HDF Head Relies on Education to Strengthen Communities

December 28, 2007; As originally appeared in the Commercial Record

Armed with an undergraduate degree in journalism and a master’s in humanities and liberal studies, Betsy McGroarty never imagined her career path would lead her to helping low- to moderate-income families find affordable homes.

Since 1989, the Housing Development Fund, serving southwestern Connecticut from its Stamford headquarters to the Danbury office that opened in 1994, has provided homebuyers with financing, counseling and assistance programs. Offering low-interest, flexible financing and technical assistance, HDF works not only with homebuyers, but with developers, nonprofit agencies and government groups to facilitate the development of more affordable housing.

McGroarty spent the years after receiving her master’s degree working for various newspapers and freelancing. She held a position with an advertising company in New York City.

“It was such a long way off from what I do now,” she said. “I moved out to Connecticut, got married and had three kids. I got involved in our local community to keep myself occupied and really got interested in the nonprofit sector.”

In 1985, McGroarty became the president of the Junior League Stamford-Norwalk, an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving communities. She also served on the board for the United Way in Norwalk and as chairperson for a community hospice in Stamford.

“It really got me interested in leaving the corporate sector and devoting my career to nonprofits,” she said.

In 1987, McGroarty began her tenure at the Council of Churches and Synagogues, now known as the Interfaith Council of Southeastern Connecticut. The organization had a number of social-service programs and ran a food bank in lower Fairfield County, she said. A program called Adopt-a-House was in existence from 1987-1994.

“When I came to HDF, I brought that homebuyer part with me,” she noted.

“We guided prospective homeowners through the home-selection and mortgage application [processes] and explained the various forms of government support that are available to them. Volunteers help with minor fix-up, painting and clean-up projects.”
During her time at the council, McGroarty witnessed the purchase of 11 homes and the creation of 17 units.

McGroarty took the position of director of homebuyer services at HDF in 1999.
Fairfield County is one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, according to McGroarty, and many people didn’t believe that housing for low-income families existed in the region.

“People would say, ‘There’s no way to achieve low-income housing in Fairfield County,’” she said. “The more someone tells me I can’t do something, the more I am determined to do it. It’s all really challenging work, but it really is the most rewarding.”
With little background in the industry, McGroarty says she wouldn’t have found such success without the help of her mentor and HDF Executive Director Joan Carty.

“She’s really great,” said McGroarty.

Bridging the Gap

HDF prepares future homeowners with the knowledge they need for success. First, homeowners attend a half-hour orientation; after that, they have a one-on-one counseling session; and, finally, an eight-hour curriculum is encouraged, but not required, depending on the client and the circumstances.

“Education is so important,” she said. “We help prepare people for homeownership and, to ensure they are successful after, we require post-purchasing counseling.”

HDF’s homebuyer assistance program includes its First Time Homebuyers Program, SmartMove (a low-interest, second-mortgage program), a Connecticut Housing Finance Authority-approved Homebuyer Education Classes program and Below Market Rate Program. HDF is a HUD-certified lender and Housing Counseling agency.

SmartMove helps bridge the affordability gap for first-time homebuyers by lending up to 20 percent of the down payment in a home at a low, 3-percent interest rate for 20 years. HDF is on target to close 165 new SmartMove loans in fiscal year 2007-2008.

“We advise our clients against predatory lenders who search land records every day and go after homeowners, tempting them with more money,” said McGroarty. “It’s not smart to refinance out of such a good deal, but we let the homeowner make the decision. We educate them so they can be more informed and make a better decision as a result.”

The country has felt the backlash from the subprime loan mess and foreclosures are abundant across the map. HDF has had no foreclosures on any of the homes they have helped people get during the crisis, said McGroarty.

“We’ve had two foreclosures in our history and none since the subprime chaos,” she said. “It really serves as a validation of the work we do.”

The foreclosure wave is a terrible thing, she noted, but the abundance of properties that could result from the catastrophe may be the perfect homes for the low-income clients of HDF. McGroarty said HDF is very concerned about people getting caught up in the subprime nightmare that lenders have created.

“Education is key here,” she said. “Understandably, people just weren’t aware of everything they needed to know, and that’s where we can help. There is so much to learn and we teach it.”

The big-picture goal for McGroarty is bridging the affordability gap that is so large in Fairfield County.

“We really need to be able to help even more people,” she said. “People that make the community work: teachers, firemen, policemen and other civil servants, really need to be able to afford the communities they live in. Without the service sector, the community would just crumble.”