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Keystone Group in Greensboro has introduced a program allowing prospective buyers who have been turned down for mortgage loans because of negative credit to lease Keystone homes while the company helps them improve their scores so they can be approved for a loan.

During the credit-improvement process the homebuyer may lease a new Keystone home with an option to purchase that home within three months to a year. While the home is being leased, Keystone would assist buyers with negative credit issues. For more information about this program, e-mail financial specialist Jayne Pinnix with Keystone Group Inc. at jpinnix@gokeystone.com, or call 856-0111, ext. 210. Visit the company online at www.KeystoneLeasetoOwn.com or www.GoKeystone.com.

Freedom Mortgage schedules open house

Freedom Mortgage Corp. will hold an open house on affordable housing programs and assistance from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday at 14-D Oak Branch Drive in Greensboro.

Representatives will cover the eligibility requirements for both state and city programs, and those for first-time homebuyers. For details, call 294-2264.

New Garden Village hosts remodeling seminar

Businesses in the Home Design Emporium at New Garden Village will hold a free on-site remodeling seminar from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday.

New Garden Village business representatives and professional remodelers, suppliers and subcontractors who are members of the Greensboro Builders Association Remodelers Council will answer questions from the public about topics including the remodeling process, structure design, permitting and pricing.

Discussions will be led by New Garden Village businesses on the following topics:

■ Bathrooms, Imagine Tile and Stone.

■ Cabinetry and countertops, Windsor's Cabinetry.

■ Hardwood flooring, lighting, hardware, audio/video, fireplaces and closets, Light--With Style.

■ Outdoor design and landscaping, New Garden Landscaping and Nursery.

Financing also will be covered. Jim Snypes of SunTrust is scheduled to present information about loan options for remodeling projects.

The Home Design Emporium is located at New Garden Village, in the first two buildings on the left at 5586 and 5588 Garden Village Way.  To get there, take Bryan Boulevard to the Fleming Road exit. From Fleming Road, turn left onto Inman Road, then veer onto Old Oak Ridge Road after the bridge. The village is on the left on Garden Village Way.

For more information, call 292-6774.

Winston-Salem Realtors, Habitat showcase ‘Spaces’

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore and the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors will hold their third annual ReStore Spaces event from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday at the store at 341 Witt St. The event will showcase the work of local interior designers who will use items from the ReStore to design model rooms.

Tickets are $45 per couple or $25 per person and will include a tour of the “rooms,” beer, wine, appetizers and entertainment.

For more information, call 768-5560 or visit www.restorespaces.com.

Greensboro project wins affordable housing award

Four affordable housing developments — including one in Greensboro — received Housing North Carolina Awards on Thursday during the N.C. Affordable Housing Conference in Durham. Sponsored by the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, the awards recognize affordable properties that can serve as models for other communities.

Criteria for selection included affordability, design, contribution to the community, sustainability as affordable housing, and features such as services for residents and creative partnerships.

The Greensboro project earning recognition was Partnership Village. The transitional housing community serves homeless single people and families, many with disabilities. Agencies that contributed include Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro, which offers classes to prepare residents to become Habitat homeowners. Maximum rent is 30 percent of each tenant’s income. The Greensboro Urban Ministries provides up to $200 a month in rental assistance per resident. The project received financing from the N.C. Housing Trust Fund, the city of Greensboro and community members.

Other award winners were: Hawthorne House in Burnsville; Eastway Village in Durham, a mixed-income community of homes and condominiums; and Springfield Gardens in Charlotte, family apartments.

This year, the state housing agency also presented a special award to Advanced Energy of Raleigh for bringing high standards of energy efficiency and healthy home construction into the state’s affordable housing sector through its SystemVision Program. The system guarantees that a home’s heating and cooling consumption will not exceed a set, very low level, usually $32 per month for a 1,200 square foot home.

Allen Tate expands map functions

Allen Tate Co. now offers two new functions, Google Street View and Bird’s Eye View, on TateMap, the company’s exclusive interactive map search on www.allentate.com.

The interactive functions give TateMap visitors aerial and up-close views of properties and the surrounding neighborhood. TateMap allows the visitor to search for properties and display them on an interactive map, with photos, full property details, virtual tours and limitless zoom levels. TateMap also includes community and school profiles and open house information for Allen Tate listings.

Prudential Carolinas Realty President and CEO Tommy Camp hosted a breakfast Wednesday for the agency’s top producers at the O. Henry Hotel in Greensboro. Sales associates honored from the Green Valley office were: LeAnne Brugh, Al Bunge, Catherine Charguia, Tom Chitty, Barry Hardeman, Jane Domer, Frances Giaimo, Marie Hester, Sue Hutchinson, Leslie Turner, Jean King, Jane McIntyre, Winoka Morgan, Joyce Norris, Deb Proehl, Cherie Scinto, Kathy Smith, Gwen Strange, Kay Tolbert and broker-in-charge Audrey Fuhrmann.

Sales associates honored from the Kernersville office were: Bill Bodsford, Earlene Bowman, Jamie Harrelson, Rene Hutchins, Linda Mitchell, Betty Moser-Callahan, Charlotte Williams and broker-in-charge Joe Pinnix.

Representing the home office were senior vice president Nancy Currie, relocation operations Becky Dougherty, director of client relations and relocation Rod Eller, senior vice president of sales Harris Laskey, senior vice president of sales support Lindsay Oparowski, director of marketing Dan Washington, director of information technology and facilities.