Council hosts open house, credit help in Georgetown

The Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council's Sussex County office recently moved into a new home, and its staff intends to help underserved, low-income populations in lower Delaware do the same.

The not-for-profit, watchdog organization recently held an open house at its new offices in Georgetown Professional Park, serving up a free lunch alongside tax and credit counseling services.

Normally based out of the Wilmington office, Executive Director Rashmi Rangan was on-site for the open house in Sussex County, flipping burgers and giving credit advice to Sussex County residents, including Lesmayra Bautista and her husband Samuel of Dagsboro.

“We are wanting to know where our credit score is at and what is the credit score we need to finance our house,” Bautista said. “We came for advice on how to fix our credit.”

Rangan has been dishing out this type of advice for the last 25 years as executive director of the council, educating, informing and helping low-income citizens get on top of their finances.

“A score of 640 or more is OK for home ownership,” she said. “There are a couple really good lenders for first-time homebuyers here in Georgetown.”

Although the Bautistas were seeking advice for the purchase of additional homes, the council offers free advice and referrals to consumers on such issues as budgeting, interest-rate comparisons and improving a lackluster credit score.

Rangan routinely offers ways to fix bad credit to those who seek the council’s services. Tips include knowing credit limits and owing 30 percent or less of those limits; paying all bills, including utilities, on time, and ideally paying off credit cards each month. She also advises consumers to know who their lenders are; better lenders make for a better credit report.

The council also assists with foreclosure prevention and offers a low-income tax clinic each Monday, she said, the only clinic of its kind in the state.

“Other organizations help with tax preparation,” Rangan said. “Where we come in is when taxpayers are in trouble with the IRS. There could be any number of reasons.”

Georgetown resident Helen Williams came to the open house for help with her taxes after the IRS refused to honor a letter from the Social Security Administration admitting to an office mistake that created tax penalties for the widow following the death of her husband.

“Yes, they do make mistakes,” Williams said. “I had to pay. I was a little ticked off.”

The Georgetown office offers the tax clinic on Mondays, a credit clinic on Tuesdays and a housing clinic on Wednesdays, by appointment only. The office is at 20127 Office Circle in Georgetown Professional Park. For more information, visit www.dcrac.org or call 877-825-0750.