HispanicBusiness

MIAMI, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to enable more Latinos and African Americans to become homeowners, Miami-Dade County Commission Chairperson Dr. Barbara Carey-Shuler (District 3) and Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jimmy Morales (District 7) joined Freddie Mac and Chase Home Finance to announce today a new awareness and outreach campaign called "Homeownership. Let the TRUTH Move You." The campaign debunks common misconceptions about homeownership that are stopping financially able families from even considering buying a home.

The Housing Finance Authority of Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Foundation, Inc., and the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals South Florida are collaborating with Freddie Mac in this campaign and are joining in the announcement.

According to research conducted by Freddie Mac, reliable, accurate information about home buying is not reaching all communities. The research uncovered common misconceptions about home buying among African Americans and Latinos. For example, almost half of African Americans and Latinos believe that they need a 20 percent down payment to buy a home, and that they need almost perfect credit to get a loan. In addition, more than half of African Americans and Latinos believe that they must have the same job for at least three years to get a loan. (See fact sheet at end of press release for more homebuying misconceptions).

In addition, according to the U.S. Census, homeownership rates for Hispanic and African American households are 25 percent lower than the rates for non-minority households.

"The Freddie Mac, 'Homeownership. Let the TRUTH Move You,' public awareness campaign will help close the gap by giving families the information they need to overcome obstacles to purchasing their homes," said Commissioner Jimmy Morales.

"Freddie Mac's 'Homeownership: Let the TRUTH Move You,' campaign offers families very useful information as they consider homeownership," said Chairperson Barbara Carey-Shuler.

"We believe that lack of access to accurate information is a barrier to homeownership," said Tonya Jackson, Vice President, Customer Care, Freddie Mac. "We can't allow misinformation to be a barrier for the families who may want to buy a home."

The campaign, designed to address the misconceptions found in the survey, will provide straightforward and up-to-date information about all aspects of homeownership, including costs associated with home buying and credit history requirements. A radio advertising campaign and grassroots outreach efforts seek to motivate individuals to learn more about the home buying process and call a toll-free number (1-866-7TRUTHS, and 1-877-ATREVE1 in Spanish) to register for free one-hour educational sessions in English and Spanish.

The Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Foundation, Inc. will be hosting the educational sessions at its offices in Miami and can also provide homeownership counseling. The Housing Finance Authority of Miami-Dade County and the South Florida National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals will serve as a referral network of REALTORS(R) to assist individuals in the home buying process.

"The strength of this campaign," says Jackson, "is that it is a continuation of efforts by many organizations working together in the community to address the barriers faced by minority homebuyers. Freddie Mac is honored to be working with grassroots organizations that really understand how to reach people who may be facing obstacles to buying a home. Like us, our co-participants in this campaign are committed to accelerating the growth of minority homeownership."