Anyone who's been to the Three Rivers Casino knows that we are cramped.

A lot of people think they have to live in rentals because they either don't make enough money to own a home or they have a couple of glitches on their credit. But that's just not the case. We have partnered with Bank of America, Bernalillo County, HUD and four other lenders that make it easy to get into your own home.

These dogs, we felt, could kill someone.

The applicants are qualified to buy by the mortgage company and they can live anywhere they want, so long as it's in their price range. Once someone is qualified, they can buy a home anywhere in the city or anywhere in the state for that matter.

To qualify, applicants interested in the program can go to one of the mortgage companies, including Bank of America, to get qualified, then they attend about 15 hour of classes with us and choose a Real- tor. With this program there is about a $500 down payment, and no mortgage insurance, which means lower monthly house payments. It's a great program and it works.

We are really excited about our new Community Commitment Program. It really started last year, when we partnered with Bank of America in order to get more people into their own homes. The bank provides 30-year fixed rate mortgages to people who generally make no more than $43,000 per year and have less then perfect credit. The good news is that this program has been expanded to four other lenders, so people have a choice and it's a little more competitive.