"Home is Where Your Story Begins" is the theme of our FY18 Annual Report because we found it to ring true when we visited with customers this year who bought a home, kept a home, or found affordable rental housing thanks to AHFA programs.
For customers who bought a home with the help of an AHFA homeownership program, their stories begin with feelings of pride and gratefulness. For customers who were able to keep their home because of assistance through Hardest Hit Alabama, their stories begin with a sense of hope. And for customers who found affordable rental housing in developments financed with AHFA multifamily programs, their stories begin with finding comfort, convenience and security. Listen to their stories by watching videos of these appreciative customers found further in this Annual Report.
Within the report, you will find information about AHFA programs in FY18 which illustrates AHFA's own story and mission of providing homeownership and rental opportunities for Alabamians. AHFA's story also includes thankfulness. As a self-supporting organization that generates the revenue necessary to cover the cost of operations, we are thankful for another year of strengthening key partnerships with private and public entities to help accomplish our mission. We're also thankful for our Board of Directors and our employees who provide outstanding service.
Above all, the information in this Annual Report highlights the continued need for affordable housing in Alabama, a story AHFA will continue sharing in the future.
Step Up Success Story
Juan & Alexandrea Irby, Huntsville
The Irbys were finalists in our 2017 #MyAlabamaHome selfie contest. They purchased their home in Huntsville using AHFA's Step Up program. Juan said, "I had always wanted to build my own home. That's been my dream since I was young. Lo and behold, this is it!" After hearing about Step Up from their lender, Alexandrea said, "I started researching it, and saw people who have used the program and saw you can have a nice home...live in a neighborhood you want, and have a new home."
Lender Spotlight
Chad Cantrell is the Branch Manager and Senior Loan Officer at Certainty Home Loans in Huntsville. He has been in the mortgage business for more than 12 years, and has been recognized in the Scotsman Guide for being in the top one percent of loan originators in Alabama.
Habitat for Humanity Success Story
Lydia Beck, family services coordinator for Habitat for Humanity of Morgan County, recalls working with the Atemon family, "When the Atemons applied to the Habitat program, their family of five, with one on the way, was crammed into an apartment that was much too small. Rent and utilities were eating up 37 percent of their monthly income. On their application, they said, 'We both have dreamed of owning our own home and are determined to do whatever it takes to be homeowners.' I don’t know if I’ve ever worked with a more grateful family. It was such a pleasure to partner with a family who truly appreciated what you were doing to create a better future for them and their children!"
Tim, Neph, and their four children moved in right after the dedication ceremony for their house in June 2016. Two years later and the Atemons still love being homeowners. Neph said, "So far everything has been wonderful, and we just added a privacy fence to our backyard. The kids love it, but I don't think they love it as much as my husband and me. We love having our own bedroom and a home we are buying, not wasting our money on renting. It feels amazing every day, and every day I am forever grateful for the Lord, the Habitat for Humanity program, and every other program that makes it possible for people like our family to one day become homeowners."
FORECLOSURE PREVENTION
Hardest Hit Alabama
Hardest Hit Alabama (HHA) is a foreclosure prevention program that helps eligible homeowners facing temporary financial hardships keep their home. Sometimes through no fault of their own, homeowners run into financial difficulty – a lost job or unexpected medical expenses happen – and they find themselves struggling to make their mortgage payment.
The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Hardest Hit Fund, authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, allocated approximately $162 million to Alabama to provide temporary assistance to help financially distressed homeowners get through a rough patch.
HHA offers several different programs to help Alabamians keep their home. Assistance is available statewide to qualified homeowners.
Rhonda Gay: Homeowner Testimonial
HOME/Housing Credit SUCCESS STORY
Shiloh Apartments, Opelika
Shiloh is a newly constructed development for elderly residents in Opelika that opened in November 2017. In 2015, Shiloh was awarded $765,692 in Housing Credits and $1.2 million in HOME funds, both administered by AHFA.
Michael Lovelace and Sherry Shaw share how they came to live at Shiloh and what they're enjoying most about living in this new development.
DEVELOPMENT SPOTLIGHT
Loveman Village, Birmingham
A little time-worn, Loveman Village counted 246 residents when redevelopment got under way. One of those residents, Adriene Gadsden, attended a HUD Section 3 job fair hosted by the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) and Hollyhand Development. Gadsden was identified as a potential candidate for an apprenticeship program available with Hollyhand Development. She interviewed and was selected.
In this role, Gadsden has used her computer skills to chart, on a building-by-building level and by resident family, the relocation options and choices for residents. She also has attended meetings with HABD and city officials to learn more about the development process. In addition, she is training to help produce a video of the process involved with the redevelopment. This whole process has allowed her input and insight into the redevelopment of the property that is her home.
SUCCESS STORY
2018 Manager of the Year
Barbara Butts, manager of Shellbrooke Pointe Apartments in Fairhope, was recently honored as AHFA's 2018 Manager of the Year (MOTY). Now in its 21st year, the MOTY award recognizes outstanding management staff at AHFA-funded developments.
Butts oversees the daily operations of the development's 96 affordable housing units. Her nomination package, by Gateway Management Company, includes 32 letters from residents, coworkers, city officials, service agencies, and community leaders praising Butts' character and reputation.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Venezuela-born Dana Quintero Rodriguez is in her first year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, thanks in part to her Alabama Affordable Housing Association scholarship funds.
"Any scholarship is very helpful because, as many people know, college tuition is very expensive. I wouldn’t be able to go to this school if not for outside scholarships," said Dana. "This is one more organization that decided to help me go to my dream school and do what I want to do."
AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Alabama Housing Finance Authority is a public corporation and instrumentality of the State of Alabama created July 25, 1980, by Act No. 80-565 of the Alabama Legislature.
The bonds of the Alabama Housing Finance Authority are not obligations of the State of Alabama and are not repaid with tax dollars. AHFA is a self-sustaining organization which pays all operating expenses from program revenues.
Credits:
Created with images by Lea Böhm - "Home is where…" • Annie Spratt - "Eucalyptus with blank space" • Robfoto - "welcome to our home welcome tablet an" • Pexels - "construction design door exterior house pattern texture" • Kowit Phothisan - "A pot in local restaurant" • Stephanie Studer - "Baskets"