MONTICELLO – Potential home buyers here will have an opportunityto learn about the process and secure funding during a Home BuyerFair at the Lawrence County Public Library on Tuesday from 3-6p.m.

A similar event will be held in Lincoln County in September,according to Fannie Brown, affordable housing coordinator for AJFCCommunity Action Agency Inc.

AJFC, in conjunction with Mississippi Home Corp., is hosting thefree fair.

“We help them with everything they need to do to purchase ahome,” Brown said. “We even walk them through the bank applicationprocess.”

Several banks will have lenders at the fair to acceptapplications and approve loans, she said.

“We can bring the banking world to the public in a neutralenvironment, where people feel less intimidated and are more apt toask the important questions,” Brown said.

Program coordinators will also be present to enroll prospectivebuyers into programs through the AJFC that can help with loweringclosing costs, she said, or inform potential buyers about otheravailable housing resources, such as other government agencyhousing programs.

Other activities at the fair include programs for creditcounseling.

“We are optimistic with the partners involved that these homebuyer fairs will be beneficial to anyone who wants to obtain homeownership,” Brown said.

Activities at the fair are not targeted strictly at low-incomefamilies, she said, and all potential home buyers can benefit fromthe event.

“We’re preparing for a variety of people,” she said. “We matchthat person, based on their income and other factors, with theprogram or options best suited for them.”

Several home buyer fairs have been hosted by AJFC this year,including ones in Amite, Wilkerson and Jefferson counties, but thiswill be the first fair held in Lawrence County, she said.

“I’ve done some recruitment in Lawrence County, but this is thefirst time we’ve had a home buyer fair there,” Brown said.

Two Lawrence Countians are already enrolled in AJFC or MHCprograms, she said, and another nine participants are from LincolnCounty, which will host a fair next month.

Although AJFC has been around for approximately 35 years, Brownsaid, they only became involved as a community housing developmentagent through the Mississippi Housing Development Authority abouttwo years ago.

The home buyer fairs are a result of programs begun about a yearago as part of that expansion.