Village Thoughts

First Time Homebuyer loan programs

Despite all the noise in the media about how hard it is to get a mortgage, there are still great programs available where perfect credit nor a large downpayment are not required. The two most popular programs for our clients include  a loan backed by the USDA  or "rural housing" as it's often called.  This loan program requires 0 downpayment and has more liberal credit guidelines, thus making it much easier to qualify for than a conventional mortgage loan.  Since this program is designed to serve within certain demographics it does have income and geographical restrictions.  However, most all first time home buyers qualify as well as many areas throughout the country.  For more information on eligibility and this program visit this link:

http://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do

 

Another popular program that is also a government sponsored loan is FHA.  Since FHA like USDA has backing from the governmnt (Federal Housing Administration) then it too has more liberal standards for credit qualification.  This program does require a 3.5% downpayment though those funds can come from a family gift or a state certified non-profit grant.  Unlike the USDA program it has no income or area restrictions.  There are loan amount limits for each county with minimum limits at $271,050.  For more information about this loan program visit www.fhaloan.com

 

 

First Time buyer Tax Credit expires soon

If you are in the market for a new home you may want to consider the timing of your closing date.  The much publicized first-time homebuyer tax credit is set to expire at the close of business on Monday November 30th of this year.  There has been a lot of mis-information published about this tax credit and one of them has been this date.  We still hear a lot of people talking about "buying before the end of the year to get the tax credit." It is very important to know that any closing that takes place after November 30th will not qualify for this $8,000 tax credit as it stands now.There is talk of Congress extending this tax credit but I wouldn't want to bank on it if i had $8,000 at stake.  For more in-depth information on the first time buyer tax credit please visit this official site:  www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com .  It contains all of the information you'll need.  If you can take advantage of this opportunity, with very favorable market conditions, historically low rates, and an $8,000 free gift from the government there hasn't been a better time to become a new homeowner.  Also, contrary to what the media is preaching there are some great loan programs available that don't require perfect credit. (see our blog on First time buyer loans)