The loan officer: ‘A lot of people can no longer afford to live there’

After Hurricane Katrina ravaged her hometown, Deborah Graham was transferred to Dallas by her employer.

That was OK with Graham because her home in New Orleans East was covered in a foot-and-a-half of water, which led to an infestation of mold.

She would eventually buy a home in Frisco and was comfortable in her new life as a transplanted Texan.

Graham said it was an easy transition because her sister and brother-in-law live in Arlington. She also knew others who had relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

She found life a little easier here.

“I did like Dallas and Frisco,” Graham said in a telephone interview from New Orleans. “There was no shortage of shopping and grocery stores. Back in New Orleans, it’s still a little bit of inconvenience to go grocery shopping. There’s still a shortage of stores.”

But like many of those who left after Katrina, the pull of New Orleans would eventually bring her back home.

In 2011, Graham, a community mortgage loan officer, was transferred by her employer back to New Orleans.

“There was some anxiety to move back to the city,” Graham said. “It had changed. It was improving but I still had concerns.”

While New Orleans is booming compared to a decade ago, many working-class residents are getting pushed out, Graham said.

“A lot of people are coming in and opening new restaurants,” Graham said. “I think the central character of the city is still there but in neighborhoods like Treme and the 7th Ward, a lot of people can no longer afford to live there.”

She works to help people find affordable housing, which she said is challenging, especially since many of the programs that were assisting New Orleans residents have disappeared.

“There needs to be more funds dedicated to down payments and closing costs,” Graham said. “Some of those programs have ended, making it more difficult for people to make a down payment. But it’s a good feeling to help people, to help them get a home.”

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 11:26 AM with the headline "The loan officer: ‘A lot of people can no longer afford to live there’."