Attending an orientation is the first step to accessing the Homeownership Program services. At the orientation we provide an overview of the home purchase process and talk about the potential next steps – coaching, financial education or homebuyer education. The orientation is offered once a month at the NAYA Family Center. Contact homeownership staff for dates and details of upcoming orientations.
Homeownership Coaching
Homeownership Coaching is about discussing your housing and homeownership goals and identifying the steps to achieve them. Our program continues with you every step of the way, from your homebuyer education up through purchase.
Our coaching focuses on:
- Creating a unique plan for each family or individual
- Understanding each step the home buying process
- Home buying in relationship to your spending plan and income
- Identifying an estimate of how much home you can afford
- Understanding the role of credit and helping you establish, or re-establish, credit, if needed
- Understanding the roles and relationships of the players: loan officers, real estate agents, escrow and title agents and home inspectors
Access to Resources
NAYA Homeownership staff also provide connections to local home buyer programs and resources, financial assistance programs, and mortgage products including the HUD Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program. Our strong partnerships with Portland’s non-profit homeownership organizations and financial institutions ensure you have the best options to choose from. We tailor our services to fit your family size, income, and tribal affiliation.
Once you have become a homeowner, NAYA continues to be a resource for you. We provide post-purchase workshops on home maintenance, do-it-yourself repairs, budgeting as a homeowner, making your home more energy efficient, and many more topics. We also help coaching on refinancing your home and with referrals to non-profits that provide assistance and coaching on missed mortgage payments and foreclosure.
Financial Education
The NAYA Family Center Financial Wellness workshop is designed to help participants to take control and become intentional about their use of money. The eight hour class occurs on one Saturday each month. The curriculum is adapted from the Oweesta Corporation’s Building Native Communities. The curriculum was developed specifically to meet the needs of Native American communities through an emphasis on traditional practices and values.
The workshop has an overarching theme of learning from the way native communities historically provided for themselves. The content has been adjusted to meet the unique needs of our urban Native American population. The workshop employs a variety of learning techniques including lecture, group activities, worksheets and videos.
Homebuyer Education
This one-day workshop takes you through each step of the home buying process. We use the culturally specific curriculum Pathways Home: A Native Homeownership Guide, developed by the National American Indian Housing Council, NeighborWorks America and Oweesta. The class highlights the roles of lenders, real estate agents, and home inspectors—with a guest speaker from each industry to tell you about their role in the transaction.
Access the NAYA Homeownership Program Interest Form here.