Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Rolly Brigham 503 790-7540
9th ANNUAL ASIAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER HOME BUYING FAIR
A FREE one stop home ownership fair will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Eastport Plaza Shopping Center, 3900 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon next door to JoAnn Fabric (between Powell & Holgate), in conjunction with the Chinese/Asian Community's Autumn Festival which will immediately follow our fair. Organizers of the fair are targeting limited-English speaking and low-income individuals or families, first time homebuyers from the Asian & Pacific Islander communities, Russian, immigrants and the general public from throughout Oregon and SW Washington.
Participating organizations from the housing industry including public agencies, private businesses, and non-profit organizations hope to attract over 1000 attendees to a fun filled day of informative homebuyer education materials, resources, exhibits, and informational booths. Down Payment Assistance, gas certificates and other fabulous prizes, food, entertainment and activities for children and families will also be part of the fair's activities.
A major objective of this event is to ensure the public and all communities throughout Oregon and SW Washington have access to home buying information and resources available to the public to become informed homebuyers. Homebuyer materials will include the "Basics of Buying a Home" and "Overcoming Barriers to Home Ownership." Attendees will also learn about special financing opportunities and APICIA's and other agencies' down payment assistance programs. APICIA provides financial assistance to qualified low-income families to help cover down payment and closing costs. These funds are subject to availability and qualifications. There will be bilingual volunteers and interpreters registering attendees who are interested in homeownership classes in Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin), Vietnamese, Laotian, Korean, Hmong, Russian and other languages.
Interested persons are encouraged to pre-register for the homeownership classes. Pre-registrants will receive an additional raffle ticket to potentially win fantastic prizes such a down payment assistance, gas certificates and other fabulous prizes. To pre-register, log on to www.apicia.org or call 503 669-1783.
Primary organizers include The Portland Development Commission, the City of Portland, Bureau of Housing and Community Development, Key Bank, Wells Fargo and the Portland Chinese Times. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is serving as a community partner in this event. Participating exhibitors include a wide array of government agencies, non-profit organizations, realty agencies, lending institutions, insurance businesses, and other representatives from the housing industry. These exhibitors will be providing information about their services and free promotional items.
Major financial sponsors for this 9th Annual Asian Home Buying Fair include the City of Portland's Bureau of Housing & Community Development; the Portland Development Commission; Key Bank and Washington Mutual.