By Jean Sealey
Northeast Florida Builders Association
In addition to providing paid training in a highly marketable construction trade, the Northeast Florida Builders Association apprentice program helps fourth-year students and recent graduates purchase a home.
Felix Camata, a recent graduate from the electrical program, has been in his new home just a few weeks.
“We’re still not unpacked but I am so happy to have my own home,” Camata said. “This is a very nice neighborhood, too.”
Camata is originally from the Philippines and attended high school in Oklahoma. A stint in the United States Navy brought him to Jacksonville, and he decided to stay here. He was working as an assistant for an electrical company when a co-worker told him about the NEFBA apprentice program.
“I would probably be an assistant electrical worker without the apprentice program,” Camata said. “Now I have graduated and I have a new home.”
Camata is employed by A.E.C. Electrical Contractors.
Funds from the M.O. “Bill” Soforenko Affordable Housing Grant enabled Camata to meet the down payment requirement to purchase a new home.
Soforenko believed in affordable housing. Much of his life centered on ensuring housing was affordable and available, allowing people with moderate incomes the opportunity to share the American dream of home ownership.
In his honor, the Northeast Florida Builders Association offers the Bill Soforenko Affordable Housing Grant to NEFBA apprentices.
“The job market is very competitive today, and we were looking for an additional way to take care of our own,” said Keith Ward, NEFBA training vice president. “These grants allow our family members a little better opportunity to become homeowners.”
The executive board started the grant program with a $5,000 contribution, which was matched by a NEFBA member. Additional funds are appropriated each year.
An obstacle to qualifying for a home loan is the down payment, said Laura Laseman, NEFBA training director.
“I don’t know of any other company in our area that offers anything comparable,” Laseman said. “We pair the apprentice with the available financing program for which he or she best qualifies. We want to put people in homes so we work with them to find the loan program that suits the student’s particular circumstances.”
Laseman said that sometimes a small amount of money stands between the borrower and the lending institution, and that’s where the Soforenko Affordable Housing Grant can make the difference.
Students who have completed a minimum of two years in the NEFBA apprentice program and recent graduates are eligible for the grants. The grant money can be used for any cost associated with the first-time purchase of a new or used single-family residence. The down payment, closing costs, points, origination fees and other similar costs can be paid with grant funds.