ACTS Housing was recently awarded a one year contract with the City of Milwaukee for up to $50,000 to provide home ownership counseling services to tenants of tax foreclosed properties.
“ACTS Housing is thrilled to be a vital part of the push to revitalize the homes and neighborhoods in Milwaukee,” said Carl Quindel, executive director of ACTS Housing.
“ACTS has over two decades of experience in providing home ownership opportunities that both strengthen communities and change lives, and the organization is confident that it will be able to replicate that success as part of the city’s Tenant Transition to Ownership Project.”
“As part of the Mayor’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, the City of Milwaukee is excited to partner with ACTS Housing to help tenants of city tax foreclosures transition from renters to owners,” said Mayor Tom Barrett.
“Home ownership counseling is an important part of the solution to helping turn foreclosed properties back to the city tax rolls.
ACTS has a strong track record and we are excited about this robust partnership.”
Through the contract with the city, ACTS Housing will be responsible for providing Home Ownership Counseling to tenants of city tax foreclosures through the Tenant Transition to Ownership Project (T3OP). ACTS Housing’s role will be to provide guidance for the individuals in order to help them repair credit, learn basic home maintenance skills, establish a household budget, and understand the responsibilities of home ownership.
Individuals interested in entering the Lease-to-Own must be able to pay the $500/month rent to the City of Milwaukee, as well as most utilities.
Tenants will also enter into “good neighbor” agreements that will encourage neighborhood health and community participation.
After successfully completing the program tenants will be eligible to own the property for $1.
To provide the counseling services necessary for homeowners, ACTS Housing has hired Coretta Herring as a new Housing Counselor.
Herring is a community advocate professional with more than 10 years of credit counseling experience.
Her experience with developing a home buyer pipeline, participating as a resident leader in the Making Connections Milwaukee (MCM) initiative and leading an Asset Builders Council has instilled an interest in assisting clients to build financial security.
“While many see tax foreclosed properties in our community as a huge problem, the city and ACTS Housing are working to make it a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity for potential homeowners,” said Herring.
“I’m excited for this new role and look forward to the work to be done.”
This new hire brings the total number of employees at ACTS Housing to 12.
