A local organization is working to increase homeownership in Akron's North Hill neighborhood. Legacies of Success is a religious nonprofit that works with individual donors, grants, and community partners to buy and renovate properties.
They sell them to families at a price below market value. Future homeowners are provided with rent-to-buy options, financial counseling, and household training.
The program has been serving the community since 2011 and has already helped nine families. Executive Director Brendan Haggerty explains the need in North Hill.
"What has happened in North Hill that has made this a greater need and where a lot of the work recently has been is that North Hill has become the center of refugee resettlement in the last 10 years."
The program has worked with three refugee families, the latest being a family of five that escaped war in the Democratic Republican of Congo. They thrive on helping these families, but Haggerty says that is not their primary focus. He says that every person within the neighborhood deserves to live in a good and affordable place.
An eligible applicant must live in North Hill and earn less than 80% of the median income for Summit County. In addition, they must enroll in monthly financial counseling, have monthly meetings with a home buying mentor, complete new home owner training, and work at least 50 hours on a Legacies of Success project