United Housing, Inc. was recently recognized by the
Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) during a recent industry peer session. Tim Bolding,
Executive Director of United Housing and Sharon Walker, United Housing’s Homebuyer Education
Manager, joined Ruth Gibson of the Binghampton Development Corporation to accept THDA’s Founders
Award. The award recognized the two organizations for their efforts in creating the foundation for
homebuyer education in Tennessee.
“Tim, Sharon and Ruth were all instrumental in providing insight, opinion and participation in THDA’s early
efforts to establish the homebuyer education counseling program,” said Lindsay Hall, Senior Director of
Single Family Programs at Tennessee Housing Development Agency.
New research on the effectiveness of pre-purchase housing counseling and education shows that
homebuyers who received such advice were one-third less likely to fall behind on their mortgages 90 days
or more, two years after taking out the loan, compared to homebuyers who didn’t receive similar counseling
and education. The research was done for NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit affiliated with
United Housing, by Neil Mayer and Associates and Experian, and is based on approximately 75,000
mortgage loans originated in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
“The latest research clearly tells us that we need to help families with their housing issues ahead of time,
staving off family stress, financial difficulties and costs that are borne by neighbors and the city,” said
Bolding. “The proven effectiveness of homebuyer education, as well as the recent recognition from THDA,
is encouraging to our team, who has worked diligently to ensure our counseling program is meeting the
needs of our customers. Our experience in education and counseling is complemented by our partner in
this award, who is using a holistic approach to communicate to and serve the residents of Binghampton.”
During the last fiscal year, United Housing counseled more than 1,000 individuals and families through its
Homebuyer Education and Foreclosure Prevention programs. The organization also assisted 541 families
during the year, helping 284 purchase a home while helping save 257 from foreclosure. Last year,
Binghampton Development Corporation assisted 291 clients, including 76 homebuyer clients and 131
foreclosure interventions.
“We’re very proud to share this recognition with United Housing, who like Binghampton, is doing significant
work to help struggling families in our community,” said Robert Montague, Executive Director of
Binghampton Development Corporation.
In addition to the THDA recognition, United Housing recently received a counseling grant from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The grant, awarded in two installments by
NeighborWorks America, will fund a portion of United Housing’s housing counseling and education
expenses.
About Binghampton Development Corporation
The Binghampton Development Corporation was founded in 2003 and is an independent, nonprofit
community development corporation. For more information, visit bdcmemphis.org.
