Currently, one in seven Texans live in a home that is unaffordable. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a single mother earning minimum wage ($7.25 an hour) would need to work 121 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom rental house at Fair Market Rent in Texas.

This is being exacerbated by rising material costs and the COVID-19 pandemic, making the dream of homeownership an unattainable one. Since homeownership is correlated to improve virtually every societal ill that faces our communities across Texas, the work of building affordable housing and advocating for homeownership has never been more needed.

Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) Dallas has set aside $4.5 million of its 2021 Affordable Housing Program funds for the Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) program.

Through member institutions, HELP assists low-income-qualified, first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance and closing costs. Spirit of Texas Bank, as a member institution, just facilitated a HELP grant for a new Habitat homeowner in Seguin, in partnership with Guadalupe Valley Habitat for Humanity.

Spirit of Texas Bank is partnering with Habitat Texas in the areas where they have a banking presence, by empowering Habitat Texas to offer HELP grants to qualifying borrowers.

“Just like all Texans, Spirit of Texas Bank knows about being good neighbors and caring for our communities,” shared Amy Ledbetter Parham, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Texas. “Thank you, Spirit of Texas Bank, for your community presence and assistance to new homeowners across Texas!”

Spirit of Texas Bank is a committed partner of Habitat for Humanity Texas, recently receiving the 2021 McCoy’s Building Supply Corporate Partner of the Year Award at Habitat Texas’ annual Lone Star Summit.