TO PARTICIPATEFor more information on becoming a homeowner, call Cheryl Marsh, homeownership coordinator, at 752-4838.
Addie Jones received public assistance for years, never thinking she’d be a homeowner.
This month, she moved into her own home.
“The best part is that it’s mine and the kids,'” said Ms. Jones. “It’s going to be in the family for years, and memories will be made in it.”
The 62-year-old grandmother is one among 10 former Section 8 renters in Chattanooga who became homeowners within the past year. She lives in her new house near the Washington Hills area with her five grandchildren, ages 6 to 17, whom she legally adopted.
Mrs. Jones, a former customer service representative, uses her retirement, voucher money and Social Security to pay for the house.
Chattanooga Housing Authority officials say they want to help more people on public assistance become homeowners.
About 32 people have become homeowners since CHA’s homeownership program started in 2000, officials said. This year, the housing authority received $107,709 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a full-time homeownership coordinator and a family self-sufficiency coordinator.
This is the first year CHA has had someone working full-time to help residents in the Housing Choice Voucher Program — also known as Section 8 — become homeowners.
“You can live in public housing, but you don’t necessarily have to die in public housing,” said Cheryl Marsh, the housing agency’s public information officer and homeownership coordinator.
She said she wants to assist five Section 8 residents become homeowners this year.
Although there are many people in CHA housing that could apply or work toward meeting qualifications to own a home, not everyone wants it, housing officials said. Some don’t want to leave the safety net of public housing or take on the responsibility that comes with being a homeowner, they said.
In the homeownership program, instead of using the Section 8 voucher to pay rent, HUD allows Section 8 residents to use their vouchers to pay the mortgage on their home.
To qualify for homeownership, renters must have worked a full-time job for at least a year, earn an income of $13,100 a year and be able to pay 1 percent of the down payment for the house out of their own income. They also must be willing to attend homeownership classes and have a credit score of at least 620.
People age 62 and older or those who are disabled may qualify to be a homeowner without having a full-time job, Mrs. Marsh said.