This month I'd like to introduce you to Anita Davis, our Housing Development specialist. One of Anita's responsibilities is managing our Oakland HOME Investment Partnerships Program, which helps low- to moderate-income families become home buyers.  

 

Homeownership instills a sense of pride and helps stabilize communities and neighborhoods, fitting with our mission as "passionate advocates, devoted to providing homes for people in need and access to resources to create sustainable communities."  

 

Anita Davis

In the nearly two years Anita has been with us, she has worked to complete four HOME homeownership opportunities. One home in Holly and two in Oak Park have sold and a third one in Oak Park, on Condon, has just been completed and is now listed for sale. Two homes in Pontiac are slated for development this year.

HOME is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program providing grants to localities, in this case, the Oakland County Community and Home Improvement Division, for building, buying or rehabilitating affordable housing.

We apply for this funding when it becomes available and so far have created 30 homeownership opportunities since 2002. HUD maintains that the HOME program is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing.    

 

Community Housing Network works with participating jurisdictions, or municipalities, and purchases homes in the middle of that area's housing stock. Anita oversees the acquisition of the home and then works with the property manager to determine the specifications needed for the rehabilitation of each home. This usually means we update everything in the home installing new windows, new flooring, updating the electrical and plumbing and completely gutting the kitchen and bathrooms.  

 

Anita says, "We don't want sterile. We want clean and bright."

She oversees the contractors as well as the rehabilitation itself. One of the fun parts of her position, she says, is picking out the kitchen cabinets, flooring, appliances and paint colors. "In the kitchens, I pick lighter countertops but darker cabinets, such as cherry or mahogany, which make a room seem warmer. I keep streamlined, clean lines and keep things bright and open. For the bathrooms, I like to go with modern, clean straight lines to keep things modern with a bit of personality. We don't want sterile. We want clean and bright," she says.

 

Anita also works with the interested potential homebuyers, whose household income does not exceed 80 percent AMI, completing the screening and working to make sure they have all the proper application documents. Potential homebuyers have to be able to secure a mortgage, have had no bankruptcies or foreclosures within the past two years, and have roughly $1,500 for closing costs. In addition, the prospective homeowner must also complete the Homebuyer Education class. 

This Oak Park home on Condon is now available.

Oakland County also provides homebuyer financial assistance through this program, making monthly payments affordable for those who qualify for the program.  

 

Anita says, "People are

Condon home kitchen.

elated when they see what we have done to these

homes that are now beautiful and in move-in condition. Every time I hand over the keys, I can see how excited they are."

Let's turn to Anita now and give her a chance to answer a few questions.

Condon home basement.

 

How did you become involved with CHN?

 

My mom knew C.J. Felton, CHN's director of Resource Development and Communications, through Leadership Oakland. I met him in the fall of 2012 to ask about career decisions as I had just graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning and I wanted to get into real estate development. He suggested I get my real estate license to help me get a better understanding of the industry, and proved to be a good move for me. After graduation, I worked for a congressman for a while and then with a nonprofit in downtown Detroit. C.J. called me when they had an opening for a development assistant and I was hired that day in May 2013. Part of what I did was work with the Oakland HOME program. In October of that year, I transitioned to become the Housing Development specialist position and took over the Oakland HOME program.

This Oak Park home recently sold as part of our Oakland HOME program.

 

How did you get interested in this field?

I started at MSU in civil engineering, like my Dad, since I was good in math and science, but I hated most of it. I knew the importance of development because growing up on the east side of Detroit I saw the negative impact on the community when homeowners started to leave. But I couldn't say I was quitting that major without knowing what I was going to do. So I met with my counselor who described urban planning and I knew that was it for me. There are a lot of engineers in my family and they, and my Dad, were asking, "What is that?" It took a lot of serious convincing, but now they are all behind it. And now my Dad is sending me articles about urban planning.

 

What are some of the lessons you have learned in this position?

I have learned there is more that goes into homeownership than just having the keys and paying bills. I'm a newlywed and we rent, but after working with this program, I want to make sure we have funds set aside for issues that will arise, because they will! I have also learned how to better prioritize my time with multiple development projects going on at the same time.

 

What are some useful tips you have learned that would be valuable to others?

When you are trying to sell a home, remove your personality from it, allowing the buyer to envision what they could to do make it theirs. Keep the rooms bright and the colors neutral.

When you are working with a contractor, make sure you get references, shop around, always bid your project to more than one contractor because prices will vary, be detailed about what you want to accomplish, have weekly updates with the contractor and set hard deadlines for having the work completed, but be realistic. Have an attorney look over a contract because it's always good to have a second set of eyes look at something. Keep open communication with the contractor and always have a financial cushion in case something happens, knowing something usually does.  

 

Any parting words of wisdom?

I really like this quote by Suze Orman: "Owning a home is a keystone of wealth - both financial affluence and emotional security." It sums up why I love providing homeownership opportunities to families and individuals

 

I am grateful for Anita's work, as well as the work of all CHN team members.    

 

Thank you for your ongoing support!

 

Marc Craig
President