The Garland Fair Housing Office and Garland Housing Agency will present a home ownership expo on Saturday, October 24, 2009. The expo, themed “Unlocking and Sustaining your Dreams,” seeks to provide informative workshops about preparation for the initial home purchase process, as well as sustaining home ownership and preventing foreclosure. The Home Ownership Expo will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City of Garland Unified Learning Center (COG-ULC), which is located at 232 Carver Drive in east Garland.
Persons who want to prepare for home ownership will have the opportunity to learn about the home purchase process and hear from certified home counselors and real estate professionals regarding this timely and important topic.
“We want to help our residents become fully aware of the responsibilities of home ownership and learn about community programs they can access,” said Priscilla Wilson, Senior Managing Director of Human Resources.
Event speakers will include representatives from The Lending Partners, Resource One Credit Union, and Garland Neighborhood Services. Speakers will discuss fair housing, budgeting, the role of the realtor and lender, home inspection process, home owners insurance, energy conservation, recycling tips, and other topics.
“We’re collaborating with various entities to bring resources to residents while presenting City programs and services to the community,” said Pamela Harris, Expo Coordinator.
The event will provide residents an opportunity to speak to professionals in the housing and lending industry, and learn about government incentives to purchase a home. Individual counseling sessions will be available for in-depth information.
The Garland Fair Housing Office seeks to inform residents about responsible borrowing and credit management, while enforcing the Garland Fair Housing Ordinance. In the sale and rental of housing, it is illegal to discriminate against a person based upon their race, color, sex, religion, handicap, familial status, age or national origin. It is the policy of the City of Garland, through fair, orderly and lawful procedures, to promote the opportunity for each person to obtain housing without regard to any of the protected classes.
The Garland Fair Housing Office is funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the Fair Housing Initiatives Program. The CDBG grant provides resources for a wide variety of community development activities that principally benefit low- and moderate-income persons, including the elderly and children.
To register for the event, please call the Garland Fair Housing Office at 972-205-3335.