First Stop 4 Home Loans

If it wasn’t great enough that we just got a new issuance of money in the Dakota County area; we now have NEW first time buyer money in the Minnapolis and St. Paul area under the City Living Program. This money is just available in the geographical limits of the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, so no other areas of Hennepin County or Ramsey.  Having this program available is such good news. 

How do you qualify for this?  First, you must be a first time buyer, someone who has not owned a primary residence in the last THREE years.  There are income limits you must fall under and HOUSEHOLD income is calculated off all members in the household over age 18.  Here are the limits:

83,900   1-2 person household

92,290   3+ person household

There is also a purchase price limit of $376,870.  You cannot go over $1 above this!  I don’t think you’ll have any problem since this limit is quite sufficient to handle any properties that are perfect for first time home owners.  The sale price/purchase price limit is $376,870.  Another thing to know is NO personal property can be included in your purchase agreement.  That means anything that isn’t attached to the home — applicances are the most commom.  Don’t panic though — you will still be able to get these things agreed upon.  You definitely want to make sure you’re working with a knowledgable agent in this area.  I have a few partners that I can highly recommend!

Want the REALLY, REALLY good news?  Rates … and it’s all about rates isn’t it?  It shouldn’t be; but again, that’s another post.  Please note that you still must qualify for a regular loan.  Here’s the way I like to explain this.  As a buyer, you need to qualify or meet the guidelines for an FHA, VA or conventional loan.  Let’s call this the “Cake” you’re dying to eat!  Once you’ve got this qualification, then we can see if you meet the guidelines for the City Living program, which we’ll call the “Icing”.  If you’re like me — cake is ONLY good with icing!  So, again, you have to qualify for the cake and then have to meet the qualifications to get the icing drizzled all over it.  Nummy.  The “Sweet” taste of this is a rate of 4.75% on a 30-year OR a rate of 4.99% WITH 2% of the loan amount to be used toward down payment or closing costs.  Another important point, you DO need $750 of your own  money into the transaction, which cannot be a gift. 

They will FORGIVE this second loan if you occupy the home for 7 years.  If you sell under this time, the full amount you got for the second loan is due.  Fortunately, this loan is 0% interest and NO payments are ever due during your loan.  It’s like getting a “loan” from Mom and Dad — “just pay us back when you’re done with it”.  So, you sell, you pay back.

Since this is a first come first serve program, you definitely want to make sure that you’re not only pre-approved with a lender that knows these programs, but also knows how to explain the important nuances of them.  I can help you navigate the waters and make sure you’re sailing strong  during your trip as a first time home owner!!!!!!!

Tags: City Living, closing costs, down payment assistance, FHA, first time home buyer, Hennepin, Minneapolis, pre-approval, purchase agreement, rate, St. Paul, VA

This entry was posted on Friday, February 5th, 2010 at 2:53 pm by Darcy and is filed under Assistance for Down Payment, First Time Buyers, Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.