The PDX Home Loan team is proud to offer down payment assistance grants from the National Homebuyers Fund through what is called the “NHF Platinum” purchase program.
Down payment assistance grants, also known as “DPA programs” were all the rage in the mid-2000’s. There were more than a few non-profit organizations who could insert themselves into a transaction by having the seller make a contribution to the DPA out of their proceeds, and then funnel that money through to the buyer. It was more than a little sketchy, and new mortgage compliance rules now prevent such transactions from happening.
Fast forward to the financial meltdown of 2009. Congress floats sweeping financial reforms into law with the Dodd-Frank Act. This law provided TARP bailout funds to all major banks to keep everything solvent. And one of the results of this law was that any bank who participated in the TARP program had to create a “community” lending program that made home buying easier. Well US Bank invented the NHF National Home buyers fund as a result!
Our parent company Sierra Pacific Mortgage has partnered with US Bank and the NHF program to make this offering to any qualified borrowers. There are some restrictions, and here is what is required to qualify:
- minimum credit score of 640
- income restriction! – borrower’s qualifying income cannot exceed 115% of “AMI”- average median income for the county in which they are looking to borrow.
- CLICK HERE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOUR INCOME CAP IS
THAT’s IT!
So – “what’s the catch” you might be asking. Well- the catch is basically that you’ll be accepting a mortgage rate that is well above the available market rates. There is also a different fee structure that comes along with this program- the origination fee is actually 1.5% Which is only slightly ironic because they give you a grant of 5% of the MORTGAGE amount to go towards your 3.5% down payment and fees. So you DO in fact get a free down payment, but the rest of the grant money goes to pay the inflated origination fee.
It’s still a good deal for the right scenario, and can really open the market up to some truly great buyers. One of the biggest benefits of taking advantage of this program is that it might allow a buyer to get into the market a year or two earlier than it would have taken for them to save up the down payment.
Want to speak with me about this program? CLICK HERE to reserve a time on my calendar for a quick phone conversation!