Program helps family obtain Northland house

There's no place like home, as Brooklynn, Phil and Charlie Hahn discovered Thursday.

The Hahns were handed the keys to their house July 27 on Glenmawr Avenue in the Northland area, as the first family to buy a home through the Huntington Homeownership Alliance.

The three-year, $10 million alliance, launched three months ago, is the result of the bank and Columbus Housing Partnership joining forces to help more than 100 potential homeowners in Central Ohio by providing housing counseling, foreclosure prevention services and affordable mortgages, according to information from the alliance.

"Brooklynn's family lives just five minutes away from here," Amy Klaben, president and CEO of the Columbus Housing Partnership said.



"She grew up in the neighborhood, and is so excited she could buy a house and come back to the neighborhood."

"We've been renting," Mrs. Hahn said. "We were getting a little tired of it and Charlie, (age 1 1/2) was getting bigger."

"This whole process made everything more affordable," she said.

Mrs. Hahn is a professional photographer. Mr. Hahn is a stay-at-home dad. They bought the renovated home for $101,000, according to Franklin County Auditor's office records.

"We look for houses in nice neighborhoods where a foreclosure has had a negative effect," Klaben said.

Through the partnership's Homeport program, properties are rehabilitated to provide quality homes at an affordable price, with fixed-rate mortgages.

Nine more potential homeowners are in the pipeline, Klaben said. "It's renovated and made ready," she said. "When people buy a foreclosed home, they find they need to do a lot of the work," as she noted Charlie playing by his tree, in his front yard, in his orange T-shirt.

"Charlie dressed in his orange T-shirt reminds me of Halloween," she said. "Before this, they lived in an area where they couldn't trick-or-treat."

"This year, Charlie will be able to go trick-or-treating in his own neighborhood."

Charlie's antics were not lost on Columbus City Council President Mike Mentel. "This is his front yard -- he is enjoying this and that is what this program is all about," Mentel said. "I've been proud to be a part of this program."

"It helps rebuild communities and keeps families strong and neighborhoods safe," he said.

"This is a ray of light today, to make sure a family has a home," he said, as he cautioned those gathered on the Hahn's front lawn to not forget there are still many families facing foreclosure.

"We see them every day, under a viaduct, under the railroad tracks, under a tarp," Mentel said. "Who knows were they got their tarp."

"But, that is what they call home," he said.

For more information, call Columbus Housing Partnership at 614-221-8889, ext. 134 or visit online at chpcolumbus.org.

"We look for houses in nice neighborhoods where a foreclosure has had a negative effect."

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