Yesterday, CDCU received a generous investment of $75,000 from the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation as part of Wells Fargo’s Priority Markets Initiative to increase the availability of affordable housing while stabilizing and revitalizing distressed neighborhoods.  We have enjoyed a very productive partnership with Wells Fargo for two decades.  This grant will allow us to magnify our work of acquiring foreclosed and dilapidated houses, rehabilitating them into safe, decent, and attractive housing, and reselling the homes to income-eligible families.  Thank you Wells Fargo for your support!  It is nice to be recognized for making a difference in this very difficult time when so many neighborhoods and residents are struggling.  And, it shows great confidence in our ability to deliver and have a mission-centric impact of scale.  Happy holidays!

 §         250 people attended our homebuyer education classes, helping them prepare for successful homeownership.

§         466 families received foreclosure mitigation assistance from us.  Of those, 131 kept their homes, and we continue to case manage another 234 families.

§         We entered the new year (1 July) with a total caseload of 338 families.

Only a few weeks ago, we began to offer Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (or Reverse Mortgage) counseling to the community, too.  We really are one of the premier housing counseling agencies in the nation.  I couldn’t be prouder of our excellent team!

The need for legitimate housing counseling services has never been greater, yet the federal funding for these programs has been cut to nothing for the next fiscal year beginning October 1^st.  And while we receive generous funding from private donations, including some of our great banks in Utah, it will be impossible to completely replace the HUD money we have traditionally gotten to serve at risk Utah residents.  This is scary since foreclosures in Utah are only now cresting.  And, it’s especially ironic since CDCU was recently notified that it will be a case study organization for research by The Urban Institute into national best practices in foreclosure counseling because we “performed well in securing sustainable loan modifications or otherwise avoiding foreclosure for [our} clients.”

I get asked a lot by friends and colleagues how it’s going at CDCU.  They wonder how the economy has affected our business and our ability to promote, provide, and preserve (how’s that for alliteration?!) homeownership opportunities.  While I think they expect me to answer that things are ugly or desperate, my response is always the same—we’ve been fortunate because:  1) there remains a demand for our services and products, and 2) we planned well for a prolonged recession.  As a result, we are busier than ever before in our 21 year history.

And, as spring approaches, there is cautious optimism.  We will soon be working on more houses than ever before, rehabilitating dozens of affordable single-family homes throughout several counties.  Combined with the homes we have already finished, this gives us more affordably priced housing than we have seen in years.  Many of these homes come with buyer advantages like down payment assistance, which make homeownership possible for many families who otherwise might not be able to own their own homes.

If you know someone who is looking for a good home at an affordable price, you may want to have them contact us.  We are doing more for low income homebuyers than ever before.

Happy New Year!  I appreciate and enjoy the optimism that a new year brings, and this time it seems especially hopeful.  The financial collapse caused by inflated property values and mortgage-backed securities has created widespread damage, especially in the housing markets where we do our work.  The meltdown started in 2007, and the low seems to have hit in 2008.  Yet the recovery is sure to be much slower.

Still, it seems that things are on the way back.  Most economic indicators show cautious potential.  The hope is that there is now permanent traction and we will start to witness solid economic growth and job creation again.  I know many people who are out of work or underemployed.  They are hanging on, waiting for opportunities to open up again.  I hope they come quickly.

While it may not always feel like it, we are fortunate to live and work in Utah, which seems to be more resilient to the economic cycles.  Job growth is up, and so too it seems is the general belief that things are getting better.   At CDCU, we see homebuyers in the market looking to purchase houses, and many more families who are doing the things necessary to prepare for homeownership.  Mortgage interest rates, while edging up slightly, are still lower than anyone can remember.  They realize it’s a great time to buy a home since values are stabilized and are increasing again, while there is a lot of choice in the market right now.

We made it through the malaise and have emerged stronger.  CDCU is still here to help!  Homebuyers can take advantage of our homebuyer education and counseling services.  We have down payment assistance available in some areas.  And, we have some great homes that come with incentives only we can offer as a non-profit housing agency.  I am excited for what 2011 may bring.

Welcome to our new website!  Redesigning a website is not a job for the weary, and getting here has taken us several months of hard work.  Yet it was necessary since our old site has had the same look-and-feel since before I arrived at CDCU more than five years ago.  And, while we have tried to keep the content updated and fresh, the old site’s architecture had become obsolete.

The goal of our new website is to help visitors, clients, and partners get the information and help they need, as quickly as possible.  Our products (the homes we rehab and build) and services (housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, down payment assistance, etc.) are all explained here.  But, as always, we hope you will give us a call if you have questions.  In fact, I hope you will also contact us if you have suggestions for how we can improve this website, too.  We want to keep the information here accurate and fresh, so that we can help as many people as possible.  That’s our mission after all—developing affordable homeownership opportunities for Utah residents, and revitalizing neighborhoods throughout the state.

Two items I hope you will keep in mind:  First, CDCU is one of the best housing counseling agencies in the nation.  We have the seal of approval from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development; but, more than that, we are very good at helping people prepare for and understand the home buying process (which can be so very confusing!).  And, if you know someone who may unfortunately be facing default on their mortgage, please call us.  We are the good guys and provide foreclosure mitigation help at no cost.  Second, we are honored to now administer the homeowner programs for Salt Lake County.  These include the Lead Safe (lead paint abatement), owner-occupied rehabilitation (for critical needs), and energy efficiency upgrade loan (or EnergySmart) programs.  Just click on the link to these programs on our homepage to get more info.

Thanks for taking the time to visit and read.  We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the residents and communities of the Beehive State.