Loading
Print This Issue
Subscribe:
E-Almanac

New Penn Home Sale Website

PDF
October 25, 2011, Volume 58, No. 09

Business Services introduced the Penn Home Sale Forum website, https://cms.business-services.upenn.edu/forsale, a new service for members of the Penn community who live, or wish to live in West Philadelphia. The site is designed to provide an easy venue to list and search for homes for sale in West Philadelphia (from Haverford Avenue, 52nd Street, Woodland Avenue and the Schuylkill River). A PennKey is required to access the site. 

Currently we are looking for faculty, staff or students of the University, as well as health system employees who have a property for sale in West Philadelphia and who would like to help us launch this new resource by listing their properties for sale. Your property could be a single family home, twin or a condominium. You can also post photos to accompany your entry. Simply log on to the site and click on the New Listing link to list your property.

The site is designed to provide an additional avenue for promoting home ownership in the communities surrounding the University. We encourage anyone with a home for sale in these neighborhoods to take advantage of this new website which has been specifically designed by and for members of the Penn community. If you have any questions, please contact: living@exchange.upenn.edu

Important Changes to Penn’s Home Ownership Program

Recently there have been several changes to the programs and services offered through Penn’s Home Ownership Program. For more information on any of these changes, visit the Penn Home Ownership Services website at: www.upenn.edu/homeownership

New Matching Grants Through the Home•Buy•Now Program

Penn Home Ownership Services (PHOS) has joined with Philadelphia Home•Buy•Now to provide matching grants up to $4,000 to eligible Penn employees for the purchase of a home.  Home•Buy•Now is an employer-assisted housing program which provides matching grants to partnering companies’ employees, for the purchase of a home.

Home•Buy•Now  grants can be used with Penn’s Enhanced Forgivable Loan Program’s (EFL)payment of $7,500, allowing eligible University and Health System employees who purchase homes in the program’s boundary area to receive up to $11,500 toward closing costs.

Additionally, this grant can be used with Penn’s Closing Cost Reduction Program (CCRP)which now provides a payment of $2,000 from Penn toward closing costs. Eligible University and Health System employees who purchase a home in the Closing Cost Reduction Program area can receive a matching grant from Philadelphia Home•Buy•Now for $2,000 toward closing cost, for a total of up to $4,000 in assistance.

Please note: Individuals who take advantage of both the EFL and CCRP are only eligible for one grant of $4,000 from the Home•Buy•Now program.

Other services of the Philadelphia Home•Buy•Now program include discounts for housing related services for Philadelphia Home•Buy•Now participants and housing related workshops. For more information about Philadelphia Home•Buy•Now, contact Christopher Waters at (215) 851-1955 or cwaters@uac.org

Advance Bank: No Longer Participating as Lending Partner

Advance Bank has recently announced that due to market constraints they will cease to finance new residential mortgages in the Philadelphia market and therefore, must discontinue their partnership with the University of Pennsylvania. Penn has had a long standing partnership with the Advance Bank, formerly Berean Bank, who established itself as the first African-American owned bank to support the Guaranteed Mortgage Program, the Enhanced Forgivable Loan, and currently the Closing Cost Reduction Program which solidified Penn’s dedication to its minority businesses in the community.

Advance Bank closed their branch located at 5228 Chestnut Street on October 14. Advance Bank is committed to making sure that their current customers will not experience any inconvenience in the servicing of their loans or any other matters as a result of the branch closing and value the relationship with the customers and the University of Pennsylvania.

Should you have any specific questions about this change please contact the PHOS offices or Bonnie Wheelton at Advance Bank, (410) 358-1700, ext. 221.

—Business Services

Almanac - October 25, 2011, Volume 58, No. 09