Florida teammates are serious about sharing the onUp Movement and inspiring financial confidence in the community, that’s why it’s the perfect environment to test a new pilot program for firsttime homebuyers. The program is a partnership between Fannie Mae, National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), NAREB Investment Division and SunTrust and is designed to put lowto- moderate income individuals in a position to be able to purchase a home.

The program consists of three parts. First, participants complete an educational course designed to offer financial education basics. Once they complete the course they are given a certificate of completion. Then they have the opportunity to meet one on one with a counselor to determine what they need to do in order to be in a position to purchase a home. If they meet the necessary criteria, they are referred to a SunTrust Loan Officer.

The first session of this program took place earlier this month and the results were startling. Loan Officer Vickie Pearcey presented the English-speaking version of the course to 50 people while Loan Officer Geovanny Tellez presented the Spanish version to 35 attendees.

“Our goal was to move the participants from hope to homeownership,” said Vickie.