Join the Club and Get a Home For $500 Down…..
… ..HomeFree USA features financial assistance programs as well as education, referral and counseling services for prospective buyers in the metropolitan Washington area. Membership is required for participation in programs. Members have access to a variety of financial aid packages related to homeownership, including money for downpayments, closing costs and access to special money-saving mortgage programs. HomeFree offers a mortgage plan requiring $500 down and closing cost grants that do not need to be repaid. Also offered to members are assistance with credit, debt, and tax issues, counseling on savings, debt and budgeting, access to a number of mortgage professionals, assistance in applying for a mortgage, classes in smart homeownership, and step-by-step counseling to make sure the member’s financial interests are protected in the home buying process. Contact: HomeFreeUSA, 318 Riggs Road, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20011. Phone: (202) 526-2000 or (800) 289-4632; fax: (202) 526-4072, www.homefreeusa.org. Contact them to see if they know of similar programs in your area.

Don’t Complain About the World….
… . Change your little portion of the world the way you dream the world should be. If you hate the way businesses are run, then start your own and run it the way you believe a business SHOULD be run. It you hate the way politicians lie all the time, run for a local office yourself, like the school board or dog catcher and start telling the truth. You may not be able to change the entire world the way you want it before you die, but you do have the power to change your little portion of it. And you cannot gain the right to criticize unless you walk the walk along with talking the talk.

Cars Available At Steep Discounts….
…… Vehicles for Change solicits donations of used cars from the community and rehabs the vehicles for resale to eligible individuals and families. Vehicles for Change repairs the donated cars in partnership with Precision Tune and CertiPro Warehouse and provides them to qualified families for a nominal fee of $700-$950. Each recipient receives a 12-month loan to assist in the purchase of the car. Contact: Northern Virginia Family Services, Inc. 9842 Business Way, Manassas, VA 20110, 703-392-4901; Vehicles for Change Phone: (703) 533-2543, www.nvfs.org/vehicle.htm. Contact your local Congressman’s or Senator’s office to see if similar programs are available in your area at www.congress.org.

Quick and Easy 10% Downpayment Assistance ….
… is available in less than an hour, at no cost and with no application to fill out. Low- to moderate-income families can earn up to 10 percent of the purchase price of their new home and never have to repay the money. The program is open to all homebuyers without regard to income, property price, or first-time ownership. Furthermore, the Harford Food Bank does not require the homebuyer to put money down or have cash reserves in order to qualify for gift funds. Homestead Trust, 3450 Ellicott Center Drive, Ellicott City, MD 21043, 410-480.1967, www.homesteadtrust.org/.

Free Taxi Rides to the Doctor…
… If you are a senior or taking care of a senior, remember the government pays for elderly people’s transportation to the doctor. Go to http://www.eldercare.gov/ and find your local area office on aging. Their toll-free number is 1-800-677-1116 and can be reached from Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.

$25,000 Loan Serves As First Step Towards Business Ownership…
… Prospective business owners looking to set up shop in Washington DC’s Ward 7/Marshall Heights area have strong support from the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization (MHCDO). The MHCDO provides, often at no cost, entrepreneurial and business training, one-on-one small business counseling in its Business Information Resource Center, technical assistance with loans, legal, accounting and other business-related areas, and special loan packaging, and loans ranging from $10,000 to $25,000. The group will also perform market research and assist with the development of print advertisements and other materials to promote the entrepreneur’s business. Marshall Heights Community Development Organization, 3939 Benning Road, NE, Washington, DC 20019, 202-396-1200, www.mhcdo.org. For help in locating groups like this in your area, contact you local Congressman’s or Senator’s office at www.congress.org.

Lesko Speaks at Harvard Business School…..
… . April 5th I’ll be speaking to marketing and entrepreneurship students. I couldn’t get in there as a student so I got my MBA from American University, and I did it with government money. Should be fun. George Bush got his MBA there and he got a $200 million government grant for his baseball stadium. Everybody uses government money.