First-Time Home Buyer Program Aims to Educate Minorities

Looking to acquire your first Florida home loan can be a daunting task. This holds true for potential buyes from any background - but studies have shown that low-to-moderate income African-Americans and Hispanices are more susceptible to predatory lending scams.

With that in mind, the Federal Housing Administration has launched a public education campaign that aims to educate first-time home buyers from this demographic. The radio- and newspaper-based campaign will target first-time buyers in 16 U.S. markets, including Tampa and Miami. In addition, articles and editorials will be placed to help address barriers that minorities have faced on the road to home ownership.

“We have to be able to price the product differently and structure the product differently in order to adapt the 70-year-old FHA program to today’s mortgage market,” said Brian Montgomery, HUD’s assistant secretary for housing and federal housing commissioner. “The next step is to educate the public about how FHA is making it easier to become a homeowner.”

The radio outreach will be heard on 78 stations in the 16 participating communities with some overlap in cities in California. The print campaign will reach a total of 91 newspapers. The goal is to make sure people are not ripped off when agreeing to terms on a Florida home loan.