Website walks buyers through first home purchase

The site, CarolinaHomePrograms.com, is one of several in a pilot program run by the National Association of Realtors.

"Demystifying the process of homeownership" is how Terri Marshall, executive director of the Housing Opportunity Foundation, likes to describe it.

Being mystified myself, I met with Marshall last week to test-drive the site. It was easy to navigate and easy to understand, even for someone as clueless about home ownership as I was.

I came out of the session feeling more informed on the many things involved in buying a home that go beyond just the actual sale, such as applying for a loan and getting a home inspection. The site gave me a good sense of what I needed to ask of a Realtor, a lender, the seller and myself when I finally am ready to buy my first home.

I never felt pressured while clicking through the site to call up a Realtor and buy a house. The site links to a rotating list of Workforce Housing Specialists, Realtors who are trained to help first-time homebuyers or people who might need help in the process, but the link is one of many resources.

"If (people) find a Realtor and their number and they choose to contact them, that would be great," Marshall said. "But first and foremost, we wanted to try to get the information to them."

The model for the site was originally developed by the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, and the idea drew the attention of the National Association of Realtors, which licensed the site from Kansas City, Marshall said.

In 2009, the National Association of Realtors picked three state associations and three local associations, including Charlotte, to run formal pilot programs.

The site's menu offers resources for all kinds of homeownership concerns.

If you don't even know what you might need help with, a good place to start is the home-buying process tab, which offers a basic introduction on how you actually go about buying a home.

If you get stumped by words like "escrow," a click on the unfamiliar word will take you to an extensive glossary that puts the terms in everyday language.

"The concern is, even among the (aid) organizations, we have a tendency to get very quickly into this industry language and leave people behind," Marshall said.

For the record, according to the glossary, escrow account refers to "an account held by the lender into which the homebuyer pays money for tax or insurance payments."

Other resources that experienced homeowners might find valuable are a link to a site that gives tips on preventing and dealing with foreclosure and postings under the education tab for classes and seminars.

If you're worried about financing, the "Program Search" tab list bullets government and nonprofit programs, on the federal and state levels, that help with home rehabilitation, housing grants and down-payment assistance.

"There are a lot of programs out there, and what happens is people for the most part ... don't know where to go (to find them)," Marshall said.

An interactive search component can help narrow the choices of programs to match your income level, the area you live in, and the type of financial assistance you need.

No personal information entered into the site will be retained or shared with any member of the Realtors' association or any other parties, Marshall said.

The foundation also isn't looking to push people into buying a home before they're ready, Marshall said.

"Not everyone who goes on this site is going to be prepared to start the purchasing process tomorrow, nor do we expect them to be," she said.

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