Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership 

Written on January 23, 2012 by FHA 203K Network Bloggers

HELP Program

~ Seven Easy Steps to Owning A Home ~

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Is your rent about to increase?  Did you know that rents in 2012 and beyond  are expected to be one of the fastest growing expenses Americans will have to address in their budget?

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Some American cities are experiencing rent increases of as much as 10% annually and there no end in sight.

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Why Ask Yourself About Renting vs Owning? 

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Because for ever action there’s a reaction.  Many homeowner’s in the last great recession were forced to relocate to find new jobs. This created something new in the housing market called short sales. Short Sales effects people’s credit scores and like foreclosures on your credit report it makes it difficult for individuals to qualify for a new mortgage.

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Short Sales although better than foreclosures still added to the national inventory of distressed homes and created a class of Americans than can only rent for now.  At the same time the great recession slowed the construction of new homes, but family continued to grow and American finds itself with a storage of available rental homes.  It’s all about supply and demand and with a rental shortage investors are and will continue to demand ever higher rents.  Even if you live in states like Louisiana where unemployment is lower than the national average states like South Caroline, whoes employment rates didn’t fair so will have an effect on Louisiana families.  This is an American issue and we are all inter connected on this issue. 

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If you’re reading this and live in a state like Louisiana that hasn’t been hit as hard as others  and renting you have better options and might want to consider exercising them.   

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Did you know that mortgage rates are at your lowest in history? It’s official, in 2012 analyst all agree that purchasing a home at today’s value is cheaper than renting! 

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Home prices are expected to have a small increase this year.  When you own not only do you benefit from equity appreciation, your mortgage balance reduced with every payment and your net-worth goes up. 

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When you rent, on the 30th of each month you have nothing to show for your money.  Only your landlord sees long term benefits.

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Did you know that you can own a home like the one in the picture below and lock in your housing expense for the next 30 years with a mortgage payment for about $775 a month or less, plus property taxes and hazard insurance?  A Realtor can help you determine taxes and insurance, but for our purposes we’d estimate them to be no more than $225 a month at most.

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9746 Summer Glenn Ave

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With programs like the HELP and its $5000 down payment assistance you can purchase a home up to $167500.00 like the one shown above from Fannie Mae’s HomePath Program and HomePath properties don’t require mortgage insurance.  Non-Foreclosured Homes require mortgage insurance with less than 20% down and substantially increases your mortgage payment. 

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Or, you can pay a $1000 in rent each month and try to find something comparable to live in. However, if you decide to rent instead of purchasing a home at the end of the month you’ll have nothing to show for your effort except a new rent payment with a short one year fixed payment at best.

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The American Dream is to move up not down.  Down isn’t fun.  Moving down means worst neighborhoods, poor school districts, crime and the list goes on.  Keeping  your housing expense the same isn’t a good reason to spiral down ecomonically.

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtIRZYqz5Jg[/youtube]

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If you purchased a home in a neighborhood that has pride in ownership, supports its school district, has low crime, good employment and amenities with a fixed mortgage payment, chances are you’ll be a head of the game rather than just continuing to rent and nothing to show for your effort. 

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Today’s housing market is truly a once in a lifetime  opportunity for those who seize the moment. Housing is in recovery and history tells us the first ones in get the most benefits in our ecomonic system of supply and demand. 

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So lets move to a common reason many of us think we can’t buy a home.

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I don’t have a down payment!

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Really?  Did you know that if you’re a first time home buyer (Using Baton Rouge Parish for our example) or hasn’t owned a home in the past three years and income of 80% or less of the parish median income, which is $48480.00 per annum  you can get a grant or down payment assistance from many government agencies like HELP? 

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During the height of the housing bust government created a program called “First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit” that began stabilize the housing market, but more needs to be done.  Programs like HELP are still available if you know how to find them and they are not hard to qualify for.  If you missed out before, don’t pass up an opportunity to benefit for the National Stabilization Program.  It not only helps you and your family, it helps America!

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The Federal Home Loan Bank announced its Homebuyer Equity Leverage Partnership (HELP) Program.  HELP provides grant funds for down payment and closing costs of eligible first-time homebuyers.

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The Bank has set aside $1,000,000 of its annual Affordable Housing Program (AHP) funds for HELP. Funds are available until exhausted or December 31, 2012, whichever occurs first. HELP funds are disbursed on a first-come, first-serve bases, so call a Realtor before money runs out. 

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The maximum HELP award per household is $5,000 and that’s enough for a very nice home in a great neighborhood when you use the FNMA HomePath  or FHA 203b Government Insured Mortgage Programs.  

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HELP Program Requirements 

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1. Households must have a family income of 80 percent or less of the median income for the area.

2. Homebuyers must have completed a homebuyer counseling program. Homebuyers must be first-time homebuyers.

3. HELP funds may not be used in conjunction with any approved AHP or SNAP grant.

4. Homebuyers must contribute at least $500 of their own funds toward the required down payment or closing costs.

5. The Bank will grant up to $5,000 toward the down payment or closing costs.

6. The rate of interest, points, fees and any other charges for a loan made in conjunction with the HELP subsidy will not exceed a reasonable market rate of interest, points, fees and other charges for a loan of similar maturity and terms.

7. The HELP assisted property must be located in the Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas or New Mexico.

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NEW ORLEANS 1ST TIME HOME BUYERS ~ BE SURE TO OPEN THIS LINK

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Here’s A Bunch Of Opportunites To Explore

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HUD $100 DOWN PAYMENT HOMES IN LOUISIANA

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USDA BANK OWNED HOMES FOR SALE

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FIND FORECLOSED PROPERTIES

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FORECLOSED & SHORT SALES

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So what are you waiting for?  Why aren’t you on the phone calling a Realtor today?  It really isn’t hard to connect the dots. 

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When you look at the facts and work with a Real Estate Professional whose committed to the principles of Rebuild the Dream everyone wins.  It doesn’t cost you a thing to ask all the question you want.  That’s just one of the reason you hire a Realtor for.  They’ll even use their gas to drive you around to look for the home of your dreams and so much more.  So find a good one and I recommend to start at our fb Home Buyer’s Educatioal Page below to find one. 

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If you’ve thought about buying a home, but haven’t yet, now is probably the best to act.  If you do ask your Realtor to tell you more about Fannie Mae HomePath listings and have First Guaranty Mortgage Corporation pre-qualify you for a mortgage.  The are an approved HomePath Lender and your approval wille extend to other loan programs that might benefit you.  

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The choices you make today will effect you for the rest of your like.  It’s really not hard to make a good decisions when you get all the facts.  The first one I can say is now is the greatest time to buy a home, with real estate and the jobs market finally improving.  Waiting could be something you would regret.  

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Second, be sure to buy within your means, get a low fixed rate and lock in your future!

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Other Related Black History Month Post

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Rebuild the Dream

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