Illinois Jobs Now! Financing to Help Additional 500 Families Buy a Home through "Welcome Home Heroes" Program

WESTCHESTER - November 12, 2012. In honor of Veterans Day, Governor Pat Quinn announced the investment of an additional $5 million to the Welcome Home Heroes homebuyer financing package to make homeownership more affordable for more military families. This new Illinois Jobs Now! capital funding will allow an additional 500 military families to access a $10,000 forgivable grant toward the purchase of a new home, as well as a mortgage tax credit worth up to $20,000 over the life of the loan.

Standing outside the home of newlyweds Army Sgt. 1^st Class Eric Sereda, 34, and Sharon Sereda, 27, Governor Quinn emphasized his commitment to help Veterans, active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members transition to civilian life. Welcome Home Heroes enabled the couple to buy their first home - a three-bedroom ranch home in suburban Westchester.

"As we honor our Illinois heroes on Veterans Day, we are proud to invest in the Welcome Home Heroes program to help those who sacrifice so much buy an affordable home," Governor Quinn said. "The Welcome Home Heroes program offers a secure financing package that protects those who have committed their lives to protecting us. This program helps military homeowners and improves local real estate markets across Illinois."

Since Governor Quinn launched the financing package last December, Welcome Home Heroes has helped more than 550 military families achieve their dream of buying a home. Welcome Home Heroes originally was funded through $5 million in Illinois Jobs Now! capital funds and $5 million from the Illinois Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The additional $5 million investment announced today will stimulate statewide economic activity:

·250 full-time jobs

·$8.4 million from real estate-related industries

·More than $6.7 million in economic activity for the state

·Additional $2.7 million in other statewide spending

Administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Welcome Home Heroes is open to all qualified Illinois veterans. Active military personnel, reservists and Illinois National Guard members may also participate, but must be first-time buyers. The Welcome Home Heroes homebuyer financing package includes a forgivable $10,000 grant for down payment and closing cost assistance, an affordable interest rate (3.25 percent as of today) for a secure 30-year fixed rate mortgage and a mortgage credit certificate worth up to approximately $20,000 for the life of the loan. Welcome Home Heroes recently won national recognition from the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA), which lauded the program's role in empowering buyers such as Sereda.

Previously stationed at a California fort in the Mojave Desert as a combat engineer, Army Sgt. 1st Class Eric Sereda now works for the Army Reserves in suburban Arlington Heights as a career counselor after moving back to the area. A suburban native, Sereda returned to the Chicago area after the death of his father to help care for his family. He thought about renting before learning of the statewide program that could help him.

"We appreciate Governor Quinn tailoring a program to meet the needs of families like us. With the $10,000 down payment assistance, we had extra money to plan our wedding and begin our new life together," Sereda said. "The housing interest rates are so low, and Welcome Home Heroes was just too good to pass up."

Veterans returning home from their service encounter a special set of obstacles to homeownership. Many are underemployed, and while they qualify for job training programs - conventional home loans feature heightened down payment and credit requirements. Nearly one million veteran homeowners face severe housing cost burdens, paying half or more of their income for housing, according to a 2010 American Community Survey analysis.

"Under Governor Quinn's leadership, Welcome Home Heroes will continue to eliminate barriers to homeownership that many Illinois military families face by providing a financial package that is one of the most substantial in the nation," IHDA Executive Director Mary R. Kenney said. "As the state's housing finance agency, IHDA has enabled nearly 60,000 low- to moderate-income families buy a home securely and this investment means we can help even more families."

Under Governor Quinn's leadership, IHDA also is working to increase rental housing opportunities that provide veterans who are at risk of homelessness with access to supportive services and skills that will help them live independently. Of the 700 new units of affordable rental housing that IHDA recently approved, more than one-third of the total units will help veterans and people with disabilities find stability in communities.

"Governor Quinn is a great supporter of our service members," said Maj. Gen. Dennis L. Celletti, the acting Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard. "He has instituted numerous programs to ensure our returning men and women in uniform have the resources they need to adapt to civilian life and to thrive in this great state."

"I thank Governor Quinn for this new financial commitment to help our military families transition to civilian life and establish roots in our Illinois neighborhoods," Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Erica Borggren said.

Welcome Home Heroes program builds on IHDA's existing affordable home loan program, SmartMove, also available through IHDA's lenders. The financing package applies to 1-2 unit residential properties located in the State of Illinois that are purchased as a primary residence.

Buyers must qualify based on income and purchase price limits, and can apply for the loan package through an IHDA lender. A list of participating lenders throughout the state is available at ihda.org/homeowner/heroes. For more information about programs for Illinois veterans and servicemembers, visit OperationHomefront.org.

 

About IHDA

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (ihda.org) is an independent, self-supporting bonding authority that finances the creation and preservation of affordable housing throughout Illinois. Since 1967, IHDA has allocated more than $11.1 billion to finance more than 221,000 affordable housing units for the residents of Illinois.

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Our newest exhibit, Stories of Silent Night, is now open! Get a sneak peek of the exhibit and watch the Davenport Zither Ensemble players Anne Prinz and Barbara Weber as they play this classic carol on KWQC News Channel 6 this Monday, November 12th at 4pm on Fran's Features with Fran Riley!

It is with great respect, admiration and deep understanding that I write this letter to honor each and every Veteran that has served or is serving our blessed Country! I understand and appreciate all who have given so much for me, so that I could enjoy my daily freedoms.

I was able to sleep well in the safety of my bed last night, because you served.

I was able to pray before my meal this morning in a public place without fearing arrest, because you gave.

I am able to freely speak my mind and voice my opinion without fear of retaliation against me or my family, because you cared.

I am able to stand up for what I believe in and not have a Dictators thoughts and opinions forced down my throat, because you stood up to the call to defend.

I am free to worship the one true God who created me in His image, because you were selfless in your actions.

To each one of you I speak from the bottom of my heart when I say Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!! You are my Heroes and I want to remember and honor you this Veterans Day. Not a single day goes by that I don't think of the sacrifices you and your families have given!

My son Marc Alan Lee was laid to rest on Aug 2nd 2006.  I also remember him today as I do everyday and the sacrifice he made.

Thank you son!  His headstone says "Loved deeply, Deeply loved." The love doesn't go any deeper than that! He loved deeply!

He loved his brothers he served with, he loved me, he loved his family, he loved this nation, he loved his freedoms, he loved God, and he gave.

He gave it all! "Greater love has no one than this, that he laid down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) That's what a hero does. They are willing to give their lives for others if it's required.

I also think of my son Kris who served in the Marines, my son-in-law Christopher who served in the Army and my brother Jim who is serving in the Air Force! Thank you!

Each one of you have deeply loved this country and were willing to give your life if required for this country. Thank you!

Many of you have given your blood, and been wounded for this country. Thank you!

Many of you have  friends, family and brothers at arms who paid the ultimate sacrifice just like my son Marc! Thank you! We will never forget our fallen heroes or their families.

I have traveled around this country, to Iraq and Gitmo speaking out in support of you, thanking and honoring you "Our defenders of freedom." I have been blessed to meet many of you and your families, and have been so deeply touched by your stories and your sacrificial service to this nation. I don't take for granted our freedom which isn't free, it comes at a cost and you willingly paid that for me. So please remember this Veteran's Day that I am your biggest fan and that you are deeply appreciated and loved.

There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you and your families and I know I'm not alone. There is a grateful nation who also honors and remembers your sacrifice and knows that our country is what it is today because you selflessly gave.

I know the price of freedom and I understand the sacrifices that you have given. You have done that for me, and for this nation. You didn't do that for rewards or medals or recognition.

Please join me today as a grateful nation chooses to collectively remember, thank and celebrate our Vets, who they are and what they have selflessly given. I choose to do that every day because they are my HEROES and I am so grateful!

Happy Veterans Day and God bless each one of you!

Debbie Lee
Gold Star Mother and Proud American