BOISE - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has contributed $94,000 to the Finally Home!® Home Buyer Education Program in 2002, assisting with educational contract expenses, textbooks and other class materials and program administration. Additional leading contributors include U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, The Allstate Foundation and Idaho Housing and Finance Association. Each contributed $7,000 or more to the program, Idaho Partners for Home Buyer Education, Inc. administrator Sue Pisani announced.

IPHBE is a nonprofit organization that has joined with local partners in Idaho to offer free home buyer education since 1999. Finally Home!® offers classes virtually every month statewide. The program covers everything from qualifying for a mortgage and choosing a real estate professional, to making an offer and closing. Finally Home!® has graduated over 6,300 future Idaho home owners since its inception, and anticipates graduating another 2,850 in 2003.

"Home buyer education is a very important aspect of the home-buying process, especially for first-time home buyers," said Jerry Centers, IPHBE Board Chairman. "Builders, REALTORS® and developers must recognize the importance of home buyer education with their financial support. As a nonprofit organization we must have more participation in order to sustain this extremely important program."

Other 2002 major financial contributors include:

W. H. Moore Company, Boise
Farmers and Merchants State Bank, Boise
Fannie Mae
First Financial Corporation
Sterling Savings Bank, Spokane
First Horizon Home Loan Corporation
First Federal Savings Bank
Hubble Group, Inc., Boise
Washington Trust Bank
Young Mortgage Services Corporation