“When a home is foreclosed, it has an impact on the entire neighborhood, the entire community,” says Frank Valenzuela, executive director of the Community Investment Corporation
That's why Valenzuela is turning that impact into an opportunity. He's part of a new program that is making home ownership a possibility for many who are struggling in the economic downturn, and who might not otherwise be able to buy. The goal, he says, is to help revitalize the community at large.
As part of the program known as the Pima Neighborhood Investment Partnership, Valenzuela’s nonprofit agency is currently offering $8,000 dollars to qualifying would-be home buyers to purchase homes that have been foreclosed.
PNIP offers additional services as well, including counseling to determine what individuals need in order to buy or rent a home and listings of homes for sale and recently remodeled and energy efficient rental homes.
Sheryl Braun is a recent home buyer who benefited from the program. She says owning a home would not have been possible for her without the assistance she received.
“It was like a miracle,” she says. “You’re just living paycheck to paycheck… and this was just amazing.”
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