"Just who are you?" and "What exactly is it that you do?"

We've been thrilled to talk to many readers of this column lately. Usually those are the first two questions they ask when they call.

We can understand the confusion. One week we're talking about home inspections, the next about repairing your credit history, and then we're doing a short series on home maintenance tips, or discussing how to buy a house, use an appraiser or plan a remodel.

For heaven's sakes don't stop calling. We enjoy talking to folks about their housing needs, giving them advice and free literature, letting them know about our various services or just pointing them in the right direction.

Still, we thought we'd take this opportunity to try to give you a better idea of what Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services (ANHS) is all about.

For starters, despite our name and our location at 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen, we serve all of Grays Harbor.

Defining what we're all about

We're not a government agency. We're a nonprofit organization established in 1981. Our mission is to develop partnerships in the community between business, government, and residents to create safe and affordable housing opportunities for all residents of Grays Harbor County.

We make this happen for our clients by combining our program and financial resources with those of lenders, contractors, landlords, other non-profits and neighborhoods.

So you can see that with a mission like ours, our services are far from the cook's special. Instead, it's more like a cafeteria of choices. Our full-time staff of eight is involved in many things that help promote safe and affordable housing in Grays Harbor. We'll try to hit the high points today to give you an idea when you might want or need our services.

Home ownership is a top priority

Study after study has proven that high home ownership rates in a community improve the quality of life for the entire neighborhood. So, we try hard to help folks buy a house.

We offer everything from free credit counseling and budgeting assistance to help folks get ready to take the plunge into home ownership to down payment assistance and a wide variety of loans that we can offer ourselves.

But we also work closely with our local lending institutions to help people get loans through them. Our role then is more like that of a guide, walking a potential homeowner through the maze of paperwork.

We also offer rehabilitation loans or assist our clients in obtaining rehabilitation loans from our bank partners for houses that need work before they're fit to buy.

We care about renters too

Not everyone wants to or can own a home, so we work hard to help educate both landlords and tenants. We want the Harbor's rental properties to be safe and affordable too.

We want landlords and tenants to be happy about the buildings and their relationships with each other. We offer help for both with concerns about maintenance and upkeep of the property as well as informing them what the state's Landlord/Tenant Act says.

We're a landlord ourselves

Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services is a landlord too, and we work hard to be a good one. We own and manage 17 subsidized apartment units plus 25 rental houses on the Harbor.

Inspections, building oversight

The average age of the housing "stock" in Grays Harbor County is among the very oldest in the state. We want to encourage homeowners to maintain and improve their homes.

We offer very reasonable home inspections. We can inspect a house before someone decides to purchase it or one that has been owned for years. As third-party inspectors who do not do the work, we have nothing to gain or lose by telling you what we find of concern.

We also offer a service of helping manage contractors for building a new home or starting a remodeling project. For a reasonable fee we can take over the project oversight, make sure the contract is being followed and the work is being done satisfactorily.

Although we're not architects, we do offer design services as well. We can take a look at your home and hear your dreams for a remodel and give you an idea of what can be done.

All in all, just about anything to do with housing on the Harbor from tips to dealing with real estate agents, to managing a contract for your remodel, we can either help you ourselves or direct you where to go.

However, Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services doesn't hire out as a contractor or a handy man. The home maintenance tips we give are for you to do yourself or contract with one of the Harbor's many excellent tradesmen.

Dave Murnen is the construction department manager and Pat Beaty is a construction specialist at Aberdeen Neighborhood Housing Services. Do you have questions about home repair, remodeling, becoming a homeowner or a member of our contractor pool? Call 533-7828 or visit us at 710 E. Market St. in Aberdeen.