LeRoy George remembers the feeling he had watching the construction crew build his first house almost twenty years ago.
“It was amazing. I was anxious every day going over there, watching the process, ”he said. “Then, I knew that’s what I wanted to do with my future.”
George wanted to bring that feeling of excitement to others—especially to those whose dreams of homeownership always seemed to lie just out of reach. He knew well the desire to have a home of one’s own isn’t always attainable, even in his own family.
"I don’t have many people in my family that own their own home,” George said. “They either are renting or staying in a house that their grandmother left for them. They just never thought they could afford to live in a nice neighborhood with a nice, brand-new house.”
Now, through a new financial product at Bank of St. Francisville, George has the chance to help make other families’ dreams a reality, just like his own.
I want to try to build as many affordable homes as possible. That’s the goal
LeRoy George, Contractor
The Home Advantage Loan Program was created with low-to-moderate income residents in mind. Through low interest loans, the program is primarily intended to encourage contractors, as well as families, to invest in renovation or new constructions in communities in need of revitalization.
“We consider part of our purpose and mission to support the community. As we say in our mission statement, we are the fuel of prosperity for the community we serve,” said H. Carter Leak IV, Bank of St. Francisville’s President and CEO. “We came up with a product that we believed—that we hoped—would breathe life into neighborhoods that haven’t seen investment.”
The bank hopes to focus on the Solitude neighborhood in West Feliciana Parish and Old South Baton Rouge as regions that could benefit from the program, fostering positive growth that will ripple outward to create meaningful change.
Denise George, BSF's Assistant Vice President for Relationship Banking, and her husband, LeRoy George, Contractor, Whatever It Takes Properties LLC
George, now a contractor, recently built and sold a house in a neighborhood in the Greenwell Springs Park area. He is currently building a second house in the same neighborhood and plans to start construction on a third in December. Both are funded through the Home Advantage Loan program.
“I want to try to build as many affordable homes as possible. That’s the goal,” he said. “A lot of people don’t think they can afford a new home, and it’s because a lot of them are overpriced and a lot of them can’t get financed.”
These are new constructions, built from the ground up, George said.
Homeownership is one of the primary ways in America for families to accumulate wealth, Leak added. It also grants people a sense of pride in the place they call home, one which can extend to their neighbors and their communities at large. By cutting rates and limiting fees to a large degree, he hopes the program can serve as the tipping point that will make a project more doable and affordable—a real opportunity for somebody to engage.
“We want to see revitalization in all of our communities. Some of these neighborhoods get looked over,” Leak said. “There’s something beautiful and redemptive about seeing a neighborhood rebuilt and the next generation taking ownership.”
To learn how Bank of St. Francisville can help with your construction needs or to speak to someone about BSF's HAL program, click HERE to get started.
