Wednesday was a fine day in Pine Bluff. That's when Go Forward Pine Bluff rolled out a program that will allow low-income individuals to buy homes.
Many are personally familiar with the difference between homeownership and renting. A homeowner has a stake in the betterment of their neighborhood. They take care of their own homes, and they encourage others on the block to do the same. There is pride in ownership.
In Pine Bluff, someone being able to buy a home is somewhat of a rarity. Consequently, renters fill many neighborhoods, with many paying more per month in rent than they would have paid on a mortgage had they bought the same home.
Where a homeowner might fix a broken screen or door or window, a landlord might not. And of course a renter is not going to be inclined to fix a screen on someone else's house. The pride of ownership in such situations is minimal at best. And when the house deteriorates to the point that no one can live there any longer, it's abandoned as so many houses are in Pine Bluff.
The renter-homeowner mix is different for different communities, but Pine Bluff has now fallen well below the national average for homeownership, according to Census figures. The end result has numerous downsides. Abandoned homes become eyesores and invite criminal activity, creating a downward spiral.
So the news of helping families on the edge get into a home has many upsides. It took weeks and months of talking and negotiating, as Go Forward CEO Ryan Watley told a crowd gathered at the downtown plaza on Wednesday afternoon. But he and his crew got it down.
There are multiple variations of this plan, with one helping people come up with a down payment and closing costs. Those two requirements are what stops many people from being able to buy a home.
Those same people may also have a hard time qualifying for a loan because their credit scores are low. The individuals may hold two jobs and keep their bills paid, but because so much of their money goes to living expenses, lending institutions are leery of loaning them money.
These new programs, however, will take people with credit scores as low as 580 and help them buy homes. As Watley said, you wouldn't loan a friend $5 who had a credit score that low. "So let's give Simmons a hand for taking that risk," he said to laughter and an eruption of applause.
Yes, Simmons Bank is a big part of this, ponying up $2 million and agreeing to take on these financially marginalized individuals. But others are making this project go, as well. Relyance Bank is processing the loan paperwork and servicing the loans, for example.
Not surprisingly, behind Simmons Bank's commitment to this project is George Makris Jr., Pine Bluff native and head of the ever-growing bank. He was honored by Mayor Shirley Washington with a plaque for his vision to create Go Forward Pine Bluff, which is well on its way to starting or completing many of the items it promised.
Makris, wearing his Pine Bluff Zebra tie, said he was humbled, adding that what Pine Bluff was, it can be again.
We hope he is right. Certainly a lot of good things have happened in the past couple of years because of Go Forward Pine Bluff. We also hope that those elected city officials who would chisel away at Go Forward's funding for other purposes will take note of what was announced Wednesday. Without the funding that the Go Forward tax provides, none of this would have been possible.