A local panel focused on home-buying empowerment — addressing topics ranging from down payments to credit scores to the fears associated with a purchase — during an virtual forum hosted by the H.L. Neblett Community Center as their latest Black History Month event.
The first question the panel addressed discussed the fears associated with deciding whether or not to purchase a home.
“Buying a home can be scary, but you do have bargaining power,” said financial specialist Ron Burkins. “It’s well worth getting over that fear. It can be a daunting task, but there’s a lot of help and resources available to help overcome that fear.”
When asked how much was needed for a down payment, the panel had a variety of answers. Single homeowner Tina Forrest said she was able to buy a home without a down payment through the Kentucky Housing Corporation, saying that while taking a second mortgage sounded scary, she was currently only paying $100 more a month for a home than she’d paid in rent.
Burkins said potential homebuyers would need a minimum credit score of 620 to be seriously considered for the loans needed to buy a home.
“There are resources out there to get your credit score up,” Burkins said. “There are free credit bureaus such as Equifax and TransUnion.”
Single-mother homeowner Sheila Crowe also suggested first-time homebuyers should dispute items that were negatively impacting their credit scores. For those who were dealing with unpaid student loans, Crowe advised reaching out to address that debt.
“If you’re in default it can definitely impact your credit score. As long as you’re current, I’d say you’re good,” she said. “If you’re making your payments on time, it’ll slowly but surely fall off. You need to at least reach out. They’re going to go by your income. If you don’t make as much, you could be making a smaller payment. But it’s something you’ve got to be willing and able to take head-on.”
Allyson and Marshall Sanders said the investment of home-buying was more important than worrying about having new furniture to fill the space with.
“The house is the most critical because that’s the most important investment you’ll make for your future,” Allysonsaid. “The couch is going to wear and tear, so you have to put everything in perspective.”
Panelists agreed that saving money was a crucial component of home-buying. Antoine Smith-Rouse said the investment was well worth it, especially when compared to paying rent.
“Saving money is really hard, but being broke is really hard too. Renting is the equivalent of throwing your money in the trash,” he said. “When we rented, we were still responsible for cutting the grass, certain plumbing issues, replacing the filters. So that was our wake-up call, that we were investing in somebody else.”
