SitemapBernadette Elliott
can hardly contain her excitement. She’s eagerly awaiting the opportunity to
make an offer on her dream house that sits near the former Idora Park on the
south side of Youngstown.
“I’ve already started the mortgage process at the bank,”
Elliott says. For her, it’s a moment she thought might never come. One of eight
children, she would be the first in her family to own a house. Her journey
toward homeownership began with HUD-approved counseling at the Youngstown
Neighborhood Development Corp. The program is designed to help prospective
homeowners overcome obstacles to becoming – and remaining – one. It is a
component in YNDC’s strategy to make Youngstown neighborhoods more stable. “It’s
a beneficial program,” Elliott says, “not just for me, but for the entire
city.” It took Elliott about a year to approach the YNDC after she learned of
the program. “I was a little hesitant,” she recalls. “It seemed too good to be
true.” But her experience with Tammi Neuscheler, housing client manager at
YNDC, soon put her at ease, Elliot says. “She started by printing out my credit
report, and we went through it line by line.”
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