iiiii

•••••;;;:

gry.:

• • • •

• • •

•

•

• • •

Double Mitzvah

New JVS program helps home buyers and sellers.

* moonroof • leather * cd player power driver's seat
side impact airbags * inflatable side curtain
• heated seats and more!

00

39 months
including s32500
refundable security deposit.

Tax, license is additional. Offer ends 2/28/02.

Stop craving sweets, starches & alcohol.
Experience my most amazing weight loss
breakthrough in 20 . years of medical practice!

New Carbi-5 is a non-stimulating prescription medication that
eliminates sweet, starch and alcohol cravings. Lose your desire
for cookies, candy, bread, wine and ice cream. Most people
lose 5-10 pounds their first week on Carbi-5 and 10-20 pounds
every month. The cost of Carbi-5 is $65 a week. Read my new
book Dr. Nagler's Crash Diet for my new 10 Days -10 Pounds
Off Program.

Bill Nagler, M.D.
734.422.8040

16311 Middlebelt, Livonia
www.dietresults.com

Photos that
tell a story...

ALAN ABRAMS
Special to the Jewish News

B

arbara Nurenberg calls the
new JVS Downpayment
Assistance Program (DAP)
"a double mitzvah" because
it produces good results on two levels.
"First, it helps make the American
Dream of home ownership a reality" by
providing a no-strings-attached gift of a
downpayment to qualified homebuyers.
Nurenberg is president and chief execu-
tive officer of the Southfield-
based social services agency
formerly known as Jewish
Vocational Services.
And second, a percentage
of the service fee paid by
sellers of the homes is
plowed back into JVS to
help fund their programs,
many of which serve Jewish
members of the community.
DAP provides gift money
to home buyers, which
enables them to purchase a
home with essentially no
out-of-pocket costs. The
cash gift, which is equal to 3
percent of the contract
price, can be used as a
downpayment to purchase
any new or existing home
priced up to $172,900 in
the Detroit metropolitan
Barbara
area, Nurenberg said.
The home must be enrolled
in the DAP and qualify for a Federal
Housing Administration mortgage
that allows gift funds. There are no
income restrictions needed to qualify.
And even better, the gift never has to
be repaid.
The gift is available to first-time
homebuyers and those who have pre-
viously purchased homes, said Jay
Penfil, director of sales and marketing
for the program.

,

How It Works

Howard Kaplan

.04o, to-s,

2/15

2002

20

•

"

(248) 477-2559

k c y,

So where does the money come from?
Any seller or builder of a new home
who enrolls the home in the program
agrees to pay DAP a service fee equal
to 4 percent of the contract sales price.
The fee allows JVS to continually
replenish the pool of funds as well as

allocate a portion of the fee to its
community services.
The fee is paid at closing. If the deal
doesn't close, there is no obligation to
pay the fee, said Howard Kowalsky,
JVS administrative vice president who
oversees the program.
The agency has made 60 gifts since
the program was instituted July 1,
said Nurenberg. The initial seed
money of $10,000 came from an
anonymous donor.
"This is not a loan, this is a true gift

Nurenberg

of equity," said Penfil. "Our intention
is to assist local persons to buy a home
and stop renting. Our target are those
who have the credit and income for
this, but have not been able to save
money for a downpayment."
The program greatly differs from the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit's Neighborhood Project, which
gives interest-free loans generally aver-
aging up to $8,000 to help Jews buy
homes in parts of Oak Park and
Southfield, said Nurenberg. "The
Neighborhood Project does not get
involved in any zero-down programs,
and the DAP is not limited to any
geographic boundaries."
Amy Neistein, director of the
Neighborhood Project, has met with
Kowalsky about DAP "and there's real-
ly not a conflict."

