Down Payment Assistance for Home Buyers

For the past few years there have been many down payment assistance programs available to home buyers through the federal government, state and, local governments housing departments, but somehow it seems that the public has been kept in the dark about the existence of such programs.  Right next to credit issues, coming up with the down payment on top of the closing costs have always been one of the main hurdles for home buyers.  In most instances the lack of savings has resulted in paying more each month for rent than what the same homeowners would pay for the mortgage if they purchased their own home.  To make the matter worse, the lack of the sufficient rental homes in the Port St Lucie market has spiked the prices with renters paying 40% to 50% more on monthly rentals than the people who are purchasing the same type of properties.

Downpayment Assistance Programs

The downpayment assistance programs vary by the area the property is located at. While the local governments may offer different programs, the government agencies are another excellent source as well.  When searching for down payment assistance through government the home buyers should not limit their research only to the HUD and FHA resources.  There are many other agencies which offer great down payment assistance as well as loan services and guarantees which public is not familiar with.  One of the best examples is USDA.  The USDA offers different loan programs for low to moderate income families, which could vary from direct loan, loan guarantee, construction ad repair loans.  The loan programs offer up to 100% financing, which in a sense it is a downpayment assistance program because there is no need for down payments.  The loans are mainly designed to encourage homeowners to move to rural areas.  Homeowners may think the move to rural area is not an option for them but in reality some of the areas considered as rural by USDA could fall within minutes of bigger metropolitan areas.  For example, in St Lucie County the area of Lakewood Park north of Indrio Rd and all the way to the east of US-1, Federal Hwy are eligible for USDA home loans please refer to the map, the pink area is NOT eligible.

USDA Eligibility Map St Lucie County

To find the availability of USDA home loans in you area please refer to USDA Eligibility Map.

To find out about the downpayment assistance programs in your area will require a little time and research.

The most recent attempt in the facilitation of down payment assistance comes from Wells Fargo through the LIFT Program and their partnership with NeighborWorks America.  According to Wells Fargo, they have allocated $300,000,000 to Lift Program in 40 communities across the US and so far they have been able to assist 11,000 homeowners with their down payments.  Currently, only the four communities of Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville have been part of the pilot program for downpayment assistance in Florida.

Click for or a list of  the all 40 communities eligible for downpayment assistance in the US.  Also, you can register and apply for the LIFT Down Payment Assitance Program

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