For many young professionals working in Santa Barbara, the thought of “settling down” involves moving away from our beautiful beach town to somewhere with more affordable housing. When Alexandra and Andy Hamill first met, they didn’t think they would be able to stay here either. “Starting a family in their one-bedroom apartment would not have been feasible,” Alexandra said. Despite grandparents and other family members who tied them to the area, moving out of the area seemed to be their only option.

That’s when Andy found out about one of Coastal Housing Partnership’s Home Buying Fairs through his employer, Toyon. Toyon is one of more than 60 local companies that provides housing savings and benefits to its employees through an annual paid membership with Coastal Housing Partnership. These benefits include free home buying education as well as savings when buying a home, refinancing a mortgage, or renting an apartment.

“The Home Buying Fair was really helpful and encouraging, and that’s when we started reading more about Coastal Housing and crunching numbers,” Alex said. Once the couple realized home ownership in Santa Barbara might be possible for them, they started exploring their options and looking into buying a condo.

Alex and Andy started working with the Kevin Hall real estate team and lender Terre Lapman, both of whom are part of the Coastal Housing network. After saving up their own money and receiving a family loan for part of their down payment, Alex and Andy found their condo a few years ago.

Coastal Housing real estate agents and lenders provide savings to home buyers in the form of credits toward closing costs in the home buying process. “We wound up with no closing costs. That was huge,” Alex said. “We’re thankful that Toyon is part of Coastal Housing. It helped us stay in Santa Barbara!” The Hamills worked with Coastal Housing partners once again when they recently bought a larger house after having two kids.

Many people are daunted by the competitive real estate market in the area, and assume that home ownership is not a possibility for them. Coastal Housing Partnership’s free education programs aim to making the home buying process simpler to understand and more accessible for a wide range of prospective home buyers.

This spring, Coastal Housing Partnership will host its 8^th Annual Home Buying Fair on April 30^th from 5pm-8pm at the Pierpont Inn in Ventura. Providing a no-pressure environment to chat with real estate agents, lenders, and other real estate professionals, this event is perfect for prospective home buyers who want to get their questions answered or shop for members of their home buying team. Come network, hear professional panels about the home buying process and the real estate market, and eat tacos at the Home Buying Fair!

For more information and to RSVP, visit homebuyingfairs.org or call the Coastal Housing Partnership office at (805) 969-1025.

“It is expensive but there are tools out there to help!” Alex said. “Don’t be resigned to the fact that you need to move away. Look into ways you can stay here.”

This year marks the 8th year of Coastal Housing Partnership Home Buying Fairs! These events are the best place to get on your path to home ownership, or to get your questions answered if you’re already on your way to buying a home! Join us.

Attendees can network with dozens of local lenders, real estate agents, residential construction companies, and moving companies. Our Home Buying Fairs also feature 3 educational panels of real estate professionals that cover different home buying topics. And of course, we’ll have tacos. 🙂 Save the date:

Tuesday, April 30th, 5-8pm, Pierpont Inn, Ventura

Wednesday, September 25th, 5-8pm, Deckers Rotunda, Goleta

Make sure to share this valuable event with anyone you know who has home ownership in their future! Looking forward to seeing you there!

The Home Buying Fairs are designed to give attendees the opportunity to find out more about the home buying process, the real estate market and to meet real estate professionals in an efficient, no-pressure environment. Hundreds of potential home buyers attended the three fairs held in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Ventura.

Attendees received valuable information from real estate professionals as exhibitors and in the education sessions offered throughout the fairs.

Dozens of exhibitor booths provided attendees the opportunity to easily and informally interview potential partners of their home buying team, including real estate agents, lenders, residential developers, escrow companies, and credit & financial service professionals. Education sessions were offered to help attendees understand the home buying process, regardless of where they are in the home buying process – whether working to build better credit, trying to purchase a home with less than a 20% down payment, or learning how to negotiate the real estate transaction.

For nearly 30 years, local nonprofit Coastal Housing Partnership has been helping employees of local companies realize their dreams of home ownership through home buying education programs and benefits provided through a network of local real estate partners.

The Home Buying Fairs are designed to give attendees the opportunity to find out more about the home buying process, the real estate market and to meet real estate professionals in an efficient, no-pressure environment.

Coastal Housing Partnership’s sixth annual Home Buying Fair offers potential home buyers a wealth of information and resources on their path to home ownership. Whether you are a first time home buyer, a move-up buyer or just thinking about buying a home, this fair is for you.  It is designed to give attendees the tools to help navigate the home buying process and today’s real estate market.

The Coastal Housing Partnership’s Home Buying Fair offers potential home buyers an efficient, no-pressure environment to get all of their home buying questions answered in one place:

• Learn how to navigate the home buying process and today’s real estate market
• Get the tools, information and resources to help save money and make informed decisions
• Meet with local home buying experts: real estate agents, lenders, and residential builders
• Attend free education panels on key aspects of home buying, the loan process and local market conditions

Whether you can come for 30 minutes or several hours, you will walk away with important tools to help you be more prepared on your path to home ownership.

The Home Buying Fair is presented by Key Sponsor Montecito Bank & Trust. Welcome Home Sponsors include The Kelly Marsh Team at Cornerstone Home Lending, Synergy One Lending, and Peggy Sue Tierney at RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors.

Date: Saturday, October 28, 2017
Hours: 10 am – 3 pm
Location: Ventura Beach Marriott, 2055 East Harbor Blvd
Admission: Free for employees of Coastal Housing Partnership Member Employers and their guests
Parking: Free

For more information and to register, go to www.coastalhousing.org or www.homebuyingfair.org

The schedule for this year’s home buying fair is live on our website www.coastalhousing.org.

When you attend the 5th Annual Home Buying Fair on May 14th 2016, you can also attend our free home buying seminars offered throughout the day!

Learn from local experts who have partnered with Coastal Housing Partnership in our commitment to helping you realize your dream of home ownership. They will help you understand what you need to know – and the questions you should ask – so that you are the strongest home buyer you can be. The information will give you the tools and confidence to compete effectively in today’s real estate market.

Click here to see the schedule: http://www.coastalhousing.org/home-buying-fair/schedule.php

Coastal Housing Partnership’s 5th Annual Home Buying Fair is May 14, 2016, 10am – 3pm at the
Ventura Beach Marriott. Whether you are a first time home buyer, a move-up buyer, getting back into the market or just thinking about buying a home, this Fair is for you! You can RSVP online or via phone at (805) 969-1025! We look forward to seeing you!