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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 9, 2002
The Community Service Foundation's free "Getting a Mortgage" classes are designed to help first-time home buyers go through the process and qualify for down payment and closing costs assistance. Sequential two-part classes meet 6-9 p.m. Tues. and March 19 at the Sunshine Center, 330 Fifth St. N, St. Petersburg, and 6-9 p.m. April 4 and 11 at the Morningside Recreation Center, 2400 Harn Blvd., Clearwater. Participants must complete two-part series to receive certificate of completion. For registration or information, call (727) 461-0618 during business hours Mon.-Fri.
Community Homebuyers and Credit Rebuilding Workshop, designed for first-time home buyers, is presented in Spanish by Consumer Credit Counseling Service. The Spanish-language workshop, held in two sessions, 6-9:30 p.m. Wed. and Thur. at Greater Tampa Association of Realtors, 2918 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa, provides information on credit rebuilding, down payment and closing cost assistance programs to those with low to moderate incomes. Participants must attend both sessions to receive certification. Limited space; to register, call (813) 371-1727.
Need to learn the basics of how to sell your home yourself? Seminar offered by Century21clickit.com, a listing service for For Sale by Owner homesellers, covers topics such as preparing your home for sale, advertising and setting appointments, and showing your home. Seminar held the third Saturday of each month, with next seminar 9-11 a.m. March 16 at Holiday Inn Express on Rocky Point Island, 3025 N Rocky Point Drive, Tampa. Cost is $99, including materials and a current market analysis of your home. For information or registration, call (727) 595-8883.
"Dream of Home Ownership," a free home-buying seminar, is offered by the Tampa Bay Community Development Corp. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. March 16 and April 13 at Ross Norton Community Center, 1426 S Greenwood Ave., Clearwater. The free daylong seminar covers topics such as how to choose a real estate agent, home inspections and appraisals, loan applications, contracts and other documents and filing for a homestead exemption. Participants receive box lunch and Homebuyer workbook. Call (727) 442-7075 to register, or for more information, visit www.tampabaycdc.org. The Tampa Bay Community Development Corp. is approved by Department of Housing and Urban Development and is a Fannie Mae approved Homebuyer Education Provider.
Those who find that buying a home can be a complicated and confusing process can attend "Insider Home-buying Strategies," a free seminar presented by Realtors Janice Lockridge-Williams and Nancy Burridge of Keller Williams Landmark Realty of St. Petersburg, 7 p.m. March 26 and April 23 at Gladden Park Recreation Center, 3901 30th Ave. N, St. Petersburg. How lenders determine what kind of loan will be offered by evaluating the borrower's credit, how to better determine your credit worthiness, how to determine layout and furnishing needs to find a perfectly suited home and make a better home purchase are among the topics discussed. Handouts and notebook provided; to reserve, call (727) 422-7169 during business hours.
Free "New Homebuyers" two-part educational seminars sponsored by the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida and the Florida Suncoast, Inc. offered 6-9 p.m. April 11 and 18 at Alice Hall Community Center, 38116 Fifth Ave., Zephyrhills. Topics include the advantages of home ownership, budgeting, whether to buy or build a home, credit reports, home inspections, the Pasco County Affordable programs and the closing process. Attendance at both class sessions required for certificate. For reservations and information, call (727) 845-5654 or 1-800-720-9537.
The Community Service Foundation offers "Family Budgeting," free three-part money management classes for people who want to buy a house but are having trouble coming up with a down payment. Classes show how to develop a budget and how to save, and provide a basic understanding of credit reports. Sequential classes held 7-9 p.m. April 3, April 17, May 1 at Foundation Village Neighborhood Family Center, 918 Woodlawn St., Clearwater. Participants must attend and complete three-part class series to receive certificate. Call (727) 461-0618 for reservations.
"Road Map to Ownership" seminar 6-10 p.m. Tuesdays at Century 21 East Lake Realty, Shoppes at Boot Ranch, 782 East Lake Road, Palm Harbor, covers topics such as getting prequalified for a home and provides information on Fannie Mae and other helpful aids to prepare you in finding and purchasing your new home. Includes "Buyer's Guide Book" manual. Free, but reservations required. To register, call (727) 409-4583.
Get answers to questions about what role credit plays in the home-buying process and what to do about imperfect credit at free seminar presented by American Spirit Mortgage, 36477 U.S. 19 N, Palm Harbor, at 6:30 p.m. on selected Tuesdays. Seminar covers all aspects of buying and selling real estate and each step of the home-buying process, from qualifying for a loan to closing. Reservations required; call (727) 772-7638.
First Worldwide Mortgage Corp. offers free seminars on how to buy your first home, how to purchase a house with little down payment and how to avoid common home-buying pitfalls, plus information on the difference between FHA and VA loans; 10 a.m. to noon on selected Saturdays at 6450 Seminole Blvd., Seminole. Call (727) 398-7781 or (727) 798-1971 for information.
The Pinellas Housing Agency can tell first-time home buyers in the Clearwater, Largo and Dunedin areas whether they qualify for down payment assistance programs. Call (727) 467-9494.
- Send items to Homes, Peggy Anders, St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731. The deadline is two weeks before publication.