Long Island Housing Partnership to offer first-time homebuyer orientation Friday

Long Islanders aspiring to buy a home can start their search at an orientation webinar hosted by the Long Island Housing Partnership Friday at noon.

The free class will delve into the process for obtaining a mortgage and how income, credit and debt factor into a person’s loan eligibility. It will also cover down payment assistance programs that are offered by LIHP.

“We want to be there from the time our homebuyers have the first thought of wanting to be a homeowner up until they have keys in hand,” said Jamie Sanchez, director of housing counseling at the Hauppauge-based nonprofit. “We want to make sure they’re well-prepared to go through this. It will be one of the biggest legal obligations they will have and purchases they will make.”

Sanchez said the program also breaks down the role of lenders, attorneys and real estate agents in the homebuying process.

Unfortunately for buyers, the local housing market has been tilted in sellers’ favor for several years because the supply of houses on the market has fallen short of demand. At the end of June, there were about 5,000 homes for sale across Long Island, which is less than half the number available before the pandemic.

The average U.S. mortgage rate is close to the highest it has been in 20 years. Higher mortgage rates add hundreds of dollars in interest to buyers’ monthly payments. 

Others no longer qualify for home loans because the monthly payment would take up too large a portion of their household income in the eyes of lenders, said Stacey Krumholz, assistant director of housing counseling at LIHP and a former mortgage loan officer.

Krumholz said she encourages clients “to continue to save money. There’s got to come a point in time hopefully home prices will come down, and I’m sure we’re not going to stay at a 7% interest rate.”

LIHP typically holds orientation sessions at noon on the third Friday of each month. Attendees can then sign up for one-on-one counseling sessions to address specific financial questions.

The nonprofit recently started holding orientation classes in Spanish as well. The next online orientation in Spanish will be held Aug. 11 at noon.

"There was an obvious influx of the Hispanic community calling in and saying, ‘I want to purchase a home,’” Sanchez said. "I thought, 'Why not do what we do in English in a group setting as well, where they’re sitting with other people that have a common goal?'"

Those interested in attending the free classes can access registration information at lihp.org/firsttime.html for both English and Spanish sessions.

By Jonathan LaMantia

jonathan.lamantia@newsday.com@jonlamantia

Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.