Each week on “Around Town,” our host talks to members of the First Coast community who are making an impact in their part of town. Today, our host, Sarah Olson, spoke with Jonathan Leysath.
Jonathan Leysath
President of Life Changing CDC
Website Address: https://lifechangingcenterintl.com/community-development
Short company description:
Nonprofit focusing on Affordable Housing, Education, and Community Development
What’s one piece of advice you’d give someone new to your side of town?
Come with an open mind. Things are changing fast.
What’s one thing people should know about why your side of town is a great place to live or invest?
The opportunity is endless if you are willing to put in the work.
What’s The Biggest Challenge people are facing on your side of town?
Housing.
Transcript:
Sarah:
Welcome back to another episode of Around Town. I am your host, Sarah Olson, and joining me today is president of CDC Life Changing Jonathan Leysath. Welcome.
Jonathan:
Thank you for having me.
Sarah:
I am so excited to hear about your nonprofit that is so prevalent in affordable housing. Can you please share with everybody what it is?
Jonathan:
Absolutely. So, Life Changing CDC, our community development corporation, we have three pillars. Our three pillars are affordable housing, education and economic development. We are in our community, not just here in Jacksonville, but throughout and wherever we could be in assistance to help bring affordable housing, but also get people into affordable housing. We’re also a part of the education and economic development scene. We’re just trying to make sure that we are helping our environment and our community thrive like never before.
Sarah:
Like never before. Housing is not affordable.
Jonathan:
It is not. That’s been one of our biggest challenges, right? Especially in Duval County in northeast Florida, as we’ve seen housing prices rise faster than income has rose.
Sarah:
Yes. And taxes and insurance.
Jonathan:
Taxes and insurance.
Sarah:
Insurance.
Jonathan:
Absolutely. So it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to actually purchase a home nowadays. Even if you make what we call decent money, sometimes it can still be a challenge to find that good starter home.
Sarah:
You’re just like one job loss away from.
Jonathan:
Absolutely.
Sarah:
So how do you help fill that gap?
Jonathan:
Yeah. I’m glad you asked. What we do with the affordable housing piece, more specifically, is we do some gap funding projects as well with some of the local developers. One of the things I’ve noticed here in northeast Florida, sometimes we will build affordable housing, but the people building affordable housing don’t necessarily stay within the communities in which they build.
So what we need to do to alleviate the need for affordable housing is give people income. The strategy behind it is to find developers that live, work, and worship in the areas that they’re building in and help make sure they have the tools to build consistently.
Sarah:
Okay. And then they’re more committed because they live and they work there. They’re connected.
Jonathan:
Absolutely. They want that home to look amazing. They want it to last. It’s something they’re driving past and can point to their kids and loved ones and say, yeah, I helped build that home. I put the plumbing in that house. I put the electrical in that house.
Sarah:
So if somebody needs assistance, do they contact you? How does that work?
Jonathan:
They can contact me. I serve as a connector. I have other partners, investors and folks in this space that can help them.
For the person looking for a home, we do financial education courses to make sure people get qualified to obtain down payment assistance programs with the city, state, federal programs, banks and credit unions.
We’re trying to help full circle. It’s not just for the electrician or plumber or developer, but also for the person living in that home. We do a lot with that.
Sarah:
Is this mainly for new homes or can it be existing homes?
Jonathan:
It can be new construction or renovated homes. The thing is, when you’re a first-time homebuyer, you have a sense of pride. You don’t want something embarrassing where you’re still working on the kitchen or living room. Sometimes a new home works out, and sometimes a nice renovated home works out. It depends on the price point.
Sarah:
Is there credit counseling involved?
Jonathan:
Yes. We provide financial counseling and help with credit. Credit is one piece of the entire puzzle.
What matters is what’s on your credit. That’s more important than just the number. Most lenders want to know your story. What happened two or three years ago? Can you explain it? When they look at your credit score, can they read it?
We help navigate the process. You may need to clean some things up. You may need to establish better payment history, diversify lines of credit, pay down credit cards. No one person is the same. Once we pull credit, we provide that level of guidance.
Sarah:
The process of buying a home is typically the same, but it’s all the puzzle pieces.
Jonathan:
It’s a puzzle. Absolutely. We help potential homebuyers understand the process and walk through it.
Sarah:
Is there a typical timeline?
Jonathan:
It varies. Someone told me years ago, if it took you years to get into a mess, don’t expect to get out of it overnight.
We live in a society where everyone wants instant results, but it’s not always possible. Even with clean credit, it may take 30 to 45 days to close if you already know the home you want.
If you need work, it may take six months, a year, maybe sooner. I tell people start now. Don’t wait. Don’t assume your timeline will be like your neighbor’s or cousin’s. Their puzzle is different.
Sarah:
You started this nonprofit. Why?
Jonathan:
I did. I left one employer and went to another for my 9 to 5. I still have a full-time job. I noticed I needed to stay in the space of helping people the way I was accustomed to. Affordable housing and education were sentimental to my heart.
I’m also a pastor. One of my visions was to dive into the community in a different way. We used to close church doors on the last Sunday of the month to go out into the community and serve. We’ve been doing that, and we love it.
Sarah:
That’s fantastic. I’m so thankful you came down here to San Marco today. It’s great to meet you and learn about Life Changing CDC. Thank you so much.
And to get connected with Jonathan and his nonprofit, please go to Property Solutions TV.
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