Nehemiah Corporation of America
Nehemiah Corporation of America is a non-profit organization based in Sacramento, California specializing in homeownership, affordable housing and community development. It started in 1994 as a small organization, but grew to prominence later in the 1990s after it developed a program that allowed home buyers to make down payments on their purchases using funds that were derived from the home sellers. This program, the Nehemiah Program, became popular and was widely emulated, giving birth to what came to be known as the seller-funded down-payment assistance industry. The industry attracted criticism from U.S. federal agencies (particularly the Government Accountability Office and the Internal Revenue Service) and was ultimately shut down in 2008 by a change in federal law.
Nehemiah G. Ordway
Nehemiah Ordway was born in Warner, New Hampshire. After receiving his education, Ordway entered the mercantile and banking businesses. During Abraham Lincoln's bid for the Presidency in 1860, Ordway served as chairman in New Hampshire for the new Republican party. In 1862, he was appointed General Agent of the Post Office Department for the New England states. From 1863 until 1875, Ordway served as Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He organized Center Market in Washington, DC and controlled it for the remainder of his life. From 1875 until 1880, Ordway served as state senator in New Hampshire.