Church begins home-buyer program

Malia Spencer

Saturday, July 5, 2003 | 2:38 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: July 5, 2003

For many working-class Las Vegans, the real estate market is too expensive to purchase a home, but the Holy Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church is trying to offer those in search of a first home a little relief.

The church, led by Rev. Emanuel Wasson III, has implemented plans to build eight single-family homes for moderate-to lower-income home buyers on church-owned property.

Wasson said the church hopes to break ground in August on the lots, located north of Miller Avenue just east of Revere Street in North Las Vegas, just over a mile from the church. The zoning and planning stages of the project have been cleared and now the church is working out the final costs with the contractor. Currently the project is expected to cost the church $1.25 million, Rev. Cynthia Pitts said.

The first phase would consist of eight 1,400-square foot, single-level homes, Pitts said, with a final goal of 17 new homes. She added the estimated value of homes to be $126,000 to $132,000.

The church plans to subsidize construction so the sale price will be affordable to working-class families who otherwise could not afford a down payment, Wasson said. The median price of a home in Las Vegas is currently $180,000 Pitts said.

The high median price "throws many people out of the housing market," she said. Pitts added the hotels keep building and providing more jobs but "the incomes aren't there."

Wasson added that North Las Vegas "needs programs to help first-time home buyers."

The church has owned the land for the project for five years, said Pitts, who is in charge of property acquisition for the church. The lot has been empty for years and she said neighbors have already expressed their approval for the construction.

The money raised from home sales will be reinvested in the community to buy new land and build more homes to aid in community development, Wasson said. The homes would be available to all members of the community, not just Holy Trinity church members.

With the subsidies, Pitts said, the mortgage on the homes would range between $110,000 and $115,000. To offset the price of construction, the church has begun fund-raising and accepted a Home Funds grant from North Las Vegas.

The church is also working with Countrywide Financial Services and the Fannie Mae Foundation on financing, Wasson said.

Wasson, who founded the church in his home in 1989, said applicants would be prequalified with training in home finances to increase their financial stability.

To provide support for first time buyers, Pitts was trained by the Fannie Mae Foundation in their home counselor online program to track homeowner progress.

"First-time owners might not know what to expect," she said. "We don't want them to move in just to lose it."

Pitts has been working closely with members of the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles Calif., who have run a similar economic development program for the past 15 years.

The Los Angeles church has $22 million in housing, $11 million in commercial real estate and has housed 800 people, said Rev. Mark Whitlock, executive director of the church's FAME Renaissance program.

The church's job is to teach and provide finances to those who need it, Whitlock said, whether they have the challenge of financial literacy or bad credit. He said the church works with Countrywide Home Loans to provide $18 million in financing.

Whitlock said he has worked with Pitts to train her in the "business of economic development." He saw the Las Vegas church's effort to start a faith- based economic movement as a step in the right direction.

He said the Los Angeles program was started because nationwide only 8 percent of African Americans own a home and that rate is "dismal."

Pitts said she hopes the addition of these homes to the housing market will help people who have moved to Las Vegas for improved living.

"People are still moving to Vegas to find a better life," she said. "And part of that is finding a home to love and cherish."

For information about applying for one of the homes contact the Rev. Cynthia Pitts at (702) 807-4663.