To Rent or to Buy? Less of a Dilemma with New UHI Loan Package

That is the question. Turns out in Shelby County renting can be expensive compared to owning according to SmartAsset as reported by the Memphis Business Journal.

Key Points:

• Shelby County is the 6th best place to buy in the state, according to SmartAsset and calculated using an average mortgage rate of 4.5%.

• "The average monthly mortgage payment in Shelby County was $488 compared to an average monthly rental payment of $1,219."

Home for sale at Wolf River Bluffs

Owning a home in Shelby County pays off. Banks and mortgage lenders made 9,368 mortgages in Shelby County last year, up 11% from 2014 according to the Chandler Reports Review. Lenders United Housing works closely with, like Community Mortgage, Magna Bank (now Pinnacle), and Iberia Bank make up the bulk of the mortgages made last year.

While mortgage demand may be growing, there are still many families that are without access to a mortgage. Credit is still a major barrier for many Memphis families, as well as down payment necessary to close a conventional mortgage. After the 2008 crash, millions of families were pushed out of their homes and into rental situations. According to the Commercial Appeal, "about 137,000 metro-area residents are estimated to work two or more jobs, compared to an estimated 40,000 in 2007..." just to be able to afford rent. "Single parents, seniors and the disabled were among the hardest hit along with workers in the food-service industry," and to add to it, the affordable homes were bought in bulk by outside investors for flipping or for rental property - $1 billion worth of homes in Memphis suburbs since 2010, according to the CA.

United Housing offers financial education and counseling as well as a financial product that will help individuals make the leap into homeownership and out of a costly rental situation. Owning a home for less than rent is easier than you may think. Give us a call at 901-272-1122 to sign up for a Homebuyer Education class, credit counseling or for more information on the homes we have for sale at our Wolf River Bluffs subdivision at James Rd. and McLean Blvd. Tell a friend!

The homes are brand new and energy-efficient, with increased indoor air quality through EcoBUILD certification standards. The solar panels will give you an average of $30 savings in energy costs. You can be a homeowner in Shelby County and save money monthly!

Lukas Alfen Making a Mark in Memphis

This past summer, United Housing hosted Lukas Alfen, an eighth grade Science teacher at Woodstock Middle School through Teach for America - Memphis, as an intern. During his internship, Lukas helped develop a process for getting financial education to teachers through financial literacy tools that are used across the country. These tools help teachers share with their students how to mitigate bad spending habits and bad credit scores through financial education at an early age. 

In honor of today being World Teacher's Day, we caught up with Lukas to hear about his teaching journey and investment in the community. 

How long have you been teaching at this school?

I am in my second year at Woodstock Middle School as part of my two-year service commitment for Teach for America. Prior to beginning at Woodstock, I taught summer school at Memphis Business Academy in Frayser. 

 

What led you to the Teach for America program?

I joined the program because of my work as a teaching assistant during my undergraduate studies at Syracuse University. While there, I saw the impact a dedicated teacher can have on mindset and achievement of their students. I noticed how the strong relationships built in school helped facilitate success for students outside the classroom walls. I also felt that Teach For America would give me the opportunity to experience life in a unique part of the country, different from the Northeast.

What is the best part about teaching? Most challenging?

The best part about teaching is getting to know my students. Having conversations and hearing their opinions gives me a clearer perspective on not only myself, but my goal here in Memphis as well. Each student is so full of potential that I need to ensure I am intentional in directing their energy in ways that will prepare them for success in grade school and beyond.

The most challenging part about teaching for me is finding the time to accomplish all of the goals I have for my classroom. There are only so many hours in a day to teach students, prepare lessons, measure data and support extracurricular activities, that finding any down time is almost impossible.

Have you been able to use what you learned at United Housing this summer in your classroom this fall?

Working at United Housing has helped me better understand Memphis as a city and a community. The need to drastically improve the financial literacy skills of children in Memphis quickly became apparent. Because of this, I have committed myself to teaching the importance of learning financial education and money management skills early on to help open up opportunities in adulthood.

What inspires you to give back to your community?

My students inspire me each and every day. The teachable moments I have with them make all the work worthwhile. Going into a profession for the money was never something I wanted to do, as I would rather make a career in which my value would be measured in the impact I had on others.

UHI Intern Paves Path for Youth Financial Literacy Program

Through Teach for America, Lukas Alfen has worked as a geometry and science teacher at Woodstock Middle School in Millington, Tenn., for the past year. In January, Lukas reached out to UHI Executive Director Tim Bolding about financial literacy for youth programming. The meeting resulted in Tim Bolding speaking to Lukas' class on financial literacy for youth. Following the presentation, both Lukas and Tim were surprised by the lack of knowledge these students had on money management.

"After discussing, Lukas and I came to the conclusion that the best way to create and nurture the homeowners of tomorrow is to develop the money management and financial literacy skills in children today," said Tim. "Knowing that Lukas would be a great asset to our team, I offered him a summer internship to exclusively focus on developing a UHI youth financial literacy program. We were thrilled when he accepted."

For the past two months, Lukas has been developing the foundation of this program, titled United Housing for Youth (UHY), through research and networking with community partners. He has strengthened and developed relationships between UHI and several organizations that are enthusiastic about the initiative.

"The dialogue surrounding financial education is gaining momentum, and I hope this program is a step in the right direction," said Lukas. "More awareness will lead to more action and a brighter future for the next generation."

UHY consists of different financial literacy lessons that are meant to be easily facilitated by a teacher or professional visiting a classroom. Additionally, UHY will give facilitators access to relevant and quality extension activities, including programs developed by EverFi, which is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, badging and certifying students in critical skills.

"My hope is that UHY helps bring more attention to the lack of and need for financial literacy skills in our community's children," said Lukas. "Often times, financial issues that adults face could be prevented had they learned the proper skills as children. I'm confident this program can help correct some of these trends."

Interested in ways you can support this new initiative? Email us through our website using subject line UHY at http://www.uhinc.org/home-19/home-25, or call Amy Schaftlein at (901) 728-6937.