Tampa Bay CDC

This year marks Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation’s (CDC) 30-year anniversary of providing homeownership services to the Greater Tampa Bay area. Also a newly-minted NeighborWorks® Homeownership Center, Tampa Bay CDC definitely has much to celebrate. “We’re all excited here. We will be opening our Homeownership Center within the next month, so we may combine both celebrations,” says Vice President and Homeownership Center Manager, Bill Sanchez.

Founded in 1982, Tampa Bay CDC was created to promote homeownership and home retention opportunities for the area’s low and median-income residents. Since its inception, it has assisted more than 12,000 clients with pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention. In the past year, pre-purchase counseling was provided to 828 clients and 971 homeowners received foreclosure counseling. Yet, these numbers should not be regarded merely as outputs. Sanchez acknowledges that each client’s case is important. “Our clients are not just numbers on reports,” he states. “They are real people with real challenges. And in the process of helping them, we grow to care about them.”

It is that level of care that has led Tampa Bay CDC to implement programs and join local and federal initiatives to best meet the needs of its clientele. It offers free monthly homeownership workshops, pre- and post-purchase counseling, and also offers down payment assistance through the Neighborhood LIFT program, a collaborative initiative of Wells Fargo Bank, Wells Fargo Foundation and NeighborWorks® America. Additionally, it participates in the HUD Neighborhood Stabilization Program and is also a direct grantee of the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program to assist clients with foreclosure-related issues.

“NFMC funding has allowed us to expand services to areas that have little or no housing counseling services,” Sanchez notes. And recent statistics indicate that foreclosure intervention services are greatly needed statewide. According to RealyTrac, Florida maintains one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. In August 2012, one in every 328 homes received a foreclosure filing, compared to one in every 298 homes nationwide. To help this issue, Tampa Bay CDC’s foreclosure counseling services are available to all Floridians facing the threat of foreclosure. According to Sanchez, about 40% of Tampa Bay CDC’s clients visit them for in-person counseling, so they also offer telephone counseling to ensure all clients have access to the services they may require.

Sanchez recalls a story of one client who contacted Tampa Bay CDC for counseling after months of working with an attorney in an effort to obtain a loan modification. “The attorney was unable to get her a modification and she was charged a fee,” he shares. Yet, after working with Tampa Bay CDC, the client’s home was saved. “Our efforts with the lender paid off. The client was given a principal reduction and her interest rate was lowered. She now has an affordable mortgage payment,” Sanchez explains. Tampa Bay CDC was also successful with assisting another client with a obtaining a principal reduction. After the landmark $25 billion national mortgage settlement was reached, a counselor submitted the client’s file to her servicer for review and the client was granted a principal reduction of $109,000. Sanchez exclaims, “Their success is our success,” when reflecting on their clients’ outcomes. “And while we can’t save every home, each client is provided the same level of care and professionalism,” he adds.

From free homeownership workshops and counseling to mortgage assistance, Tampa Bay CDC certainly lends a comprehensive approach toward addressing its client’s homeownership needs. But Sanchez regards the organization’s culture of putting the client first as the key to what has kept the organization going the past 30 years. “One of the reasons for our success is that everyone, from our Director to our receptionist, cares,” he explains. With this client-centric approach, one can bet that Tampa Bay CDC will be around for decades to come.

For more information on Tampa Bay CDC, please visit www.tampabaycdc.org.