Monday, June 23 (Denver, Colorado) The HUD "Homeownership Express" entered the Mile High City today to spotlight what many would-be homebuyers say is the primary reason they have yet to buy a home: they can't come up with enough cash to meet the down payment requirements.

Fortunately, Denver families have a powerful resource they can turn to: the Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation. Folks gathered at the CHAC offices on Santa Fe Street to greet the bus, in an area that was once the bustling center of the city in the 1930s.

Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher speaks at the Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation in Denver Colorado during a Homeownership Express bus stop.

Representatives from HUD's Blueprint for the American Dream Partnership were among the crowd. They're the public, private and nonprofit entities that have come together to help meet the challenge laid down by President Bush last year, when he set a national goal of creating 5.5 million new minority homebuyers by the end of the decade. A number of future homeowners joined the Blueprint Partners outside the bus, along with five local families who have successfully traveled the path to homeownership.

New homeowner Roberto Zavala is the general manager of the Good Times Drive Thru. He is unmarried and has a teenage daughter, Ama, who attends a local school. Roberto also supports his mom. Roberto bought his house after attending classes at the Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation, which was recently approved as a sanctioned housing counseling agency.

Roberto Zavala was one of those proud homeowners. Roberto, 40, is employed full time as a general manager at the Good Times Drive Thru. He's a single a parent who works to support his 16-year-old daughter and his 62-year-old mother. Roberto qualified for his home after attending homeownership education classes at CHAC.

Because it's headquartered in the midst of a diverse Denver community filled with several minority groups, CHAC provides homeownership classes to more than 2,000 people in English, Spanish, Russian and even American Sign Language. CHAC was recently designated a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.

CHAC is celebrating its 20th year of helping Colorado families discover the many benefits that come with homeownership. Housing counseling is just one of the services it provides the community. During the past year, CHAC closed on 624 down payment assistance loans, with an average loan size of $4,800. The total amount of new loans was $2.9 million.

From left to right are HUD Chief Financial Officer Angela Antonelli; new homeowner Roberto Zavala; FHA Commissioner John Weicher; new homeowners Neibly, Jaime and Armando Morales; and Abel Monroy and Diana Diaz, other new homeowners, in Denver at the CHAC.

The inability to afford a home because a high down payment is required is a problem for many lower-income and minority families. Many times, the transfer of family assets from parents to their children can mean the difference in whether a family is able to buy a home. These intergenerational wealth transfers boost homeownership by helping younger families afford their first home. In many cases, however, lower-income and minority families simply lack the accumulated wealth that can provide for down payment and closing costs.

To help families overcome this barrier, the Bush Administration proposed the American Dream Downpayment Initiative in 2002, and is asking Congress to fund the program at $200 million in the coming year. The Initiative will help make homeownership a reality for 40,000 cash-strapped families annually.

Also taking part in today's event were HUD Assistant Secretary for Housing/Federal Housing Commissioner John Weicher; HUD Chief Financial Officer Angela Antonelli; and HUD Regional Director John Carson.