AMERCIUS - Housing managers seem to agree that minorities are more likely than whites to get high-cost mortgages, but can't agree on the reason why.
Regardless, lending practices have disproportionately hurt minorities.

The Rev. George F Edge, a veteran employee and manager of housing with the Americus Housing Authority, said it is unfortunate that discrimination has seeped into the home buying market.
"It is very unfortunate that discrimination is prevalent and alive in the United States of America, even in the home buying market," said Edge who has been with the Authority since 1986. "When we as a nation, admit this, we can begin coming up with solutions to the problem."

Edge said he thinks the requirements for homeownership should be eased and made affordable so that minorities and low-income families can obtain "The American Dream."
"I also feel that the access has been too easy which has caused minorities to be in the present housing crisis. It is one thing to make housing affordable but it is another thing to put a family in a house that they cannot afford and this has led to the large number of foreclosures throughout the United States," he said.

Edge's job entails overseeing all of the housing programs the agency administers and managing public housing, section 8 assisted housing, and a locally owned housing program.
He said it is not too big of a dream to move from living in subsidized housing to homeownership. As a matter of fact, HUD has a homeownership component in the Section 8 Program where the tenant's assistance payment goes toward their mortgage payment.

"This is one way families living in subsidized housing can have an opportunity to move to homeownership, but they must be credit worthy," Edge said.
He said credit worthiness has been the major barrier his agency has faced.

"We must begin teaching our youth the value of having good credit," he said.

The housing crisis has also led to people who have little problems in buying homes to look at structures not just as a place to live, but also as an investment. Edge said the times provide a perfect opportunity for both.

"For families who are credit worthy and have fairly secure jobs, this is the perfect time to move into home ownership, especially with the decline in home values," Edge said. "With so many families losing their homes to foreclosure, this is the right opportunity to break into the investment market as a viable investment option."

So what lessons should we be learning from the housing crisis? Edge said potential home buyers should only get the amount of house they can afford and definitely, do not allow mortgage companies to create false information such as falsifying the amount of income that they actually have, and "camouflaging" appraisal amounts larger than what they actually are.
"It's the homeowner who suffers in the end," he said.

Edge added, home buying education classes from the beginning to the end of the process would be very beneficial to consumers.

"I believe the average person goes into the home buying process so naive that they are taken advantage of by greedy lenders," he said.

The Reverend Edge has served God's people for more than 16 years. He has served as pastor at five churches in Georgia: McAfee Grove Baptist Church in Leesburg, New Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Byromville, Zion Hill Baptist Church in Leslie, Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church in Americus. This anointed Man of God is currently the proud pastor of the Restoration Church of Americus. Sunday school is 9:00AM and worship service is 10:00 AM at 1213 Douglas Circle every Sunday. Reverend Edge is meeting the needs of God's people spiritually and in housing.