Buying your first home can often be a daunting task. Not only is there quite a bit of paperwork, but just coming up with a down payment is a challenge for many people. Fortunately for six mid-Missouri residents the process was made easy, particularly with a grant they received to cover much of the upfront expense.
Derek Abbott, FHLB Grant recipient
Derek Abbott was a first-time home buyer who was facing those challenges. Then one of our lenders, Brian Hughes, mentioned how we could help Derek receive a $3,500 grant to go towards his closing costs and down payment. Derek, a Boone County firefighter, said it was great knowing his bank was looking out for him. “Brian was really good. He knew what he was doing, and he kept me posted on the whole process. He even made the paperwork easy.”
The grant that Derek received was part of an overall $15,000 grant that The Callaway Bank brought to mid-Missouri from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, IA. We were one of only eight banks in Missouri to receive the grant. In addition to the $15,000, we provided an additional $6,000 of our own funds in an effort to help first time home buyers.
The resulting $21,000 pool of funds was awarded to six qualifying home-buyers in the Columbia and Fulton area. Another one of the recipients was Rhiannon Clardy. Rhiannon worked with Carole Reynolds to buy her first home. With Carole’s help, Rhiannon qualified for the $3,500 grant and now is busy making improvements to her new home. “Carole made the entire process painless. She took care of the paperwork and everything ,” said Rhiannon.
“We are always looking for ways to help our clients reach their goals”, said Rick Gohring, Callaway County Market President. “People still find it challenging to navigate the mortgage process and we do everything we can to guide them to make the process easier. The best part is when we can help people with their first house because it is such a big change in their life.”
Now that the grant pool has been allocated, we plan to reapply to the Federal Home Loan Bank for additional funds. In the meantime, we will continue to assist applicants with buying their new homes through every avenue available.