BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – Windham & Windsor Housing Trust (WWHT) is here to help you become a homeowner. The first step is to familiarize yourself with the homebuying process. Their homebuyer education workshop and program are encouraged for anyone becoming a homeowner, regardless of income. There are a couple options for the course, as well as downpayment assistance information. The next step will be to meet with one of their specialists, who will help you define a budget as you start searching for your home, whether through their shared equity program or through traditional market sales.
Homebuyer education workshops
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust is now offering an interactive homebuyer education workshop both in person and via Zoom. Find a home that fits your family and your budget. There is a registration fee per household, which includes a one-on-one financial counseling session after you’ve completed the course. Homeownership specialists will analyze your credit and budget, and guide you through the process of buying a home. If you’re a current WWHT resident who is up to date on rental payments, your fee is waived.
In the workshops, you’ll learn about grants and other down payment assistance, as well as which type of mortgage is right for you. Attending the workshop plus meeting with a homeownership specialist will meet the prepurchase requirement for most lenders.
All courses are on Saturdays, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., for all classes held in person and via Zoom. The schedule of classes and registration is available on the WWHT website, www.homemattershere.org.
After the workshop, household members must meet at least once with a homeownership specialist in order to receive a lender-required certificate of completion. At that time, households can receive one complimentary tri-merge credit report, which will not affect your scores, to review with the specialist. There is no charge for meetings with homeownership specialists for ongoing support through the homebuying process.
For questions or to register, please contact jpaquette@homemattershere.org, or visit the WWHT website.
Homebuyer education online courses
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust also offers homebuyer education courses online. These are self-paced online workshops available 24/7 through eHome America. Completing the workshop and meeting with a homeownership specialist meets the prepurchase requirement for most lenders. This course has the same registration fee as the in-person course.
Mortgage and loan assistance
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust offers down payment assistance to income-eligible homebuyers through its shared equity program. They provide grants to assist you in purchasing an eligible single-family home of your choice, and work with you to obtain a mortgage loan from a local bank. They can also discuss other down payment assistance programs during one-on-one counseling sessions. These include USDA Direct Loans which do require a down payment, ASSIST loans from VHFA, First Generation grants, Equity Builder grants, and other programs from Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and others.
For more loan assistance information, contact home ownership program coordinator Jeremy Paquette at jpaquette@homemattershere.org.
Windham & Windsor Housing Trust
For more information about Windham & Windsor Housing Trust and services they have to offer, visit www.homemattershere.org.