West River

Homeownership

Campaign

New Haven,

Connecticut

Introduction

The Developer

Tour the Site (Video)

The Member

The Resident (Video)

The Numbers

The Member

House restored as part of the West River Homeownership campaign.

Kathy A. Johnson is vice president and senior counsel at member People’s United Bank in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

People’s United Bank (formerly called People’s Bank) has been an active participant in many affordable housing initiatives. At the time we applied for the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant in 2003, we were involved in about 30 approved AHP initiatives.   

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS) approached our community reinvestment officer and expressed interest in having People’s United submit an AHP application on its behalf to support the West River Homeownership Campaign.

People’s United Bank studied the proposal and was excited about the initiative. We agreed to work with NHS to submit the AHP application. NHS prepared most of the application and then submitted it to us for review. The West River initiative was awarded a $210,000 AHP grant, which was used to reduce the price of the homes.

Our role was to determine if the initiative was realistic based on the proposed financing. The initiative involved the rehabilitation of six houses and the construction of one new house in New Haven’s West River neighborhood. The new construction was done in partnership with the Yale School of Architecture.  All these homes would be sold to low- to moderate-income first-time home buyers.

We, as a member bank, had to determine whether those homes could be sold at an affordable price that met appraisal requirements. We base our loans on the value of the collateral and the borrower’s ability to afford the mortgage. We concluded that this was indeed a very strong proposal and agreed to apply for an AHP grant on behalf of the sponsor.

Part of the West River plan included our willingness to make mortgage loans to the low- to moderate-income borrowers who would be buying these homes. There was no requirement that the home buyers had to get their financing through People’s United Bank, but we were ready to provide mortgages if requested.

First-time home buyer Kimberly Turner in her restored West River multifamily house.

We ended up providing mortgages to three of the seven home buyers. Our loan officer worked with the initiative’s home buyers to determine if they wanted to obtain a mortgage through People’s United Bank. If they did, she assisted them through the entire mortgage process. People who receive our mortgage loans need to show financial competency and have a satisfactory credit background.  

The initiative provided purchasers with pre- and post-purchase home-buyer counseling classes and other training, including financial planning and landlord training. Taken together, this made for good mortgage applications. I am not aware of any problems with the performance of any of the mortgage loans made to the buyers of these homes.

The initiative provided seven first-time home buyers with homes that anybody would be proud to own and that any lender would feel comfortable financing.

People’s United is committed to the well-being of its communities. The issues that come up in communities vary but one issue that always comes up is concern about affordable housing. There are various strategies an institution like ours can take to make affordable housing more available in the community, and one is participation as a member bank in the AHP.

I have toured a couple of the homes that were rehabilitated as part of the West River initiative and was very impressed. Six of these homes were historically significant, and the rehabilitation preserved the historic character of the homes. NHS’s attention to detail and the look of these homes both inside and outside is impressive. I think anyone would be proud to own one of these homes.

Another important aspect of this initiative is that the homes were clustered. It wasn’t a project in which houses were rehabilitated in isolation. NHS’s goal was to have an impact on an entire community, not just on individual homeowners and homes. I think they have succeeded at doing this.

We are very grateful that we have been able to partner with NHS to work on the affordable-housing issue in New Haven. They are a strong organization. They know the area well and have high standards. They seek to make sure the buyers of these homes have the information they need before committing themselves to a significant financial obligation. They also provide resources to address issues that come up after the home is purchased.