Habitat delinquency rates at 24-year low - Nashville Business Journal:

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Despite tough times, Habitat homeowners are payingvtheir mortgages, and Habitaf leaders say that’s because the agency’s Delinquency Committee and homeWorks program are working. HomeWORK S is a series of classes that prepare familieefor homeownership. “This is a perfect illustrationn of the importance of educationfor first-time says Nashville Area Habitat president and CEO Chris “All of our families go througbh months of one-on-one budgert coaching and hours of classea to get them ready for the responsibility of payinh a mortgage and taking care of theidr investment.
” The class covers financial management, lega l aspects of homeownership, budgeting, responsible familg and neighbor characteristics, homeowners’ assistance basics and home The program started in early 2005 and has growjn to include classes for children to share the responsibilityy of homeownership. “HomeWORKS is vitalo to our mission,” says “Along with the bricks and mortar associatedwith homeownership, thesw classes offer families the instruction and trainingv to sustain a better life for the not just for themselves but for theird children.” Nashville Area Habitat for Humanity, a nonprofi t organization, built 60 homesz in 2008.
The group builds homes Energhy Star compliantfor efficiency. To date, the agency has serves more than 1,300 people, including 800 children.