VHFA’s creative role in serving the needs of low and moderate-income home buyers is the focus of the “Creative Corner” in today’s Burlington Free Press. The author, VHFA’s Homeownership Outreach Coordinator Seth Leonard, describes the innovations that have been important for balancing sound underwriting and financial stability with mortgage products that “make more Vermonters’ dream of owning a home come true.”
In another article, reporter Dan D’Ambrosio examines home buying affordability and the importance of tools, such as shared equity programs, that help home buyers with limited down payment savings. Recent home buyers, lenders, and analysts, including VHFA’s Leslie Black-Plumeau, who were interviewed for the article describe today's marketplace challenges. Despite the improved mathematical affordability created by low interest rates, the article explains the practical realities of saving sizeable down payments and today's rigorous underwriting. The effect of low interest rates on affordability is also discussed in economist Art Woolf's regular column.
Read Leonard's article Future of home financing includes VHFA and D'Ambrosio's article Shared equity program helps bridge financial gap for homeowners.