by Patricia Fasen, Berkshire Hathaway Realtor
The scenario: You and your spouse are a two income household, engaged in steady employment, possess strong credit scores, yet your savings falls a bit short on that large down-payment needed to purchase the proverbial house with the white picket fence.
Well a little secret is about to be revealed. Banks are now offering a down payment assistance of 5% of a maximum loan amount up to $424,100 for closing costs, or towards the down payment. That is approximately $21,000, rounding down to the nearest thousandth dollar. And, believe it or not, this is truly a grant. No strings attached. Unlike other grant assistance programs, you do not have to pay this back. Even let’s say down the road, you choose to refinance the loan to leverage the equity, it is yours to keep. This program is available to anyone who qualifies, and not necessarily first-time homebuyers. However, it does need to be your primary residence. With this piece of knowledge and speaking to a professional realtor Maureen Megowan for example, owning a house or even a condo may not be as far off as you initially thought.
Spring is in the air, and summer is just around the corner. With this type of a generous assistance program, a family could find themselves in a home with backyards large enough for barbeques, or surfing millennials eyeing those condos in Port Hueneme. It may not be your dream home this time around, but very well a home, you can call your own.
