Freddie Mac, Chase, Nonprofits Launch Philadelphia Chinatown Homeownership Initiative

PHILADELPHIA, May 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Delaware Valley, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC), the City of Philadelphia, Chase Home Finance and Freddie Mac today launched a new housing initiative with the potential to help hundreds of Chinese-speaking families become homeowners and revitalize neighborhoods.

This initiative addresses the barriers to homeownership in the Philadelphia Chinatown community, which include a lack of information about homeownership and lack of a traditional credit history. The initiative combines homeownership counseling and education with flexible credit mortgage products for families who think that homeownership is out of their reach.

"Philadelphia is well known as a city of ethnically and culturally diverse neighborhoods. And, the key to ensuring safe and vital neighborhoods is homeownership," said Rep. Robert A. Brady (D-PA). "Freddie Mac and its partners are to be congratulated for making this program available to underserved Chinese-speaking residents so that they have the opportunity to experience the American dream of homeownership."

PCDC and CCCS of Delaware Valley will develop educational materials, workshops and financial counseling services in Mandarin and Cantonese to help the community learn about the homeownership process, understand the basics of banking and help them establish credit.

"Philadelphia's Chinatown community is 80 percent Asian, while the rate of homeownership in the neighborhood is only 38 percent," said John Chin, executive director of PCDC. "We have seen the demand for homeownership increase because many Chinese families have moved from New York to Philadelphia because it is simply more affordable."

CCCS of Delaware Valley President, Patricia Hasson said, "We are truly excited to be working with such fine organizations, each bringing different strengths to the initiative. This collaboration allows the participating organizations to each focus on what they do best, so the residents of Chinatown can acquire the necessary knowledge to pursue homeownership."

The City of Philadelphia will make available its down payment assistance programs to qualifying borrowers who have successfully completed homeownership education and counseling through CCCS of Delaware Valley and PCDC.

Once individuals have completed the workshops and are ready to apply for a mortgage, they will work with Chase Home Finance -- which offers mortgage products with flexible down payment options, such as The Dreamaker Mortgage.

Chase's Dreamaker mortgage is designed to help individuals with non- traditional credit references or less than perfect credit histories become homeowners. The Dreamaker enables families to buy a home with as little as a $500 down payment from the borrower's personal cash. Borrowers can cover the rest of the required 3 percent downpayment through grants, gifts, unsecured loans and Individual Development Accounts.

"Our partnership today represents a significant step to increasing home ownership and providing financing options for the Chinese-speaking community in Philadelphia," said Rod Gaines, vice president of Chase Home Finance. "We know this joint effort will work because we have the right people with the right focus and dedication to improve the quality of life for these consumers. We realize that being underserved is not simply a matter of economic status, but rather matters of outreach, access to information and having the tools and resources to effect change."

"Freddie Mac is excited to be a part of such an ambitious effort to make the dream of homeownership real for more families in Philadelphia's Chinatown community," said Bob Tsien, senior vice president of Freddie Mac. "Homeownership is the most prominent means for families in America to build lasting wealth, and it's a long-term investment in the community."

The next workshop is scheduled for July 11 and July 18 at 5:30PM. Families interested in learning more about the Philadelphia Chinatown initiative should contact the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation at 215-922-2156, or Debbie Cooper at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley at (215) 563-5665.

Over the past five years, Freddie Mac has purchased $35 billion worth of mortgages and made home possible for 258,000 families in the greater Philadelphia area. Through this initiative, Freddie Mac will build upon its ongoing efforts to expand homeownership opportunities in Philadelphia.

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned company established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac fulfills its mission by purchasing residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and two million renters in America.

Chase Home Finance, the home finance arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., is one of the nation's largest residential mortgage lenders. It originates mortgages through 225 mortgage offices and more than 2,500 Bank One and Chase branches in 17 states following the 2004 merger of JPMorgan Chase and Bank One Corp. Chase Home Finance services more than $500 billion of mortgages. JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.2 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. Information about the firm is available at http://www.jpmorganchase.com/.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Delaware Valley (CCCS) is a non- profit community organization that has helped over one quarter million individuals, since 1966, gain control of their finances, manage debt, achieve financial goals and build wealth. Over 70 percent of the clients CCCS serves annually have some type of housing-related issue including first-time home buyer education classes, one-on-one pre-purchase and budget counseling, delinquency counseling, reverse mortgage counseling and anti-predatory education programs.

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation (PCDC) is a grassroots, non-profit community-based organization that has been in existence since 1966 to preserve, protect and promote Chinatown as a viable ethnic, business and residential community. Over the years, PCDC has built 226 housing units in the community.