What We Do

Creating Affordable Housing Solutions & Encouraging Homeownership

For two decades, HDF has proven it can deliver housing solutions that work for Connecticut.

Throughout western Connecticut and in Westchester County, NY low- and moderate-income families face one primary barrier to homeownership, and that is the high cost of housing in these areas. High housing costs not only mean that it is difficult to purchase a home, but also that hardworking families who may be steady wage-earners for years have difficulty saving for a down-payment after paying high rates for rental housing, food, gas and other necessities. For two decades, HDF has proven it can deliver housing solutions that work for Connecticut – for families, for lenders, for developers and for neighborhoods, and we are excited to offer these same services in Westchester County, NY as well.

HDF provides a myriad of financial products, programs and services designed to promote affordable housing by:

• Creating and managing public/private partnerships that encourage the development of affordable housing and promote homeownership.
• Helping developers build and/or renovate multi-unit dwellings for affordable housing by providing acquisition, planning and construction financing at below market interest rates.
• Providing no-cost financial planning and homeownership counseling services to low- and moderate-income households, helping them understand the steps necessary to achieve their goals and chart a course to achieve them.
• Offering loan products designed to help provide assistance with closing costs, down-payments and other structural barriers that would otherwise prevent hardworking families from achieving homeownership.
• Introducing homebuyers to banks who serve as lending partners, providing fixed rate first mortgages alongside HDF funding layers.
• Providing first-time homebuyers with ongoing support and post purchase education on home maintenance, refinancing considerations, and avoiding predatory lending practices.
• Offering municipalities and their housing authorities technical assistance with creating and managing affordable housing strategies and initiatives.
• Helping real estate developers identify qualified buyers for below-market-rate units.
• Offering expertise to commercial banks and other funders on leveraging funding they provide for affordable housing and homebuyer assistance.

Protecting Homeowners in Uncertain Times

When families lose their homes, whole communities suffer.

The financial crisis has placed the heaviest burden on the most vulnerable households: families on tight budgets, seniors with fixed incomes, people newly laid off or struggling to find jobs. HDF’s Foreclosure Intervention Program helps borrowers understand their rights and obligations, sort through their finances, negotiate with their lenders, and find solutions that work for both the borrowers and the banks. HDF helps break the cycle of financial stress, lost value, and empty homes by solving home-credit problems before they turn into crises.

HDF is working with a host of partners to help Connecticut families in their fight to save their homes from foreclosure by:

• Offering foreclosure clinics where counselors explain the foreclosure process and discuss issues such as professional development; employment opportunities; budgeting and credit counseling; and legal areas surrounding notices to mediation, retention, foreclosure and bankruptcy.
• Providing one-on-one counseling to help eligible homeowners find solutions and navigate the complicated foreclosure process including identifying the cause and amount of default, explaining all available options, assisting in communication with creditors, and providing referrals to partner agencies as needed.
• Convening or collaborating in foreclosure prevention forums at which homeowners have the opportunity to receive information on foreclosure prevention and potentially meet with their servicer, lender and/or a housing counselor.

Our Goals

Everyone deserves a home that’s safe, secure, and affordable. Yet for too many families, having a place to live is a challenging, confusing, and fragile proposition. HDF helps clear away the obstacles to finding and keeping an affordable home. We work with people with modest means – teachers and letter-carriers, nurses and maintenance workers, the backbone of the American workforce – to make sure that an affordable home in Connecticut is not only something they can find, but something they can hold on to, in good years and bad.

We want to shine a spotlight on the real faces of those who are seeking affordable housing,”

said HDF President and CEO Joan Carty. “They work hard and earn good, steady incomes – though not enough to readily purchase in high-priced markets. Some, as first time buyers, need help to understand the importance of good credit and how to establish it, and need to learn how to budget to save more for a down payment. We ultimately help all of our buyers to make their way through the finance and home purchase process. All share the dream of owning a home – the American Dream – and it’s a privilege to help them achieve it.”

Read How We Do It