First Time Homeowner Fair

This was sent to me recently, and I thought someone might be interested.

NOte: I still wouldn't recommend anyone buy a house right now while prices are falling, unless you can find something that is seriously undervalued and plan on staying a long time. Don't even think about buying a house that costs more than 3x your annual income.

East Portland Homeownership Fair – New help for home buyers and home owners

What: East Portland Homeownership Fair

When: Saturday, April 18^th from 10 am – 2 pm

Where: Kelly Elementary School, 9030 SE Cooper Street (south of Foster Road off 92^nd Ave.)

Why: Giving E. PDX residents the tools they need to buy new homes & preserve the ones they've got

Notable: There will be a free raffle for a $4,000 Home Buyer’s Assistance Grant

More Info: Visit www.rosecdc.org or call 503-788-8052

The homeownership landscape has changed enormously in the past year. But the demand for homes remains constant – particularly in East Portland, where diverse young families seek stable and secure places to build their lives.

With that in mind, ROSE Community Development and Kelly SUN Community School present the revamped East Portland Homeownership Fair, with more information available to more East Portlanders than ever.

This FREE event will be held on Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Kelly Elementary School, 9030 SE Cooper St. It is open to anyone interested in buying their own home, and homeowners who are interested in finding ways to maintain and preserve their home.

Lenders, Realtors, title companies, developers, home-buying counselors, businesses, and non-profit organizations will provide helpful information about their services and programs. Several of the workshops, such as “Homeownership Preservation”, “Should I Re-fi?”, and “Age in Place with a Reverse Mortgage”, will outline the steps for homeowners who are worried about foreclosure. In addition, there will be two “Ask the Experts” panels, with homeownership professionals answering questions from fair attendees about issues ranging from tax credits for homebuyers to foreclosure prevention and the various ways of financing a home purchase, as well as 3 other workshops for home buyers.

The highlight of the day will be the drawing for a $4,000 Home Buyer’s Assistance Grant to be given to a qualified potential homebuyer. In the first two years of the fair, grant-winners used their prize money to help purchase new homes within a year. For grant rules, visit www.rosecdc.org.

This will be the event’s fourth year at Kelly Elementary School. Originally known as the Lents Home Buying Fair, it was so successful that organizers decided to expand the fair through an extensive outreach campaign into all East Portland neighborhoods, with a particular emphasis on the David Douglas School District and east of 122^nd Avenue.

ROSE has also worked hard to connect with East Portland’s growing immigrant population. The Fair will have interpreters for attendees who speak Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Cantonese, and Mandarin. In addition, there will be youth activities and a free lunch provided by Burgerville on a first-come, first-served basis.