A free class for first-time buyers navigating the home purchase process is offered by OlyCAP and Homeward Bound, a Community Land Trust serving Clallam and Jefferson counties. Open to all, the six-hour class helps maximize the purchasing power of folks looking to purchase a home and provides information about the new $8,000 home buyer tax credit.

Aimee Dawson, loan officer at Eagle Home Mortgage, and Brooke Nelson, Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, present the class in two sessions from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, and Wednesday, July 22, at the Incubator, 905 W. Ninth St., Port Angeles. Additionally, Jason Aldrich of Aldrich's Home Inspections explains the whys and wherefores of home inspections.

To register contact OlyCAP at 452-4726 ex. 6303 or e-mail pbadame@olycap.org.

The Washington State Housing Commission-trained instructors provide information about purchase assistance programs, eligibility requirements and the options for using current lending programs including FHA and VA. Class participants learn about below-market interest rate loans, lending programs for low and moderate income borrowers, sweat equity homeownership and new lending limits. Instructors will address important credit-related information, what the prospective home buyer can do about credit issues, budgeting information, tips for avoiding predatory lenders, debt ratios, mortgage insurance, assessing what you can afford to buy, how to negotiate the sales price, how to get the best loan, and information about title, escrow and the closing process.

All participants receive a certificate of completion, necessary to unlock various lending programs and self-help homeownership programs and a requirement for some of the first-time home buyer and down payment assistance programs. Participants can schedule a consultation with a housing counselor and a credit evaluation and work-up with a consumer credit counseling service, at no cost.