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Project Coordinator, A.L.R.I.Homebuying at Centro Presente in Cambridge
by Cathy Anderson,
Project Coordinator, A.L.R.I.
Welcome to Homebuying ESL
I began our class at Centro Presente by explaining that this course would not replace the excellent first-time homebuying courses offered in Cambridge, Chelsea, and East Boston, where the students lived and worked. Our class would be focused on homebuying readiness: how to plan now for homebuying in the future and understanding how mortgages and credit worked. I also explained that this class would be an opportunity to practice writing in English. Students would get a chance to practice letter-writing and drafting a resume. Because the class was only comprised of three intermediate-level students, I planned to spend time with each person individually to help him with his writing. We met at Centro Presente for two hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings through the month of July.
Begin with a Quiz
On the first night of our class I gave a brief quiz on some basic facts about homebuying as a way to set a context for homebuying readiness. The quiz included: 1) facts students might not know about the cost of a monthly mortgage compared to the rising cost of monthly rent; 2) the necessary documentation of work history; and 3) the acceptance of nontraditional credit. I used the quiz to spark questions about the possibility of affording a home on a low income. From the students' questions I could also further determine their English skills.
Planning the Course Together
Because we would be meeting for only nine classes, I wanted to be sure we covered as much as possible while working on English skills at the same time. Together we made a plan for the following weeks: we would cover the chapters in the How to Buy a Home in the U.S., but not spend as much time on the grammar exercises; we would invite a speaker from the city of Cambridge to explain low-income subsidy opportunities for first-time homebuyers; we would look up mortgage rates on the Internet and of course we would spend time writing and learning new vocabulary. We did accomplish all of our goals, although we did not have time to work through the last unit of the curriculum, "Your Home is Your Castle" on planning monthly expenses for a home.
Meet the Students
Hugo, Jose, and Pasqual had been thinking about homebuying for many months. Hugo and Jose had come to the U.S. from El Salvador about ten to twelve years ago and have been working in restaurants, factories, and other retail businesses for some time. They both were married with young families and cared about finding a permanent home for their children. They were optimistic about their chances for making a good life here in the United States. They were perhaps representative of the thousands of Central American refugees who have fled their war-torn countries at a young age and have since learned how to survive in this challenging country.
Pasqual, new to the U.S., had been a doctor in his native country of Venezuela, and although his spoken English was not as good as the other two students, he was an avid reader. I made sure to give him extra work in reading. All three students were familiar with interest rates and how credit worked and had a fairly realistic sense of the potential for homebuying in this very expensive region of the Northeast.
Using a Range of Homebuying Materials
Those first few nights of class we began with Lesson One of How to Buy a Home in the U.S., "This Apartment is Too Small," completing the writing assignment on page 5 about the advantages and disadvantages of homeownership. In writing the letter, we used an additional template I designed so that students could see where the salutation, date and closing fit in a real letter. We also read a narrative that explains, in a general way, the whole homebuying process, "Buying a Home: Angelo Rodriguez's Story" in the collection of materials published in the 1997 A.L.R.I. publication, Where the Sun Breezes Don't Stop Shining. This story helped students see the homebuying process up front. We practiced placing the events of the narrative in order and answered the questions that accompany the story.
Throughout the course, we concentrated mainly on key terms and the points of the text. Students completed a job history, as suggested in Lesson Two of How to Buy a Home in the U.S., page 10. We used Unit Two of the curriculum, "Finding Your Dream Home" as a springboard for discussing the different styles and construction materials of homes. Along with this unit, students also began to write an essay on the home they knew as a child. I read aloud a brief excerpt from a beautiful essay by poet Hernando Cruz titled "Home is Where the Music Is" and provided guided questions on what they remembered of their childhood home. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to complete final drafts of these essays, but I was able to assist the three students with writing specific answers to the questions that could later serve as the body of their essay.
We used Unit Three, "Getting a Mortgage May be Easier Than You Think" as an overview of mortgage terms and an introduction to our speaker from the Cambridge Community Development Department. The three students were also interested in the monthly costs of a home and how much they could qualify to borrow from a bank. A Guide to Homeownership, published by the FannieMae Foundation, provided useful worksheets, beginning on page 111, on assessing expenses, income, mortgage amount, etc. Although not completely transferable to banks in the Boston area, I explained that these worksheets would give a rough estimate of how much they could borrow from a bank. We used the first six sets of worksheets, including: "Your Current Monthly Expenses;" "Your available cash and Assets;" "Your gross Monthly Income;" "Your Monthly Debt Payments;" and "Calculating Your Maximum Mortgage Amount under FannieMae's Community Home Buyer's Program (CHBP)." I made extra copies of these forms and told the students to take them home and go over them together with their families. In class, as they practiced calculating their monthly expenses and debts, they were free to put in any amount they wished if they preferred not to disclose their personal finances.
On the last day of class we were able to look up mortgage rates from around the country on the Internet. After a number of attempts, we used the Yahoo search engine and "mortgage rates" as the key words. As a further outcome, students were fascinated by the World Wide Web and interested in pursuing studies related to computer programs. I encouraged them to take courses in computers as this knowledge could be a possible step toward a better job or a good promotion.
Learning Through Inquiry
All three students asked very specific, probing questions at every stage of their studies. This curiosity and commitment to learning more was one of the most exciting aspects of the class. The three students immediately accepted my explanation that I was an expert in English but not in homebuying. Together we could learn more about this fascinating and complex process if we made sure to write down our questions on the board throughout the course. As questions emerged, we could spend time outside of class, or with the invited speaker, to research our answers.
To demonstrate how students could launch their own research, I began by creating assignments based on their questions. The following is a selection of the students' questions and how they handled the assignments.
1. Question: Does homeowners' insurance cover floods, fires, earthquakes and other disasters?
Assignment: Read a section about homeowners' insurance in FannieMae' book, A Guide to Being a Landlord and report back to class.
Student's response: Pasqual took this assignment on with gusto and came back with ideas for the rest of the class about the responsibilities of owning rental property. His reading in English was much more advanced than his speaking, so this assignment was an opportunity for him to show off a bit.
2. Question: Where can I buy an affordable home?
Assignment: Read the real estate section of the "Boston Sunday Globe" and compare the prices of homes in different areas. Use a map.
Student's response: Hugo looked over ads from a range of high- to moderate-income towns outside of Boston. He demonstrated his knack for deciphering abbreviations and showed everyone the locations of the homes on a map he brought to class.
3. Question: What do you learn in first-time homeownership classes?
Assignment: Call the Boston Home Center and ask about the content of the course, dates and times for the next series of homebuying classes in East Boston and Chelsea. Report back to class.
Student's response: Jose made the initial call and left his name and address on the Boston Home Center's answering machine. Unfortunately, the Boston Home Center did not get back to him before the class ended, but I provided information on upcoming courses in East Boston where Jose and his family live.
The Inquiry Challenge
One evening, Jose brought to class flyers advertising very inexpensive, foreclosed property up for auction. He wanted to show us that it was possible to buy a house for as little as $30,000 or less. When I saw these flyers, my inquiry-based teaching style and Socratic ideals flew out the window. I stated emphatically that you cannot trust auctions because hidden costs often accompany such ventures: second mortgages, liens, etc. I didn't rant but I lectured him, which was probably worse. A few days later, I witnessed a much better approach to the hot topic of auctions. After our speaker from the Cambridge Community Development Center introduced herself, Jose pulled out another flyer announcing auctions and foreclosed property and said, "Look at all the homes you can buy cheap." Instead of responding with warnings and cautions the way I had, the speaker quietly asked, "Why would you buy something you knew nothing about?" This question made Jose stop and think. She suggested that he investigate any property by calling the appraiser first. Her style was not to zealously discourage him, but to inform him of the realistic consequences of buying auctioned property.
Jose, like the other students, was deeply engaged by the issues and conflicts of homeownership. Even though I was worried that he would be taken in by an auction, I was delighted that he pursued the topic with thoughtful questions and reasoned arguments.
Conclusion
I admire the tenacity and persistence of all three students in learning about such a complex topic. I am confident that in a few years, or when they are ready, they will make good decisions about homebuying. The course helped them, I believe, to know where they can go for assistance in homebuying, and to understand the homebuying process in more detail.
Materials Used:
How to Buy a Home in the United States
published by the FannieMae Foundation
A Guide to Homeowernship
published by:
FannieMae
National Housing Impact Division
3900 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20016-2899