June 17 , 2004
Governor Rounds speaks on Indian Reservation
homeownership accomplishments
Sioux Falls, S.D. – Gov. Mike Rounds visited new homebuyer Kathleen YellowBird-Steele in Sioux Falls this week to declare June 20 – 26 as Homeownership Education Awareness Week.
The Homeownership Education Resource Organization (H.E.R.O.), a nonprofit organization which organizes homebuyer education throughout the State, USDA Rural Development, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the South Dakota Housing Development Authority (SDHDA) are partnering to focus on the importance of homebuyer education to all new homebuyers.
“Whether they are young folks just graduating from college, families who have never even thought about owning a home until now, immigrants moving to Sioux Falls or families attempting to purchase homes on our Indian Reservations, home financing can be a daunting topic,” said Rounds, “and we must work harder to ensure that folks understand the process, especially on the Reservations and for folks where homeownership has not been traditional.”
Ms. YellowBird-Steele, who is a recent homebuyer in Sioux Falls , participated in homebuyer education classes offered by Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Lutheran Social Services and the Sioux Empire Housing Partnership in Sioux Falls . The classes taught her about the basics of purchasing a home.
“Having a home for my family to call our own has been a dream for many years,” said YellowBird-Steele. “I had done a lot of research myself when preparing to buy a home, but after taking advantage of the homebuyer education classes, I learned that I was still very naïve about many aspects of the process. I think anyone who is looking at buying a house should go through a class, the small commitment it takes up front could save you a lot in the long run.”
Native American homeownership has increased in South Dakota with the aid of programs such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Section 184 program. According to Rounds, there is much more that needs to be done. “With the unique housing barriers that face the Trust lands and the Indian Reservations, we must step up our efforts, our partnerships, and our focus finding ways to give those residents opportunities for homeownership.”
Since the start of HUD's Section 184 Program in 1995, 132 South Dakota Native American families have purchased homes on tribally-owned, allotted or individual fee land on the nine reservations throughout the state. These loans total more than $8.6 million in the South Dakota . HUD recently acknowledged the South Dakota Housing Development Authority for the active participation in this Program throughout South Dakota .
“Homeownership is a high priority to us,” said Bob Ecoffey, Deputy Director of the Great Plains Region of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “One big obstacle for many is the lack of understanding and knowledge of programs available, or people just being plain scared of the home buying process. We are all working to help change that.” Ecoffey recently returned to South Dakota to serve as the Deputy Director for the BIA and is anxious to work on increasing the homeownership rates on Reservation areas.
"We are happy to assist applicants in reaching their goals of owning their own homes. Homeownership Month gives us the opportunity to discuss the progress we're making to give more people the opportunity to own their own home," said USDA Rural Development State Director Lynn D. Jensen.
SDHDA is an independent, quasi-public agency that finances and develops affordable housing opportunities for low and moderate-income residents throughout South Dakota. SDHDA is totally self-supporting and receives no tax money, appropriations, or other funding from the State. SDHDA does not discriminate against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, handicapped, familial status or national origin.