Neighborhood Lift program aims to help locals buy homes

Thomas Lavender was happy to learn Friday that he had qualified for $15,000 from the Neighborhood Lift program to make the down payment on a home in Las Vegas.

That's a small hurdle compared with finding the right house for his budget.

Even with 30-year mortgage rates at historic lows and home prices down 60 percent from their peak, buying a house in Las Vegas is not as easy as some people think.

Lavender, who attended a workshop presented by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said he wants to buy a home near his mother, sister and uncle around Craig Road and North Fifth Street, which is not in the Las Vegas city limits.

"I looked at two homes and on one house, they paid cash and on the other I got outbid," said Lavender, a 34-year-old father of four. "I want my kids to grow up in Vegas and have a house to grow up in. I'm keeping an open mind. If I find a home and it's comfortable and affordable and my kids like it, I'll live just about anywhere."

Lavender was among more than 1,100 prospective homebuyers who registered for the two-day Neighborhood Lift workshop, which continues today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Riviera. For registration and information on what to bring to the workshop, visit www.neighborhoodlift.com.

The program is designed to attract qualified homebuyers to neighborhoods struggling with high inventory of unsold homes. Neighborhood Housing Services of Southern Nevada is offering as much as $15,000 in down payment assistance grants to prospective homebuyers who meet income guidelines of up to 120 percent of annual median income, or about $79,200 for a family of four.

The home must be purchased within Las Vegas' city limits and must be owner-occupied for at least five years for the grant to be forgiven, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage regional sales manager Sandy Streator said. Buyers also have to qualify for a first mortgage.

"You don't need perfect credit," she said. "You need at least one year of good credit. You can have mistakes in the past."

The down payment grant can be "layered" with other programs such as the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, so that someone could get an additional $20,000 to pay down the cost of the home, Streator said.

Robyn Yates of Windermere Prestige Properties said she's been talking to her agents about the Neighborhood Lift program.

"It's an incredible program if they can find a house and if they can qualify. You have to have a job and good credit rating," Yates said.

She said banks would rather lend to owner-occupants, which is better for the community as a whole, but they're getting multiple offers from cash investors. Most of the foreclosure deals are gone soon after listing.

"It's just so different in Las Vegas and goofed up," Yates said. "In terms of deals, buyers should look at short sales. Generally, there's less competition than foreclosures. If you can wait, you're more likely to get the property. There is no silver bullet."

Eduardo Ramirez pays $700 a month to rent a two-bedroom apartment around Lake Mead and Jones boulevards and wants to get back to being a homeowner. He's looking for something in the $120,000 price range around Buffalo and Vegas drives.

"You come out better in the long run buying a house instead of renting and throwing away your money," the 66-year-old retiree said. "I had a house before, but unfortunately, the situation with my marriage didn't work out and I end up back to square one, back to zero. But I'm 66 and still kicking."

Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.