HARRISON, Ark., Sept. 28, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and Bank of the Ozarks are pleased to announce they have awarded a $105,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant to the Northwest Regional Housing Authority (NWRHA).
The AHP grant will be used toward the costs to construct homes for 15 very low- to moderate-income, first-time homebuyers in northwest Arkansas, and to assist them with closing costs.
"The AHP grants help our families obtain affordable homes, especially now, with the state of the housing market," said Vicki Stratton, director of the NWRHA's Mutual Self-Help Housing Program. "Otherwise, our families would not be able to afford homes. I have some families that would not be able to come up with 20 percent down on a home. The grants also help our families to obtain more house for their money, especially our disabled families, and it frees up money for them."
The Mutual Self-Help Housing Program assists low-income families with homeownership. Participants in the program agree to help each other build their homes and form building cooperatives. Homeowners build "sweat equity" by contributing 65 percent of the construction labor. The housing loans for the participating families are funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development's 502 loan funds, which assist low-income families purchasing homes in rural areas.
"The Mutual Self-Help Housing Program has built 70 homes in the area since 2004," said Ken McDowell, executive director of NWRHA. "By assisting people with homeownership, we are also creating jobs, constructing infrastructure, changing lives, and more importantly, the program is improving the quality of life."
In addition to building homes that are affordable for the families, Mutual Self-Help Housing uses contractors that build homes to suit families with individuals who have physical disabilities.
"We will be working with three families that have disabled persons under this particular AHP grant," Ms. Stratton said. "We make their homes livable for them. We visit with the families and their caseworkers and work with them, one-on-one, to develop a livable space to accommodate their disability."
NWRHA worked with Bank of the Ozarks to obtain the AHP grant.
"Martie North (vice president and director of community development at Bank of the Ozarks) has always been very helpful and has gone above and beyond in helping us with the grant, the families, and whatever technical assistance we needed to help us get the grant," Ms. Stratton said
The grant is the fourth AHP grant NWRHA has received through FHLB Dallas and Bank of the Ozarks to assist families in the organization's seven-county region.
"Bank of the Ozarks has seen first-hand the impact NWRHA and its housing programs have made on families in our communities," said Ms. North. "We are pleased that another 15 hard-working families will be able to own their own homes through our partnership with NWRHA and FHLB Dallas, and we are proud to be a part of creating quality, affordable housing in northwest Arkansas."
The grant couldn't have come at a better time.
"I was so excited to get it because we are finishing up the homes that were funded under the last AHP grant we received," Ms. Stratton said. "We've got two families left. We've also added two counties to our coverage area – Madison and Baxter counties. Those are large areas for us, and we can always use additional funding."
In addition to the new counties, NWRHA also serves Boone, Carroll, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties.
Each year, FHLB Dallas returns 10 percent of its profits to the communities served by its member institutions in the form of AHP grants. AHP grants are used to purchase, construct, and/or rehabilitate single-family, transitional, and multifamily projects for very low- to moderate-income families. In 2011, FHLB Dallas awarded $11 million in AHP grants to 53 housing projects that will help create, renovate, or purchase 1,653 housing units, including more than $1 million to assist with 135 housing units in Arkansas.
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 $31.4 billion as of June 30, 2011, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances 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 website at fhlb.com.
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3013
About Bank of the Ozarks
Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. is a bank holding company with $4.03 billion in total assets as of June 30, 2011 and trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "OZRK." The Company owns a state-chartered subsidiary bank that conducts banking operations through 113 offices in Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. The Company may be contacted at (501) 978-2265 or P. O. Box 8811, Little Rock, Arkansas 72231-8811. The Company's website is: www.bankozarks.com.