Lexington, Ky., Earns Ambassador City Designation for Helping Elderly, Disabled Keep Their Homes

WASHINGTON, DC, Jun 24 (MARKET WIRE) --
The National Association of Realtors(R) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors
have named Lexington, Ky., a 2009 Ambassador City for the success of two
homeownership programs, Repair Affair and the Remodeling for Access and
Mobility Program. The programs help low-income homeowners make much
needed repairs and modifications.

RAMP and Repair Affair are initiatives of the Realtor(R)-Community Housing
Foundation of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors(R). The
foundation helps individuals achieve their dreams of homeownership.

"Realtors(R) build communities and care as much about keeping families in
their homes as they do about getting them into homes," said NAR President
Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in
Dallas-Fort Worth. "The home repairs and modifications done by the RAMP
and Repair Affair programs are crucial to helping area homeowners live
independently and remain in their homes. These two programs have been
incredibly successful and could be easily replicated in cities and towns
across the country."

Repair Affair is an annual event that helps low-income elderly homeowners
with repairs to the exterior of their homes. Many elderly homeowners live
on fixed incomes and often cannot afford high home maintenance costs; if
conditions become unsafe, elderly homeowners may be forced to move from
their homes. Since 1992, the initiative has helped nearly 600 elderly
homeowners stay in their homes.

RAMP installs accessible ramps and wheelchair lifts for low-income people
with mobility impairments or disabilities, providing more than 150
homeowners to date with safer, easier access in and out of their homes.

The majority of funding for the two programs is provided by an annual
grant from the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. Repairs and
modifications are completed by Realtors(R), the Remodelers Council of the
Home Builders Association of Lexington, and various community volunteers.

At an event today, Realtor(R) Len Ferber, 2009 chair of the Housing
Opportunity Committee, and Realtor(R) Jayne Cox, NAR Region IV vice
president, joined Dustin Joyce, Council for the New American City, to
present the Ambassador for Cities plaque and a $5,000 check to 2009
Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors(R) President Gale Fulton, RCHF
President Karen Mundy, and Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry.

NAR and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, through its Council on the New
American City, launched the Ambassadors for Cities program in 2003 to
encourage cities and local Realtor(R) associations to form partnerships to
promote affordable housing and homeownership.

The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is
America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members
involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate
industries.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. News releases are
posted in the Web site's "News Media" section in the NAR Media Center.

REALTOR(R) is a registered collective membership mark which may be used
only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS(R) and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not
all real estate agents are REALTORS(R). All REALTORS(R) are members of
NAR.

For further information contact:
Sara Weis
202/383-1013
Email Contact

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