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The seller assisted non-profit down payment assistance programs are officially gone for FHA loans as of October 1st 2008. These programs were easy to use and could be funded quickly and thus became extremely popular.

But they aren’t the only game in town.

There are literally thousands of federal, state, county, local and charity based grant programs available all over the country. During the last few real estate boom years, sellers had no patience with waiting while potential buyers jumped through all the hoops necessary to qualify for these programs, but times are different now. Those sellers who once had no patience have now had their home for sale by owner, listed and expired with 3 different real estate agents and on the market for over a year. They will jump at any buyer they can get and do whatever they can to help sell that buyer their home. They will now wait 45 days for a buyer to get qualified for down payment grants.

Just a quick glance at some programs available in my own immediate area gives a good example of what is available in other areas.

In Dekalb County, GA the DeKalb County Community Development Department has the DeKalb County First-Time Homebuyer Program will give first time buyers up to $8000 if they meet income requirements and go through a counseling program.

Those same buyers may be eligible for as much as $5,000-$20,000 in additional funds through the Georgia Dream Homeownership program, under the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

In Northeast Georgia, the Community Foundation for Northeast Georgia, the IMPACT! Group, The Brand Banking Company and a network of local builders are partnering to form the Northeast Georgia Down Payment Assistance Program for consumers who buy certain homes in Northeast Georgia. Many other local banks will be following suit. They need the builders to pay back their construction loans.

The National Association of Realtors provides a resource for locating local down payment assistance programs on their website. Their site is being updated in response to this situation and will be down until October 8, 2008.

There are many other similar programs all over the country. Some of them provide outright grants and others provide second mortgages which must be paid back upon selling the home. For FHA loans, the grant programs are the ones you are looking for.


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Filed under: Down Payment Assistance

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