NC REALTORS® Housing Foundation hosts Catawba Valley Home Buyer Education Seminar in Hickory

Last week, a number of area residents attended a Home Buyer Education Seminar hosted by the NC REALTORS® Housing Foundation (NCRHF). The event, which was held at the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG) in Hickory, educated attendees about the benefits of home ownership and how to access local downpayment assistance programs.

Speakers covered a variety of topics during the event, which was moderated by Tami Fox, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams, The Temple Team:

• Beverly Carlton, founder and CEO of Olive Hill Community Economic Development Corporation (CEDC) Inc., discussed the NCHFA Community Loan Purchase Program (CPLP), and Olive Hill’s home-buying counseling services.
• Rick Oxford, WPCOG Housing Program Manager, discussed the average housing cost in the region and the funding offered by WPCOG’s homebuyer programs.
• Elizabeth Moncrief, WPCOG Regional Housing Authority Program Manager, provided information about the Section 8 Homeownership Program, specifically how program recipients can transition their rental voucher towards purchasing a home.
• Stacy Sharpe, Senior Mortgage Banker at Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group, discussed the benefits of working with a direct lender and the mortgage programs Atlantic Bay provides for their clients.
• Karleta Sharisse-Smith, 2024 President of the Catawba Valley Association of REALTORS®, discussed the importance of working with a REALTOR® throughout the home buying process.

“Our main goal as REALTORS® is to make sure our client is protected and has a full understanding of their home-buying process,” said Sharisse-Smith. “Purchasing a home is one of the most major events of someone’s life and a REALTOR® will be dedicated to helping their client the entire way by making sure the client is thoroughly informed of every part of the transaction.”

The seminar concluded with a trivia contest in which attendees competed for $25 gift cards donated by three local Hickory Food Lions and a newly released Starbucks cup donated by a local Starbucks branch.

Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group and Beth Williams Law Firm sponsored the lunch, which was catered by Cherry Culinary Company.