How Can I Own a Home If I Have a Bad Credit Score?

Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD) is hosting its 14th annual homeownership fair on September 19 at Wilshire United Methodist Church from 9 AM to 1 PM, during which industry professionals and representatives from banks will be present to help members of the community to be more informed on how to go about purchasing homes.

The fair is particularly geared towards those who may have low income or bad credit, and will provide information on how such individuals still have options to be able to own homes. The fair will consist of exhibits and booths with bank representatives; workshops on how to improve credit scores, and the various down payment programs available; and direct counseling sessions with professionals and bank representatives.

Some of the banks that will be represented at the fair include Union Bank, Bank of the West, U.S. Bank, BBCN Bank, and Habitat for Humanity, which is particulary focused on helping those with severely low income.

“Each bank has distinct qualities and offer different programs for different needs,” said Hyepin Im, the executive director of KCCD. “The homeownership fair is a great opportunity for those who are interested in homeownership to be able to access information to all of those different programs in one place.”

KCCD’s annual homeownership fairs began in 2002, as Im saw the need and the impact of homeownership on members of the community, particularly Korean Americans.

“There’s this stereotype that Korean Americans are well-off, but the statistics show otherwise,” Im explained. Indeed, according to a 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, only 36 percent of Korean Americans in Los Angeles were homeowners, ranking them among the ethnic groups with the lowest homeownership rates.

“Children of homeowners are 116 percent more likely to graduate from college, and more than 50 percent more likely to own their own homes within 10 years after moving out from their parents’ homes,” Im continued. “And homeowners are 15 percent more likely to vote. Homeownership is a tremendous benefit to all parties -- the banks, the government, and the community.”

Woogie Kim, a pastor of Shalom Church in Torrance and a board member of KCCD, expressed hopes that the fair would help to increase awareness about homeownership, and that that would eventually lead Korean Americans to be more engaged and have ownership over their local communities as well.

Political leaders will also be invited to the homeownership fair, including California Assemblymember Miguel Santiago and members of the L.A. City Council, in hopes to show “the potential impact that the Korean American community can have,” according to Hun Choi, a housing cousnelor at KCCD.