Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership

CONTACT:

P.O. Box 1042
Lowell, MA 01853
(978) 459-8490
www.mvhp.org

Jim L. Wilde, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

The mission of the MVHP is to promote home ownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income earners in the Merrimack Valley. Founded in 1986 in response to a severe shortage of affordable housing, MVHP's main program is Project Genesis-- a series of training seminars for first time homebuyers offered 20 times a year, in Spanish and English, to Hispanic, African-American, Cambodian, and White residents of Lowell and Lawrence. The key components of the home buying process are addressed by experts in the field: getting a mortgage, signing a purchase and sale agreement, getting a professional home inspection, accessing down payment assistance, creating a household budget, and understanding responsible home ownership. To date, over 7500 families have completed the seminars; approximately one have purchased their first home as a result. Project Genesis creates a pool of low- and moderate-income buyers who are educated and "pre-qualified" to become new homeowners in the Merrimack Valley. Won't you help them build on success?

(2002: HUMAN SERVICES: Well-Being)