NACA - Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America (A NON-PROFIT LOAN OPTION YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT!)

IF I told you that there is a HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAM that will allow your buyers to purchase a home with:

• NO DOWN PAYMENT...................................You would probably say: (NO BIGGIE)


• NO CLOSING COSTS.....................................You would probably say: (NO WAY!!!)


• NO CONVENTIONAL CREDIT.....................You would probably say: (NOW...You are just CRAZY...LOCO!)


• NO MORTGAGE INSURANCE.....................You would probably say: (WHAT planet are you from?)


• NO KIDDING!!!................................................You would probably say: (OKAY...I'M LISTENING!)

NOW that you are listening...LET ME ADD:

• 30 YEAR FIXED RATE


• A BELOW MARKET INTEREST RATE (CURRENTLY 5.5%)


• RATE CAN BE REDUCED TO ZERO!!!

YOU ARE ASKING...WHAT'S THE CATCH??? HONESTLY...THERE IS NO CATCH!!!

The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America ("NACA") is a non-profit, community advocacy and homeownership organization. NACA's primary goal is to build strong, healthy neighborhoods in urban and rural areas nationwide through affordable homeownership.

I first learned of NACA several years ago...through a client. This particular client had almost no credit, and he earned $12/hour. The very best loan option I could find for him was an FHA; however, he did not have enough money for the down payment. He learned about NACA through a friend who had just closed on his new home...at a 4% FIXED RATE!!! When my client told me about his friend's mortgage, I could not believe what he told me. My disbelief prompted me to investigate...IF FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN TO PROVE THAT IT WAS NOT TRUE!

My mom always taught me to admit when I am wrong. Folks...I WAS WRONG! NACA IS REAL! I have since helped many first time buyers to purchase their home using NACA to obtain their loan. Let me tell you about my first NACA clients.

Alejandro and Tana lived in a mobile home community. Their backyard was a parking lot. They dreamed of buying their own home with a huge yard for their children, but they had little credit. I referred them to NACA, and they were approved for a $140,000 mortgage. They knew exactly what kind of home they wanted, because they had been dreaming about it for eight years. Within days of being approved by NACA, they were under contract to purchase the home of their dreams. Eight weeks later...they were sitting at the closing table.

IF I had not witnessed it myself, I would not believe what I am about to tell you. Through NACA, they were able to obtain a 30 year fixed rate mortgage at less than 1%!!! TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?? IT'S TRUE...I WAS THERE!

SO...WHY HAVE YOU NEVER HEARD ABOUT NACA BEFORE?

Although NACA is the best answer for many buyers...some REALTORS® are hesitant to recommend NACA to their clients. From my experience, the reasons for this vary from agent to agent. Some are simply unfamiliar with NACA and see it as 'too good to be true'. Other agents know that NACA is legitimate, but they feel that NACA's process is too lengthy. (In most cases, it takes 3-6 months to go through the approval process.) Quite a few agents have expressed to me that they are not willing to wait 6 months to get paid. I've also spoken with several agents who have worked with NACA and feel that the program requires too much work from the agent.

If I am completely honest, I agree that NACA is a NOT an easy program. Six months is a long time to wait for an approval, for both the buyer and the agent. AND...YES...NACA's stringent guidelines require much more effort on the part of both buyer and agent. I have closed many successful transactions with NACA, and all of them have been difficult. However...ALL OF THEM HAVE CLOSED! Furthermore, in every case, my clients have told me that the end result of having their own home was worth ALL OF THE WAITING AND HARD WORK. ALL of them have thanked me for recommending them to NACA and for sticking with them till the end.

NACA IS NOT FOR EVERY BUYER...BUT...IT WILL OPEN THE DOOR TO HOMEOWNERSHIP FOR MANY PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT OTHERWISE QUALIFY FOR A HOME.

**NACA is a program for FIRST TIME BUYERS ONLY. If your client owns a home, they MUST sell their home before they apply for a loan with NACA.
**NACA is NOT just for low-to-moderate income families. Anyone,who does not currently own a home, may apply for financing with NACA.
**NACA also offers refinancing. (See naca.com for details.)
For more information about NACA...visit their website at naca.com

Written and Posted by:
Elizabeth Nieves - Broker, REALTOR® -- The Elizabeth Nieves Realty Group @ Keller Williams (A Bilingual Real Estate Team serving Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill NC and surrounding areas.)
Visit our website at www.ElizabethNieves.com

Corrie Ten Boom and The Widow of Zarephath...Faith and Real Estate???

Some years ago, I came across an old, battered copy of Corrie Ten Boom's book, The Hiding Place. Within moments of opening the book, I was lost in its yellowed pages and Corrie's memories of being imprisoned in brutal concentration camps in The Netherlands and Germany.

In The Hiding Place, Corrie tells of a time when she and her sister Betsie were in particularly horrific conditions, and Betsie was very ill. Corrie had a little bottle of medicine that Betsie desperately needed. Carefully concealing her possession of the contraband medicine, Corrie would ration the medicine to Betsie a little each day. The bottle was dark, but Corrie could feel that the bottle was almost empty.

Corrie tells that there were many other sick women around them...hundreds, in fact, who were just as sick as Betsie. At first, Corrie wanted to keep the medicine just for Betsie...out of fear that it would run out and Betsie would die. Then, Betsie told Corrie that they needed to share...that God would perform a miracle...just as He had done for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in the Old Testament. God used Betsie to show Corrie that she needed to trust God, and she made a choice to share the medicine with all of those who needed it.

Everyday, for weeks, Corrie would go from one person to the next giving out the precious drops of medicine. Each time she would turn the bottle up, another drop would appear. Each day, she was sure that the medicine would run out. Yet, there would always be another drop. One day, a female guard, who was sympathetic to the women, smuggled in some vitamins. On that very same day, Corrie turned the bottle, and it was dry.

In 1 Kings 17, we find the story that inspired Betsie and Corrie to trust God. Israel was suffering from a drought. During the drought, God sent the prophet Elijah to the brook Cherith. Elijah drank from the brook and the ravens fed him there twice each day. After a period of time, the brook dried up, and God told Elijah it was time to move on. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So...Elijah got up and left.

When he arrived at the gates of Zarephath, he saw a widow there gathering sticks. Somehow, he knew she was the widow of which God had spoke. He asked her, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" The widow explained her situation to Elijah: that she lived in extreme poverty, that she had only enough flour and oil for one last meal, that she and her son were going to eat that last meal and then die. Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.'" She went away and did as Elijah had told her. And, just as God had promised, the flour and oil did not run out until the drought was over.

For many of us who are a part of the real estate industry, we are experiencing a period of drought. It has not rained in many months, and the brook has dried up. Many real estate professionals are leaving the industry out of fear and necessity. For those of us who have decided to 'stick it out', I want to offer this thought...

Just as Corrie shared her precious drops of medicine, and the widow shared her last handful of flour and last drops of oil...we should be looking around us and sharing with those who are less fortunate than we. When I was a child, my mother would tell me over and over...'No matter how little we have, there is always someone who has less. So, that means that we must always share what we have, because we could be so much worse off.' Her words have stuck with me my whole life. I credit her for teaching me that I have a responsibility to the world around me. Her faith in action taught me to also have faith. In fact, I'm absolutely certain...that IF the Bible were being written today...my mother would be listed as a woman of great faith.

Faith inspires faith. These women...Corrie Ten Boom, The Widow of Zarephath and my precious mother...these simple, quiet women...have inspired and challenged me in ways they never could have imagined. They inspired me to share what I have, whether I have much or little. They inspired me to believe, even when I cannot see. They inspired me to trust that I will gain more by giving than by hoarding. They inspired me to live for others...not only for myself. They inspired me to want to inspire you.

The drought will end someday. Until then...have faith!

If you are planning to buy or sell your home...or know someone who is...I'd love to help! Contact me: Elizabeth Nieves - Broker, REALTOR® - The Elizabeth Nieves Realty Group @ Keller Williams - (919)749-3749 OR Elizabeth@ElizabethNieves.com