ATLANTA - Through an exciting partnership with Wells Fargo, Resources for Residents and Communities (RRC) is working to restore the dream - one homeowner at a time. Thanks to a generous $200,000 grant from Wells Fargo, RRC is assisting homeowners who are facing foreclosure. Under Restoring the Dream, homeowners who have undergone foreclosure prevention counseling with RRC and have received a permanent loan modification or entered a repayment plan are eligible to apply for mortgage assistance. Homeowners may qualify for up to two disbursements from RRC, not exceeding $2,500.
To mark the merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia in the Atlanta area in 2010, Wells Fargo announced charitable donations to Atlanta-based organizations - RRC being one of those. With its $200,000 grant from Wells Fargo, RRC launched the Restoring the Dream project, through which it plans to disburse funds to hundreds of eligible clients. Restoring the Dream helps homeowners retain their dream of owning a home and provides a reprieve for many who are experiencing financial instability during these tough economic times.
Eligible homeowners must demonstrate responsibility and accountability. The homeowners must prove that they have made three consecutive payments on their loan modification on their own, and they are required to undergo housing counseling and education. After participating in educational workshops and demonstrating financial savvy, if clients are approved, they then receive up to two mortgage payments.
The recipients of the financial disbursements are also working closely with RRC to make financial fitness a long-lasting component of their homeownership goals. Sha'ron Jones, an RRC client who received a Restoring the Dream disbursement, considers the assistance a godsend. "Since I have been blessed with the grant award I will use the money to pay down some of my credit cards so that my monthly payments can be reduced and I can have total control of my finances and start repairing my credit and [enhancing] my financial portfolio," said Jones of Tyrone.
Another Restoring the Dream recipient, Sherley Aguayo of Stone Mountain, also received assistance from RRC. "I have been unemployed for about two years," said Aguayo, "and staying financially stable has been a huge struggle and a constant task. We have, however, been able to maintain payments on our mortgage thanks to the assistance of RRC."
While this assistance enables homeowners such as Aguayo to keep up with mortgage payments, it also provides a much-needed respite in today's economic climate, according to RRC's HomeOwnership Center Manager Tia McCoy.
"With guidance from RRC's housing counselors, some program participants are able to take advantage of the reprieve during the one- or two-month period that mortgage payments are provided on their behalf," said McCoy. "They're able to get caught up on other financial responsibilities, to save for future unexpected events and to establish a new level of financial stability that some of them have not had for many months and even years."