Frederick County Homebuyer Assistance on the way

Homebuyer Assistance is on its way for Frederick County. The Neighborhood Conservation Initiative receive only half of what the originally applied for, but half is way better than nothing at all. Here are some of the details emailed to me by the County. Give me a call if you are ready to see what you can buy in today’s market.

Frederick County Homebuyer Assistance Loan Programs

Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD)

520 North Market Street

Frederick, MD  21701

APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE WITH DOWN PAYMENTS AND CLOSING COSTS

The following are applicable to all programs:

• A ratified sales contract must be submitted with the application.
• House price caps may exist depending on funding source (e.g., FHA, USDA, CDA, Fannie Mae).
• Loans have 0% interest and are deferred.
• The home must be the primary residence and in Frederick County.

• DHCD prepares and records lien documents to secure repayment to the BOCC.  The lien documents are recorded after settlement with DHCD and disbursement of the funds.
• The lien documents require repayment on: 1) the earlier of the sale, refinance or transfer of title on the property; or 2) when the property is no longer the primary residence of the owner.
• Income limits apply to all programs and are a percentage of the Washington area median income (AMI) limit set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and updated annually.

Programs may be used together, if applicable.
Neighborhood Conservation Initiative (NCI)

1. Have a total gross income at or below 120% HUD AMI.
2. Purchase a foreclosed home.
3. Purchase a home in a ZIP code area of 21701, 21702, 21703 or 21716.
4. Complete a 16-hour homeownership education and counseling program through the Frederick Community Action Agency (FCAA); 8 hours before settlement.
5. Obtain a home inspection and home warranty.
6. Have an Energy Audit completed before settlement (provided by FCAA).

Homebuyer Assistance Program (HAP)

1. Have a total gross income at or below 70% of the Washington AMI.
2. Be a first time homebuyer.

American Dream (used with USDA mortgage only)

1. Household income is subject to income, credit, and affordability criteria of the HOME program and USDA.
2. Be a first time homebuyer.
3. Purchase a home located outside of Frederick City in a rural area of the county as determined by USDA.
4. Use the USDA determination of house price limits.
5. Complete a homeownership counseling program.

Government release new website Making Home Affordable

If you are looking to modify your loan or refinance your mortgage, the government created a new tool to help you.  The problem with some home owners is that they make the payments months in and month out, but it keeps getting harder as the economy continues to strain every dollar they have.  The Making Home Affordable Program is suppose to make that easier.  Since today is the first day, we will have to wait to see how successful it really is.  Some programs that have been created are only “feel good” programs to make the public think that home owners are being saved.  Most programs only affect a very small portion of the the troubled home owners.

The other home owner this is trying to help is the ones that cannot make the payments on a consistent basis.  The idea is to help you to re-modify the loan and lower your payments.

Everyone wants to make their home affordable today.  We really need to stop the bleeding first.  I just hope this really helps owners stay in their home and not go to foreclosure.   Click the website and see if you qualify. Let me know how it works out for you.

On Edit:

I went through the website for the loan modification section and it qualifies you based on a few questions.  Then it tells you to make sure you have the following documents and information available;

CHECKLIST

• Information about the monthly gross (before tax) income of your household, including recent pay stubs if you receive them or documentation of income you receive from other sources.
• Your most recent income tax return.
• Information about your savings and other assets
• Information about your first mortgage, such as your monthly mortgage statement.
• Information about any second mortgage or home equity line of credit on the house.
• Account balances and minimum monthly payments due on all of your credit cards.
• Account balances and monthly payments on all your other debts such as student loans and car loans.
• A letter describing any circumstances that caused your income to be reduced or expenses to be increased (job loss, divorce, illness, etc.) if applicable.

It then tells you to contact your mortgage servicer.  It also directs you to the original preforeclosure help website call “Hope Now“  Obvisouly with the bail out of the lenders by taking over 750 billion dollars of bad loans by the government, they are allowing the banks to work a little stress free on their notes that they service.