NeighborWorks Gets Ready for National Homeownership Month

As June--National Homeownership Month--approaches, ""NeighborWorks America"":http://www.nw.org/network/index.asp is putting a spotlight on the thousands of new (and well-prepared) homeowners created in 2012.

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According to a release, NeighborWorks America helped create 15,000 new homeowners year, prepping them for their new life with pre-purchase counseling education services. In fact, new research (using data and analytics [COLUMN_BREAK]

provided by Experian) shows homeowners who received NeighborWorks counseling are about one-third less likely to become seriously delinquent on their mortgages within two years of origination.

One way the organization is providing homebuyer education is through a collaborative effort with Wells Fargo called the LIFT program--a multi-market initiative with the primary goal of helping to stabilize communities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis. According to NeighborWorks America, the LIFT program has created 3,000 homeowners since its inception in February last year.

""NeighborWorks America empowers individuals looking to become homeowners, and borrowers in distress, by helping them get housing counseling and education--whether it's homeownership or foreclosure intervention,"" said Eileen Fitzgerald, CEO of NeighborWorks America. ""NeighborWorks organizations offer a variety of financial capability services that help individuals reach important goals like saving for a home.""