Do you want to double your savings to help pay for education, a first home, or to start a small business? If you do, an Individual Development Account (IDA) may be right for you.
These accounts are matched savings accounts where every dollar you deposit up to $4,000 will be matched with another dollar. This means that you can use the IDA to save as much as $8,000. All you have to do is qualify for the account and then start keeping your money in a saving account. While participants save toward their individual goals, they are required to attend workshops on personal financial management and asset-specific training such as, homeownership education or business counseling.
In order to be eligible to participate in the IDA program you must be a Refugee or Asylee. Also, Cuban or Haitian entrants, victims of trafficking and certain Amerasians may be eligible. You must have earned income and your combined household income must fall below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level.
To learn more about eligibility requirements for this program or to start an IDA, please contact, , or call 207-882-7552.
Predatory Mortgages in Maine Recent Trends and the Persistence of Abusive Lending Practices. A joint report issued by Coastal Enterprises, Inc. and the Center for Responsible Lending, 2006.
Buying a house is always exciting. But for Tina Bailey and her two
daughters having their own home meant a new sense of accomplishment and
control. Leasing an apartment means following someone else's rules.
Having lived in apartments all her life, Tina was eager for a change
and ready to work for it.
Three years ago she learned about a CEI Individual Development
Account (IDA), a matched savings program. For every dollar Tina saved
for her down payment, CEI deposited a dollar into a special account.
Tina started saving. She completed courses on budgeting, credit, and
homeownership as part of the IDA program and, earlier this year,
reached her goal of $4,000. Meanwhile, the story of Tina's future house
was unfolding.
In 2002, the City of Lewiston was looking for creative ways to
use an empty lot in a downtown neighborhood within the federally
designated Enterprise Community. At the same time, the Regional
Technical Center within the high school wanted to get its carpentry
class involved in a larger scale community project, and CEI's Housing
Department wanted to develop more affordable housing in the
neighborhood. The three parties came together. The City donated the lot
for purchase by a first time homebuyer. CEI developed and financed the
construction, and the vocational program provided the labor. The
partnership soon grew to include Fannie Mae, Pineland Lumber and St.
Laurent and Sons. This fall the three bedroom cape was finished, and
Tina got a mortgage through the Maine State Housing Authority.
What's the best part of owning a home? For Tina and her
daughters, it's being able to paint the walls any color they choose -
crimson, turquoise and purple.
36 Water Street, PO Box 268, Wiscasset, ME 04578; Telephone: 207/882-7552; FAX: 207/882-7308; E-mail: cei@ceimaine.org
Affordable Housing 
Do you want to double your savings to help pay for education, a first home, or to start a small business? If you do, an Individual Development Account (IDA) may be right for you.
Maine Legislature Passes Model Anti-Predatory Lending Bill.