Atlanta-Area Renter Achieves Homeownership with the Help of Center Creek Capital Group’s Innovative Affordable Housing Program

First success story from ‘Pathway to Homeownership’ program demonstrates how mission-oriented partners can address the nationwide housing affordability crisis

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Center Creek Capital Group (“Center Creek”), a mission-oriented investment and development firm specializing in affordable single-family housing, announced today the sale of one of its single-family rental homes to an existing resident – marking the first successful renter-to-homeowner transition in its Pathway to Homeownership (“P2H”) program.

Center Creek’s impact-focused investment strategy preserves distressed single-family rental properties in underserved communities across the southeastern United States, rehabilitates the properties into quality homes, and commits them affordability. To date, Center Creek has invested over $75 million into underserved markets, including $12.5 million in the rehabilitation and upgrade of distressed single-family properties.

“At Center Creek, our Affordable Housing Impact Investment strategy is focused on providing low- and moderate-income Americans with a range of affordable living options, through rentals or homeownership,” said Dan Magder, CEO of Center Creek.

“We have renovated nearly 500 distressed houses and turned them into affordable rentals, and our P2H program provides the tools to our residents to convert them from renters into homeowners. We see the P2H program as an industry model that will help more people transition to homeownership and begin the process of building generational wealth that for their families.”

Today’s sale of the Atlanta-area home, combined with the twenty other Center Creek residents presently in the P2H program pipeline, demonstrates the scalability of Center Creek’s innovative program. The P2H program is a centerpiece of the firm’s broader mission to generate meaningful real-world progress in addressing the nation’s ongoing housing affordability crisis with impact-focused investments in affordable single-family rentals.

Through its P2H program, Center Creek offers a suite of financial resources and support to renters, facilitating their path to homeownership. These resources and support include credit counseling managed by a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved credit counseling partner, financial incentives for timely rental payments, and a savings match to encourage residents to save for their down payments. Center Creek also provides other resident services including free broadband internet and workshops to support minority small businesses and entrepreneurship.

The buyer of the Atlanta-area home is Mauricio McGarity, a 44-year-old resident of Douglasville, Georgia with a wife and three children. McGarity started renting a Center Creek affordable single-family rental in 2019. He has been enrolled in Center Creek’s P2H program since the spring of 2021. Thanks to the support of P2H, McGarity was able to increase his credit score by more than 100 points, allowing him to qualify for a more affordable mortgage.

“Mauricio has worked really hard to reach this milestone, and we are incredibly proud that his journey to homeownership was made possible, in part, by our program and our mission-oriented approach,” said Monique Davis, Social Impact Programs Manager for Center Creek. “Mauricio’s closing costs are close to zero thanks to Center Creek’s assistance and incentives. He was able to buy his home using a 100% mortgage product, and we are providing him with a $2,500 savings match as well as an additional $6,000 in closing cost assistance.”

With the P2H program, the firm is showcasing the modernization of its resident services to provide additional transformational impact through financial literacy training and support. Center Creek has invested approximately $100,000 in the program, in the form of staff time, programming costs, and participant incentives, underscoring its commitment to impactful change within the affordable single-family rental space.

About Center Creek Capital Group

Center Creek Capital Group is a mission-oriented housing investment and development leader, generating value for our investors and transforming the lives of families in our homes. Founded in 2012, Center Creek operates across the southeastern United States and allocates capital along two primary investment strategies: Affordable Housing Impact Investments and Creative Housing Development. The firm’s Affordable Housing Impact Investments strategy preserves and rehabilitates homes in underserved communities to generate positive social impact alongside competitive risk-adjusted financial returns. Center Creek’s Creative Housing Development strategy leverages creative design and innovative land use to construct high-quality homes that are affordable to a range of buyers.

For more information, visit www.centercreekcapital.com.