Money remains for Wells Fargo home buyer program

ATLANTA,None — Channel 2 Action New has confirmed Wells Fargo still has millions of dollars to give free to Atlanta home buyers.

The first buyer in the nation to close on a home with the money from the bank's multimillion dollar give-away signed papers Monday in Atlanta.

Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Jim Strickland was there when Rachel Kaney signed up for the Neighborhood Lift Program at the large kick-off event last month at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Wells Fargo has pilot programs running in Atlanta and Los Angeles to get homes like the one Kaney bought in Kirkwood, off the vacancy rolls and into the hands of buyers who may have the will, but not the funds.

"I had saved up as much as I could for a down payment but it wasn't near $15,000," she said.

Wells Fargo signed more than 230 home buyers, but there's still one-third of the money, or $2.1 million, left to dole out.

"Everyone is scared when they first buy a home. It's scary," Kaney said.

"So this is designed to take some of that fear away and give you an extra incentive with the down payment to help you buy a home," Wells Fargo program manager Jeanne Goldie said.

"They want you to live here for five years, and I plan on doing that. I want to be here for more than five years," Kaney said.

The program includes an income ceiling, which for a family of four is about $83,000 and the home must be in the City of Atlanta.

WSBTV