There Are Great Programs Available for Home Buyers Right Now

Some first-time home buyers in North Carolina are taking advantage of a down payment assistance program that essentially gifts them $15,000 that they don’t have to pay back.

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It’s a great time to be a first-time home buyer right now. There are some excellent programs coming out right now via the North Carolina Housing and Finance Agency and I’ve got Brandon Colberg from Element Funding to help explain these programs in further detail. 

Starting in October, first-time buyers can get up to $15,000 in down payment assistance. This money can be used towards a down payment and/or closing costs. Many buyers will use this program to get a home for zero money down. It may sound too good to be true, but it isn’t. The only catch is you have to act quickly.

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The only catch is you have to act quickly.

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This program was around for a while last year but was limited to the first 1,500 people who were approved. In about four months, all the money was gone. This year, however, there are 3,000 spots available for this program. If you’ve been thinking about buying a home, the urgency is there to take advantage of this program if you qualify.

The program does have some stipulations. The biggest one is that it can only be used in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus Counties. These were the areas that were hit hardest by the recession, and the goal of this program is to help lift these areas back up. If you live in one of those counties, you should absolutely try and take advantage of this fantastic program. 

If you don’t live in either of those counties, don’t feel too bad. There are plenty of other down payment assistance programs out there for you to utilize.

We have had many clients take advantage of this program in the past, and we expect the trend to continue this year. This is a very rare opportunity for home buyers. You can walk into $15,000 in equity without having to put a dime in yourself. It’s quite remarkable.

If you have any questions for Brandon about these programs, give him a call at (704)-999-6646 or send him an email at bcolberg@elementfunding.com. If you have any other questions, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How to Get a Forgivable $15,000 Down Payment Loan

I'm excited to share that the North Carolina Housing and Finance Authority is bringing back the very popular $15,000 down payment assistance loan. If you're interested, don't wait to learn more.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search
Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation 
Call me at (704)996-2613  for a FREE home buying or selling consultation

I received some information in regard to the North Carolina Housing and Finance Authority that I wanted to share with you.

They are bringing back the very popular $15,000 down payment assistance loan program.

This is awesome news for anyone who is potentially looking to buy a home. Why? They will give you up to $15,000 in the form of a loan that can be used for a number of things in the down payment process, and it's 100% forgivable after living in the house for five years.

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This $15,000 can be completely forgiven.

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I have some great loan officers that can explain it to you in a little more detail; there are some income requirements and you do have to have at least a 640 credit score.

If you're interested, you need to act right away. The program should come around in October and last year there were only 1,000 of these grants available. This year there will be 3,000 available.

You have to get in line because they are first come, first served.

For those of you thinking about selling your house, it's awesome news because there will be that many more people who will be qualified to buy your house. If you wait until after the holidays, you're going to be in the thick of a lot of competition because that's when the housing market heats up.

I can personally attest that this is an awesome program because I've helped several people buy a property this year with it. I've actually had people get money back at closing, which is rare.

This program is available in five counties, two of which I cover: Mecklenburg and Cabarrus.

If you're interested, give me a call or send me an email to learn more. You have to move fast, though, because more and more people are going to be interested in this program. I hope to hear from you soon!

How the Market Affects North Carolina Buyers & Sellers

Now is a good time to both buy and sell your home. Across the United States, the market is on fire. Fannie Mae recently released a National Housing Survey that found that 52% of Americans felt that now was an awesome time to sell their house. We’re now seeing home sellers getting more for their homes because of a lack of inventory.

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Now is a good time to both buy and sell.

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Selling the home is the first and most critical step of the buying-selling process. In today's market, 85% of sellers indicate that they will buy another house, so while they’re adding to the inventory, they’re also coming back around as competition when it comes time to buy again. One advantage they enjoy is that, having just sold a home, they have more money to put down and better credit than first-time buyers. A disadvantage are that they may still have a home to sell, and that’s not as appealing to other sellers who can consider buyers who don’t have to sell their previous home first.

As buying competition, homeowners are moving for a variety of different reasons. I’ve listed the most important as discovered recently by a survey done by the National Association of Realtors:

• Wanting a different neighborhood
• Needing a home with different features
• Wanting a bigger home
• Wanting a better location
• Needing to lower their cost of living

Sellers from the 35 to 44 year age range noted the desire to be in a different neighborhood or needing a bigger home as their primary motivations, while sellers ages 55 to 65 preferred homes with different features or a better location. The biggest factors (or barriers) in today’s market preventing all sellers from selling their home are time, the necessary changes that need to be made for the house, and finding a replacement home.

If you need help selling your home and buying your next one, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.