Vehicle promoting home ownership stops in St. Louis
A vehicle used to teach consumers about home ownership will be stopping at four sites in the St. Louis area this week, starting Wednesday at the Human Development Corp., 935 North Vandevender Avenue.
Fifth Third Bank, which owns the vehicle, will offer free credit reports, financial counseling and access to online tools to learn about the process of buying a house. Refreshments and a drawing for a $100 gas card also will be available.
The vehicle will be at HDC from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday and 4 to 7 p.m. Friday. In addition, the vehicle will be at Roberts Brothers Properties, 1408 North Kingshighway, 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Tom Welch, St. Louis president for Fifth Third, said, “Homeownership is a key component to building safe communities and establishing a stable future for our families. Despite market challenges, we believe that homeownership is possible for all. Fifth Third is committed to being a positive force in St. Louis, and through our Homeownership Mobile, we are empowering our neighbors with the tools and information they need to make wise decisions.”
Fifth Third is providing the event in cooperation with HDC, Roberts Brothers, the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), Beyond Housing, Clear Channel Radio, Community College Foundation, Freddie Mac and Justine Peterson Housing.
This is a good idea as long as the sponsoring lending institutions teach in a way that allows folks to have alternative lenders to use if they want to. Too many good old boys jump on the bandwagon to get the po’ folks’ monies. I am so sick of good old boys going through poor hoods selling satellite service, and cable, and cell phones, etc that folks don’t NEED. I’m real disappointed in the real estate industry right now due to the many crooks out there. Education is key, but not giving rewards to the proven crooked ones as part of the political solution is key too. There are lots of independent neighborhood remodelers who could take up the slack HONESTLY and without GREED.