NWColumbus Blog

Home Sweet Home in Elliott’s Walk

Emma West was tired of paying rent and living in apartments, and she knew she wanted to own a home.

She started her journey almost five years ago and kept hitting road blocks.

“This process was not an easy one for me. I had a bunch of ‘no’s’ along with a lot more excuses of why I couldn’t be a homeowner,” West said.

West works at Wal-Mart, and was told by various sources she did not make enough money or would need a co-signer. But, she did not give up hope.

Earlier this year, Emma was encouraged by her family to come to NeighborWorks Columbus. That’s when the process sped along for her. Just a few months later, Emma is the proud homeowner of not just her first home but a brand-new home in Elliott’s Walk!

“(NeighborWorks Columbus staff) told me I was approved for the loan, and then they told me about Elliott’s Walk. It was just a dream come true,” she said.

Ema closed on her home last month, becoming one of the first homeowners in this historic subdivision that will eventually house hundreds—and she did it despite lots of trials and proudly, without a co-signer!

Preparing your home for disaster

The Chattahoochee Valley has seen its fair share of severe weather. Thunderstorms with heavy winds, hail, and flooding are things many of us are all too familiar with, especially certain times of the year.

Occasionally, our region will even see impacts from hurricanes making their way off the coast.

September is national preparedness month, and while we can’t help prepare for every disaster out there, we thought we’d touch on one close to our hearts–disaster proofing your home.

When a big storm is on the way, your to-do list will be long. So, it’s good if you already have some disaster preparedness steps underway before the forecasters tell you to prepare. Here are a few things you can do to prepare when everything is calm:

Locate shut off items

When disaster hits, sometimes you’ll need to shut off your gas, electricity or water. These should be places you are familiar with in your home already, but if you aren’t, it’s time to locate each of these shut offs in the event you need to use them.

2. Safely store papers

Make sure you know where your house deed and home insurance papers are and store them in a safe that is water and fireproof. That way, if you do suffer any home damage, you will not have to dig to find what you need to begin repairs.

3. Make a safety plan

It’s important that all members of your household understand the plan for different scenarios. Where will you go in the event of a tornado? (Somewhere without windows and things that can fall). What’s the plan for getting out of your home in case of a fire? And where will you go if you need to evacuate?

These are all things to know and consider beforehand so there is limited room for confusion during stressful situations.

4. Do a limb check

Some homes around here are surrounded by beautiful trees. But, you want to make sure those trees don’t become a hazard in a storm. The best thing to do is check your trees often. Have any dead hanging limbs cut down and if an entire tree is dead, have it cut down. Otherwise, it may be more likely to fall with heavy winds and can cause real damage.

When a storm is on the way, here are the things you should do to prepare:

1. Secure outdoor items

Local meteorologists always encourage us to make sure outdoor items are put away or tied down when severe weather is on the way. That’s because it doesn’t take much for winds to blow things over, and many of those things could do damage to your home if they are taken in the right direction. Make sure toys and small things are put away. Tie down larger items or store them in a facility.

2. Secure shutters and windows

In most instances, we don’t live in a place where you’d need to board up your windows like some places do. But, it’s still a good idea to make sure your shutters are secured and won’t come loose during winds. Check screens outside windows to make sure they are still on tight and remove anything that could end up breaking the glass if it went flying with wind.

3. Check flood areas

Some of us in the region live in flood zones. For these people you may need to install some extra protection around the lower levels of your home. A rigid foam insulation or plastic sheeting can help keep water out. If you do have any areas of your home that typically get water inside, it’s also a good idea to elevate furniture if possible.

These are not an exhaustive list of storm protections, but they are a good start for helping your home be ready for any weather that comes its way. Make sure you know above all else how to keep you and your family safe.

Is financial freedom within reach?

This month we celebrated Independence Day, but let’s talk about a specific kind of freedom: financial freedom.

Financial freedom may mean different things to different people, but ultimately it comes down to taking ownership of your finances–making your money work for you and not the other way around.

Many of us live paycheck to paycheck, and even if that describes you, you can achieve financial independence.

Let’s break it down a bit.

1. Budget

You can’t reach financial freedom without knowing exactly where you stand with your money. You need to take an honest assessment of how much income you make each month and what your expenses are. This can take a bit of a learning curve if you are new to it, so don’t get discouraged. There are several free apps available to help you think about all your possible expenses in a month, but when you are just getting started it’s definitely easy to forget something.

To get you started, write out all your income. If your paychecks aren’t always the same amount, try to make your best guess and aim on the lower side. That way you will not spend more than you know you will make.

Then, try to list all your expenses. Start with the things you can count on (like your basic bills). Then add in groceries, household supplies, doctor visits, medicines, eating out, entertainment, subscription services, clothing and debt payments. Don’t forget special events coming up like birthdays or holidays. Everyone won’t have all these expenses and some may have other categories but this is just to get you started.

2. Set Goals

Now that you’ve budgeted, you have a clear idea of your money (which by the way may take a month or two to get accurate. If you aren’t used to tracking your groceries or how much you spend on cleaning products, for example, that may take a few tries to get right). It’s time to set some financial goals. If you need to save money or pay down some debts, you now should have an idea of where you can cut out some expenses, like possibly not eating out as much or spending less on entertainment or streaming subscriptions. Shopping at thrift stores instead of clothes new off the rack. If you need to save money, find ways to temporarily sacrifice for your ultimate goal.

Here are some great goals to start with:

Pay down debts, especially if there are any in collections or any with very high interest rates
Build an emergency fund of at least $1,000
Start saving for something bigger, like a down payment on a new home
Invest in your future

3. Grow your income

There are only so many expenses a person can cut. And if you are living minimally, you may be out of options (you can’t cut your power bills and house payments, unfortunately)! It may be time to consider other sources of income.

You don’t necessarily have to get a higher paying job, though that could always be an option. You could consider taking up a side hussle or selling some of your goods on Facebook marketplace. You could even have a yard sale.

All of these things are great ways to either temporarily or for the long run make some extra money.

4. Celebrate milestones

When working toward a financial goal, especially if it’s a lofty one, it can be easy to get discouraged or lose sight. So it’s important to celebrate victories along the way, no matter how big or small they are! For example, if you are paying down multiple debts, reward yourself with a little treat when you pay down the first one.

If you are saving $1,000, celebrate being half way there.

No matter how lofty or little your income is, financial freedom is within your reach. Give yourself a lot of grace, and take one step at a time. This is a marathon and not a sprint, and with determination and careful planning you can achieve your goals.

Is now a good time to buy a house?

It’s no secret that for the past couple of years, the housing market has seen substantial changes. Rising interest rates, more demand, and inflation have all contributed to a different environment than we once knew.

But what may be less obvious is what exactly that means for the average homebuyer, and if, in fact, buying a home is even a good idea.

We are here to help you navigate that question.

So, should you buy a house?

When it comes to purchasing a home, the real question has little to do with the housing market and much more to do with you–are YOU ready to buy a home?

On a practical level, you need to be managing your finances and debts well.

In addition to this, you also need to consider the personal aspects going on in your life. Do you have the time to commit to house hunting and moving at this time?

If you aren’t quite ready financially, don’t worry. Homeownership is still within your reach, and NeighborWorks Columbus exists to help you achieve that goal. Our qualified team can help you get homeownership ready and be a successful lifetime homeowner!

But why should I buy a home?

There are of course many answers to this question, but since we’re discussing a real estate market with high interest rates, let’s start with stability.

While you may have to purchase a home with interest rates that are higher than a few years ago, rent prices have been steadily rising as well. If you own a home, you will be locked into a mortgage rate that will not rise through the years. When you rent, you can’t guarantee the landlords won’t change rent prices each year.

In addition to the stability of a payment you can count on, there are many other benefits that act alone can provide. Research shows that owning a home can lead to a more stable home environment; can help children perform better in school; can lead to better physical and mental health; and has social benefits, like building neighborhood friendships.

These are just some of the MANY ways homeownership can have a positive impact on individuals and families.

Have questions about the process or ready to get started? Click here to begin your journey today!

Keeping your information safe online

With the convenience that technology provides for things like online banking, shopping, and bill paying—there comes another side we all have to keep in mind: security.

There are countless things to consider when it comes to protecting your information. Fortunately, we’ve compiled a list of some of the big ones to at least get you started.

Don’t bank in public

When you’re out in public, resist the urge to login to your online banking apps, especially if you are connected to Wi-Fi. These are not secure platforms, which would make it easier for a hacker to intercept your banking info. Make sure you save these things for a secure and trusted network.

The same would be true for any bill-paying or shopping that requires you to enter your personal financial information. Make sure you do this from home or somewhere that can be trusted.

Create strong passwords

Just about everything we do online requires a password, and while it’s tempting to make them short and easy to remember, that is not the most secure. As a general rule of thumb, passwords should be long, strong, and difficult to guess.

This means, don’t use personal information like your name, birthday, or email address. The safest thing to do is use a password generator, but you can also make secure ones yourself keeping them long, using a combination of letters and characters, and capital and lowercase letters.

It’s also best to not use the same password for every site, as tempting as that may be. To store your many different passwords, you can use a password manager.

Multi-factor authentication

Many websites require multi-factor authentication. This is basically just using another method to verify you are who you are. While it can be frustrating if you’re in a hurry to enter a security code or click on the number of “traffic lights” in a picture series, this is ultimately a small price to pay for a secure Web experience. When prompted to set up, we recommend you do it.

Don’t click on links you can’t verify

Many of us are bombarded with texts and emails asking us to click a link. Some of it is stuff we signed up for through a business, but other things are from scammers. You should never click on a link that isn’t from a trusted person or company and that you don’t know exactly where it will go.

Beware especially with email as scammers will often pose as someone you know, using another name. You can always verify this by looking at the email address of the sender.

Login to your accounts regularly

Make sure to login to your online banking and/or credit card apps on a regular basis. Try to do this everyday if possible. That way you will quickly notice if someone made a purchase using your cards, and you can call your bank or credit card company right away.

Home Sweet Home in Elliott’s Walk

Preparing your home for disaster

Is financial freedom within reach?

Is now a good time to buy a house?

Keeping your information safe online

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