Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, Inc. (MHCDO) is a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency. MHCDO has a rich history of serving the residents of the District of Columbia, and particularly Ward 7. We are committed to serving District residents, opening doors of opportunity for individuals, and transforming both the lives and neighborhoods.
Babatunde Oloyede, President and CEO, is pleased to showcase housing counseling services that ultimately support generational wealth and not simply homeownership. Lessons learned from successful homeowners and empirical data are that they need counseling education for the purchase process and additional skills and knowledge throughout the homeownership experience. As a member of Mayor Bowser’s Black Homeownership Strike Force, I became acutely aware of the need for homeowners to have a long-term relationship with housing counselors. The Strike Force aimed to identify actionable recommendations to increase and support homeownership for Black residents of the District of Columbia. Some residents could not actualize the benefits of homeownership, such as financial stability, financial strength, tax deductions, a permanent home, and a sense of belonging in their community. The number one recommendation from the strike force was the need for estate planning, as residents needed information to pass their properties to family members or others.
MHCDO recommends a comprehensive prepurchase education component, a financial education component, and a post-purchase education component. Each element is vital.
Strong financial knowledge and decision-making skills help people evaluate options and make informed decisions throughout the homeownership experience. MHCDO’s program topics include Credit Scoring, Savings Plan, Estate Planning, Financial Record Keeping, Borrowing Basics, and Predatory Practices.
The Prepurchase program trains individuals and families in homeownership readiness, how to shop for a home, get a mortgage loan, enhance their budget, and credit profiles, maintain their home, and increase financial resources after purchase.
The post-purchase program focuses on topics that help both new and existing homeowners manage their most important assets. These topics include home maintenance and repair, financial management and budgeting skills, insurance, smart equity solutions, estate planning, early intervention programs to prevent delinquencies and default, and the pros and cons of refinancing. The post-purchase program also addresses climate change and emergency preparedness regarding uploading financial or other vital records into the cloud.
Other counseling services available at MHCDO are the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) as a way to inform homeowners about the pros and cons of the reverse mortgage, Foreclosure Prevention to build strategies to prevent default or delinquency, and Emergency Preparedness counseling to shore up the homeowners and residents financially before a disaster as well as assist residents in developing an emergency plan. These programs expand MHCDO’s influence beyond Ward 7, District of Columbia, and into neighboring States.
MHCDO is celebrating National Homeownership Month activities scheduled for June 17 through 21, 2024. Please watch for invites from Eventbrite, the MHCDO website, and other listservs.