April 2024

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Home HeadQuarters is Moving Down the Road!

It's true! After almost a decade at 538 Erie Blvd. West, HHQ is moving on down the road--and we mean that literally! HHQ's new offices will be located at 625 Erie Blvd West, less than one minute away from our current location. We hope to be up and running in the new location by May 1st, so stay tuned for updates!

Access to Home Program Now Available to Onondaga County Homeowners

black and white graphic of a raised toilet with adjacent grab bar

Home HeadQuarters has been awarded NYS Access to Home funding to address modifications, up to $23,000 per project (fully deferred), in homes located in Onondaga County for income-eligible families (80% AMI or for disabled veterans, 120% AMI) where someone in the household has a disability. Projects can include:

 

  • Wheelchair ramps, chairlifts, handrails
  • Widening of doorways
  • Walk in showers, bathroom grab bars, hand-held showers
  • Non-skid flooring
  • Appliances that respond to verbal commands
  • Easy-to-reach work and storage areas
  • Electrical installation of special thermostatic or environmental controls
  • Strobe light or vibrating security/smoke alarms
  • Relocation of bathrooms or bedrooms to the first floor

 

A medical professional’s note is required to confirm disability and modification need. Home must be primary residence. All work specs must be approved by NYS and multiple bids are required. Interested Onondaga County residents can apply with any of our standard applications found here: https://www.homehq.org/homeowner-loans-grants or interested individuals can contact HHQ's Rosa Feliz at (315) 474-1939 or info@homehq.org.

Featuring info on Assemblyperson Hunter's Financial Literary Month Workshop

Please join us for a Financial Literacy Month Workshop with Assemblymember Pamela J. Hunter on Tuesday, April 30, 5-7pm, at Syracuse Community Connections. The workshop is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so please email hunterp@nyassembly.gov to reserve your seat today!

HHQ Earned Some Fancy Plaques!

Thanks to the hard work of the project team, Home HeadQuarters' Resilient Corners project on Syracuse's Westside has achieved final Phius ZERO 2021 certification on its first two buildings! The Resilient Corners project consists of five detached single-family homes targeting passive house certification, one rehab targeting Net-Zero, and two previously-built LEED certified single-family homes. With the vision and expertise (and just a little crankiness) from HHQ Construction Manager Dan Wright, architectural design from City Link Architecture and testing and verification from Sustainable Comfort, Inc., Resilient Corners joins the ranks of high-performance buildings that prioritize occupant comfort, low operational costs and overall sustainability.

Fancy Plaque-Earning Homes For Sale!

Speaking of super energy-efficient homes with all the bells and whistles including solar panels, heat pumps and all the insulation any person might need in Syracuse to keep the heating bills low, there are still a couple of these single-family homes for sale on Syracuse's Westside. Buyers need to meet income eligibility and check a few other things off the list, so if you think you might be interested, fill out this form or call Mary Jo at (315) 671-6008 to get started! To see more homes for sale, visit www.cnyaffordablerealty.org.

Welcome to Home HeadQuarters

Three new employees lined up for a photo at HHQ

Julissa Mago (pictured left) recently joined Home HeadQuarters as Lending Case Manager working directly with home improvement customers. Julissa was born and raised in Brooklyn and graduated from the Allen School of Medical Assisting. She later moved to Syracuse and worked as a Sales Representative at the Bersani Gallery for 16 years. Julissa learned about Home HeadQuarters through her own experience of becoming a first-time homebuyer, and says she's excited to work for an organization that has proven so impactful in the community she calls home. Julissa speaks both Spanish and English, loves to cook, and has two daughters. 

 

Yanlit Cid (pictured center) will be one of the first faces customers see when they walk through Home HeadQuarters' doors. In her role as a Receptionist, Yanlit becomes the eighth bilingual employee at HHQ. Yanlit’s family moved to Syracuse in search of new opportunities, by way of Cuba in 2003. Yanlit, a mother of three, is excited to help HHQ customers, especially those in the Spanish community. Yanlit has moved her favorite coffee maker into the office kitchen and has big plans to get every HHQ employee onto Cuban coffee (the best coffee in the world according to Yanlit) before the end of the year.

  

Alex Day (pictured right) came to Home HeadQuarters joining the servicing team as a Collections Specialist. Alex previously worked for NBT Bank and MetLife Insurance Group and has her Associates in Business from Mohawk Valley Community College. Alex is a lifelong Central New Yorker, having grown up in Oneida. She spends her personal time outside, shopping, with friends and with her fiance--and rarely does she spend it without coffee! 

Home HeadQuarters in the News

image of Syracuse.com enewspaper with HHQ homeowners featured

Home HeadQuarters was in the news a bit these past couple of months from an article looking at our innovative mortgage program helping to bridge the lending gap for Black homebuyers in Syracuse and CNY to a story highlighting HHQ's buydowns on new single-family construction. If you missed a few, or are in some desperate need for material, you can always visit our News & Events page for the latest (or oldest) news stories!

A Few Miscellaneous Items

-The Saturday, April 13, In-person Homebuyer Education class will be held at the Syracuse Community Health Center at 930 S. Salina Street in 189B-Multi Purpose Room.


-The New York State Resilient Retrofits Program (not so great name, but great program) is still available for homeowners in CNY! The program provides up to $50,000, 50% in a grant/deferred loan, to make energy upgrades and flood mitigation improvements to your home. Homeowners need to meet income-eligibility and undertake at least one flood mitigation activity, like installing a sump pump, to participate


-Keeping our fingers crossed for SHARP Grants to kick off in May! The small, exterior repair grants for income-eligible homeowners in the city of Syracuse should be ready to go soon and you'll be the first we tell! Stay tuned!

We're Digging Solvay, New York

Big digger starting to dig a foundation in a large area of vacant land in Solvay, NY

HHQ new single-family home construction got started on Charles Avenue in Solvay last week! Two homes will be sold market rate and one will be sold to an income-eligible family. To get started on the first-time homebuying path, sign up for the 8-hour HomeBuyer Education Course that is a requirement for most first-time homebuyer incentive programs like the Homebuyer Dream Program and Closing Cost Assistance.

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