As Philadelphia grapples with COVID-19 economic recovery, $5
million effort helps more than 300 low- and moderate-income
residents with home down payment assistance
Sixty-two percent of Philadelphia households spend at least 30%
of their income on housing costs. The problem is particularly acute
for renters with incomes below $30,000 per year, with 68% of them
paying at least 50% of their income toward housing, according to
The Pew Charitable Trusts.
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Joyce Bell received home down payment
assistance at the Philadelphia NeighborhoodLIFT event in 2016.
Today’s expansion of the NeighborhoodLIFT program follows similar
initiatives in 2012 and 2016 that created more than 1,000
homeowners in Philadelphia with a combined $16 million provided by
Wells Fargo. (Photo: Wells Fargo)
To address this ongoing issue, vice chairman of Wells Fargo
Public Affairs Bill Daley announced the NeighborhoodLIFT® program
today in front of the West Philadelphia home of Roy Washington, who
received down payment assistance at a previous LIFT initiative in
Philadelphia. The $5 million LIFT collaboration is funded by the
Wells Fargo Foundation to boost homeownership in Philadelphia for
low- and moderate-income individuals in collaboration with
NeighborWorks® America and its network member Neighborhood Housing
Services (NHS) of Greater Berks, Inc. The NeighborhoodLIFT program
will offer $15,000 in down payment assistance to approximately 300
eligible homebuyers. NeighborWorks network members New Kensington
Community Development Corp. (NKCDC) and HACE are also partners in
the program and will provide required homebuyer education.
“Housing affordability has been an issue for some time in
Philadelphia, and the pandemic intensified the fact that too many
people are paying a significant portion of their income on rent and
mortgages,” said Bill Daley, vice chairman of Wells Fargo Public
Affairs. “This initiative will make a positive impact on the lives
of families by putting them on a pathway to housing stability,
wellness, and wealth accumulation through successful
homeownership.”
LIFT programs have created more than 1,000 Philadelphia
homeowners
Today’s expansion of the NeighborhoodLIFT program is Wells
Fargo’s 81st LIFT launch and follows similar Philadelphia
initiatives in 2012 and 2016 that created more than 1,000
homeowners with a combined $16 million provided by Wells Fargo. The
2021 expansion of the initiative in Philadelphia includes $250,000
for 500 people to receive home ownership counseling so they can
learn how to navigate the home purchasing process and determine how
to best budget for ongoing homeownership costs.
“This important collaboration will assist more than 300
homeowners while maintaining social distancing guidelines via a
virtual platform,” said Joanie Straussman Brandon, regional vice
president, Northeast Region, NeighborWorks America. “In addition,
the required homebuyer education provided by trained professionals
will help homebuyers better understand financial commitments of
homeownership, from differences in mortgage loans, to property
taxes, and more.”
Roy Washington and his fiancée, Tanya, purchased a home through
the LIFT program in Philadelphia in 2013. “The LIFT process was
very helpful. They told us what steps we needed to take to buy a
house and financial things we needed to put in place,” said
Washington. “Now I have peace of mind that I can do what I want.
It’s a blessing to have something to call your own. God is good all
the time.”
Eligible homebuyers must earn 80% or less of family median
income in Philadelphia, as determined by the Federal Financial
Institutions Examination Council. In Philadelphia the income limit
is $54,000 for all borrowers. Participating homebuyers can obtain
mortgage financing from any participating NeighborhoodLIFT lender,
and NHS of Greater Berks, Inc. will determine eligibility and
administer the down payment assistance.
“We are ready to help more Philadelphians bounce back from the
pandemic and achieve successful and sustainable homeownership,”
said Daniel Sansary, executive director, NHS of Greater Berks, Inc.
“NeighborhoodLIFT is a unique program and we are thrilled to have
it back in our community for a third time to help people transition
to homeownership.”
Homebuyers can view a list of participating lenders, learn about
the steps to apply for down payment assistance, and sign-up for
homebuyer education with a HUD-approved provider at
www.phillylift.org. Applications for down payment assistance may be
submitted beginning Monday, Oct. 11, 2021, at 9 a.m. ET.
Committed to housing affordability
Since 2012, Wells Fargo has invested $521 million in
NeighborhoodLIFT and other LIFT programs to help more than 25,100
Americans become homeowners through the purchase of more than $4.86
billion in real estate on an aggregate basis. While the LIFT
program is focused on serving low- and moderate-income families
regardless of race or ethnicity, the majority of LIFT homeowners
represent Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with 25% of all
LIFT down payment assistance recipients self-identifying as Black
homeowners and 29% representing Hispanic households.
These grants are part of Wells Fargo’s housing affordability
philanthropic commitment to address community needs in response to
COVID-19. Since March of last year, Wells Fargo has provided more
than $25 million in grant funding to national nonprofit housing and
legal assistance organizations in support of housing counseling,
renter stabilization, and eviction avoidance.
About NeighborWorks America and its network members
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks, NKCDC, and HACE
are chartered members of NeighborWorks America, a national
organization that creates opportunities for people to live in
affordable homes, improve their lives, and strengthen their
communities. NeighborWorks America supports a network of nearly 250
nonprofits, located in every state, the District of Columbia, and
Puerto Rico. Visit www.nhsgb.org, www.nkcdc.org, www.hacecdc.org,
or www.neighborworks.org to learn more.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a leading financial
services company that has approximately $1.9 trillion in assets,
proudly serves one in three U.S. households and more than 10% of
small businesses in the U.S., and is the leading middle market
banking provider in the U.S. We provide a diversified set of
banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as
consumer and commercial finance, through our four reportable
operating segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial
Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth &
Investment Management. Wells Fargo ranked No. 37 on Fortune’s 2021
rankings of America’s largest corporations. In the communities we
serve, the company focuses its social impact on building a
sustainable, inclusive future for all by supporting housing
affordability, small business growth, financial health, and a
low-carbon economy. News, insights, and perspectives from Wells
Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. Additional
information may be found at www.wellsfargo.com | Twitter:
@WellsFargo.
News Release Category: WF-PESG – Philanthropy &
ESG
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Stephanie Grant, 760-317-6505
Stephanie.Grant2@wellsfargo.com
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC)
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