DALLAS, April 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For Yolanda Melendez, owning a home has meant a better life for herself and her three children.
With down payment and closing cost assistance from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and United Bank of El Paso del Norte, Ms. Melendez was able to move out of her dilapidated mobile home and into a new house.
The El Paso Collaborative for Community and Economic Development was awarded a $70,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from FHLB Dallas and United Bank of El Paso del Norte. The grant will provide $7,000 to 10 recipients to assist with down payment and closing costs on a new home. The El Paso Collaborative is a nonprofit organization that provides a variety of social services, including housing assistance, financial planning, and small-business loans, to residents in El Paso and the surrounding area. Through El Paso Collaborative's Affordable Homeownership Program, Ms. Melendez qualified as one of the 10 recipients to receive a grant to help her buy a home.
"There is such a great need in our area, and these funds will be put to good use," said Lorraine Frias, project coordinator at the El Paso Collaborative.
Jessica Margherio-Alvarez, vice president of commercial lending at United Bank of El Paso del Norte, said the bank originally partnered with the El Paso Collaborative for the AHP grant and found the program to be so successful that it has since branched out into other FHLB Dallas programs, such as the Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) program.
"Since the inception of our partnership with the El Paso Collaborative, we're looking at $215,000 in AHP and HELP funds that United Bank of El Paso del Norte has provided to our community," she said.
Utility bills for Ms. Melendez's mobile home were very high, despite the under insulated home remaining hot in the summer and cold in the winter. With assistance from the AHP grant, Ms. Melendez and her three children, ages 4, 7, and 17, moved into a new, four-bedroom, energy efficient home. The home was built with structural insulated panels to save on heating and cooling costs, and is tiled rather than carpeted to cut down on allergy problems suffered by all three of her children.
"We are very happy in this house," Melendez said. "It was a dream come true. It has changed our lives and we are so grateful to the people that helped us."
Each year, FHLB Dallas returns 10 percent of its profits in the form of AHP grants issued by its member financial institutions. In 2009, FHLB Dallas awarded $10.5 million in AHP grants for 1,361 affordable housing units within its five-state District, including more than $1.65 million awarded in Texas, which will result in the creation or renovation of 248 affordable housing units in the state.
For more information about FHLB Dallas programs, please contact the Corporate Communications Department at 214.441.8445.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 12 district banks in the FHLBank System created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $65.1 billion as of December 31, 2009, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced loans and other credit products to more than 900 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Texas. For more information, visit the FHLB Dallas web site at fhlb.com.
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