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Home-buying workshop for skeptics �Yes, You Can,� demystifies process By Shari Downhill Homeowner hopefuls can improve their odds of success by doing their financial homework and taking part in a home-buying workshop designed to pave the way. "We call it the home-buying workshop series for those who thought they couldn�t," said Carole Souza of Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Cosponsored by R.W. Cox & Associates and Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Medford, "Yes, You Can" has been designed to demystify the home-buying process, particularly for first-time buyers and those with lackluster credit. T.W. Cox loan officer Teri Dungannon spearheaded the workshop as a way to give home-buyer newbies confidence and enough marketplace know-how to persist when the hope of a mortgage loan looks dim. Dungannon brings to her work with home loan applicants hard-earned empathy. "As a single parent with terrible credit, I went to work for a bank and found myself talking to people about how to fix their credit," Dungannon said. Through her own financial repair efforts, Dungannon said she realized her plight was similar to countless others fighting to re-establish a positive credit record and buy a house. Working with credit educator Carole Souza, Dunnagon helped design the four-part workshop that leads participants through the home-buying process. The series, which begins Feb. 7, costs $40 and will be held at Rogue Community College Medford Training Center. So You Want to Buy a House , explores the benefits of home ownership versus renting, tax deductions and common barriers preventing home purchase. Credit: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly , covers the contents of a credit report and the message it sends to lenders. The session also covers credit access, repair, tips and scoring. Positioning Yourself Financially For the Purchase explains the basics and necessity of a spending plan and how to save for a home purchase. Successful Home Ownership covers anticipated expenses of owning a home, keeping financial commitments and amortization tables. "There are so many people who don�t think they can buy a house," Souza said. "From welfare-to-work clients to those who have had isolated periods of financial (trouble). They think they�re dead in the water." Souza and Dungannon have provided an road map for those determined to buy a house. "If they�re serious about it, eventually, they�ll have a key to their own home," Souza said. "People are looking for that sense of freedom and self-worth that comes with owning their own home." Workshop participants will receive a credit report and learn the steps necessary to address undesirable credit marks. "It�s a very uncomfortable process," Souza said. "You feel exposed ... and ashamed if somebody uncovers something. "Perhaps because the path has been so dark, those of us who know some of the shortcuts have a responsibility to put a light on. It�ll take some work. It�ll take some time. But, what else have you got? Just stay in the ring." Dungannon will cover financial considerations such as conventional and unconventional loan funding, down payment options and debt-to-income ratios. "There are a lot of government programs and nonprofit organizations and gift programs available," to assist with down payments, she said. "The problem," Souza said, "is that when people set out on this path and when someone says �no,� they just stop. It�s getting people to stay in the ring no matter how many times they hit the ropes." More information is available by calling R.W. Cox at 773-3131 or Teri at 944-0574. Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.