property back to owner-occupied status. That winds up being 5 percent of the purchase price.

And guess what? You can use the Minneapolis Advantage $10,000 in combination with our assistance. Bearing in mind that both prices and interest rates are near record lows, and seeing all the great stuff we're doing in our neighborhood, I've got to ask: Why WOULDN'T you buy in Hawthorne?

(Easy, Jeff, you're not working in a bank on commissions anymore)

Rehab Loan Program Was Always Here, Nothing New

Our neighborhood also has an excellent loan program at 4 percent interest, repaid over ten years.

(Please note: Recently we figured out a lot of folks aren't aware of it, even folks who have been in Hawthorne for a while)

But if somebody has an emergency and can't qualify for that, we are still here to help.

Neighbors Taking Care Of Neighbors

On January 8, 2009, Hawthorne introduced an emergency assistance program. If your furnace goes out in the middle of winter and you have trouble getting access to money to address this or another similar emergency, Hawthorne now has a program to help. We will lend you up to $6,000 at zero interest, forgiven in the same way as the down payment program.

Come to Hawthorne! We'll help you get here and we take care of our neighbors.

(Thanks, Jeff. To add a minor historical footnote: I was the guy who came up with the name "Hawthorne Advantage" during a Hawthorne Housing subcommittee meeting, modeling the name after the "Minneapolis Advantage" program. Jeff Skrenes was kind to summarize the details in an email so this blog would have the honor of breaking the news about these new neighborhood programs)

(As for the picture...our acclaimed neighborhood poet, Bryan Thao Worra, does this with his bills when he leaves tips. This photo was taken at Broadway Pizza in the Hawthorne neighborhood)