Military families interested in buying a house in the South Sound now have one more resource to turn to in helping them walk down the path to home ownership.

Homes for Heroes, a national program formed in 2002, provides rebates and discounts for firefighters, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers and military personnel.

After the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, and bolstered by a shared admiration for the "heroes" employed as emergency responders and military personnel, a group of Minnesota real estate-related business owners created the program as a way to enable those who work in the community to better afford a home in the local community, according to the Homes for Heroes Web site.

The program recently added a team of local mortgage brokers and a real estate agent to form a network in Washington.

"It's just a really nice way to give back to local military members and acknowledge the work they do for us," said Donya Martin, a mortgage loan officer with Bank of America Home Loans.

Homebuyers who get involved with the program have an opportunity to save money on loan origination fees, title fees, appraisals and home inspections.

Martin and her business partner, Kristopher Shook, are in the process of building up a network of other companies potentially involved in the home buying process - such as pest control and credit repair agencies - to help military members save even more money throughout the process.

"With all the resources available to them, there's no reason for anyone to not utilize the program if they're eligible," said Martin, who's been in the mortgage industry locally for more than 12 years.

Martin, Shook and real estate agent Kenny Pleasant take pride in their local ties to the local civil service and military community and are excited to start helping people with the home buying process.

"We're all about doing what we can do in the local community," said Shook, who previously worked as a real estate agent and has more than eight years in the mortgage loan industry. "This is just another avenue for us to reach out. It's exciting for us to be able to get out there and help people."

The trio will host a ribbon cutting ceremony in late May in Lakewood to formally kick off the program, and they are already in the early stages of helping clients start the process through Homes for Heroes.

For more information on Homes For Heroes, visit www.Homesforheroes.com or www.facebook.com/pages/Homes-for-Heroes-Washington.

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