After a Homeownership Month devoted to educating our clients and partners, employees of the Chicago Regional Office were invited by Regional Director Joseph Galvan to attend their own homeownership event, presented by the Illinois Association of Mortgage Brokers.

A near capacity crowd of employees and their friends and family members attended a two-hour presentation on the homebuying process "Are You Ready to Head Down the Road to Homeownership?"

This newly designed program is part of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers Education initiative for front-line education of mortgage consumers. It was introduced in Illinois with this inaugural presentation to HUD employees.

Terry Bivins and Marv Stockert from the local chapter of the NAMB, covered a wide range of topics including: the pros and cons of buying a house, the hidden costs of home ownership, maintenance necessities, tracking spending habits and analyzing your finances, credit history, fair housing laws, do's and don'ts for potential homebuyers and new homeowners, frequently asked questions and predatory lending.

Regional employees had many questions after the presentation and have been sharing their newly gained knowledge with co-workers who were unable to attend.

Among the topics discussed during the two-hour session were the pros and cons of buying a house, the hidden costs of home ownership, maintenance and predatory lending.	Terry Bivins (left) and Marv Stockert discussed many issues related to homebuying with Midwest Region staff and family and friends.