Southern Bank and Freddie Mac continue their collaboration this year with six local community organizations to implement informative workshops that educate potential homeowners on the facts and myths about homeownership.

The “Get the Facts!” workshops, which began early last year, are designed to break down barriers of misinformation that keep many individuals from considering homeownership and to give them confidence if they are ready to pursue homeownership. Freddie Mac and Southern Bank have committed $30,000 to the organizations listed below to fund the workshops for a two-year period beginning in 2007.

The “Get the Facts!” workshops are conducted locally in 10 Eastern North Carolina counties by Southside Alliance Neighborhood Empowerment, New Life Community Development Corporation (CDC), Choanoke Area Development Association, Rocky Mount Edgecombe (CDC), North Carolina Fund for Development and Rebuilding Broken Places. Workshops are being conducted in the counties of Beaufort, Washington, Northampton, Hertford, Halifax, Bertie, Nash, Edgecombe, Pitt and Wayne.

Through the Freddie Mac-created “Get the Facts!” workshops, participants are provided with straightforward information and advice about all aspects of homeownership, including costs associated with home buying and credit history requirements. Participants are encouraged to ask questions as workshop facilitators help them separate fact from fiction.

“Southern Bank is pleased to be a part of this affordable housing initiative,” said Robert Shepherd, Senior Vice President and Community Reinvestment Officer with Southern Bank. “It represents an opportunity for low to moderate income people to become smarter homebuyers by participating in the workshop and learning valuable information regarding down payments, closing cost financial assistance, and affordability. Families with limited incomes can overcome obstacles and become owners of decent, safe, and affordable homes.”

Shepherd said that targeted groups of the program include highly skilled workers such as teachers, policemen, and firemen, as well as workers such as machine and vehicle operators, material movers, food service workers, secretaries, and the like.

“The strength of this educational campaign is the many public and private organizations working together in the community to provide accurate information to potential homebuyers,” said Craig Nickerson, vice president of Freddie Mac. “Freddie Mac is pleased to be working with Southern Bank and these grassroots organizations reach people who may be facing obstacles to buying a home.”

Freddie Mac is a stockholder-owned corporation established by Congress in 1970 to support homeownership and rental housing. Freddie Mac purchases single-family and multifamily residential mortgages and mortgage-related securities, which it finances primarily by issuing mortgage-related securities and debt instruments in the capital markets. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible more than 50 million times, ensuring financing for one in six homebuyers and more than four million renters. For additional information, visit: www.FreddieMac.com.

Founded in 1901, Southern Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern BancShares (N.C., Inc. With total assets of approximately $1.2 billion, the bank operates over 50 branches in Eastern North Carolina, including Macclesfield, Rocky Mount and Scotland Neck.