Town of Huntington, Long Island Housing Partnership and AvalonBay Communities Provide Financial Credit Workshop

P R E S S R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release

(July 13, 2015

Contact:

Judy White (631) 730-2710

(516) 236-4245

Town of Huntington, Long Island Housing Partnership and

AvalonBay Communities Provide Financial Credit Workshop

Hosted by the Ministerial Alliance of Huntington

(Huntington Station, NY) – Working together to assist prospective tenants and future homeowners, the Town of Huntington’s Community Development Agency and the Long Island Housing Partnership (LIHP) presented an educational Financial Literacy Workshop – which was held at the Evergreen Baptist Church in Huntington Station – to assist Huntington residents understand the importance of their credit ratings and how they can protect their ratings. The Huntington Community Development Agency collaborated with the Ministerial Alliance, the LIHP and AvalonBay on this initiative, which was created in response to a commitment to help residents prepare for homeownership in the Town of Huntington.

The Long Island Housing Partnership counsels hundreds of individuals and families to work toward financial readiness for either purchasing their own homes or renting apartments. LIHP’s Michelle DiBeneditto and Dilfia Munoz provided the attendees with valuable information on budgeting, understanding and obtaining information on your credit rating and banks’ and lenders’ guidelines for obtaining mortgages. Many of the workshop participants, as well as the general public, do not know that whenever you apply for a credit card and your credit score is pulled, rating agencies deduct three points from your credit score. Banks and lending agencies rely on those credit scores to determine eligibility for access to mortgages.

Town of Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone stated “The Town has for many years implemented policies and programs to increase the number of affordable housing units,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “This is the other side of the equation: helping residents take the steps that will help them qualify for the housing that becomes available. We are happy to be working with the Ministerial Alliance, the Long Island Housing Partnership and Avalon Bay Communities to present these important informational sessions.”

Reverend Artis, from the Ministerial Alliance, said the Financial Literacy Workshop was incredibly valuable to members of the community. “We need the information that was provided by the Long Island Housing Partnership to help our community members make informed financial decisions,” he stated.