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Down Payment Assistance; Money to Get into a Home

Locally, there are many programs to help you get into a home, especially if you are a First-Time Buyer, here in Central Florida. There are different programs from the different counties (Orange County, Seminole County, and other), different cities (City of Orlando!), etc. that help with getting people into homes. There are also loans for people with various careers (teacher, firefighter, cop, etc.) that can help with buying a home. There is even a HUD (Housing and Urban Development) program, that for $500, can get certain people into homes--but there are no homes available at present for that program, only manufactured homes.

For this post, I'd like to focus on a program called Nehemiah. I am NOT a Nehemiah expert by any means. The program just fell into my lap this past week and I've heard of it for the past couple of years but have never had the opportunity to utilize it because other programs were easier to get. Now that I am working with a couple that are interested in it, of course I have to "brush up" on it and figure it out. So here goes:

NEHEMIAH Program:

According to the websites below, Nehemiah began in the late 1990s and is basically a GIFT-fund program that allows the Seller to pay between 1-6% of the total purchase price of the house toward the Buyer's down payment and closing costs. Pretty helpful, I think! If the Buyer is using an FHA (Federal Housing Administration loan), the down payment required is just about 3% down but with the Nehemiah program, that down payment can come from the Seller. There's a lot of legal-ese on the website to say that, b/c it's a GIFT program, the money can't go directly from Seller to Buyer. Rather, it goes from Seller, to Nehemiah program, to title company on behalf of the Buyer--so that it's all perfectly LEGAL. Please read up on it and/or call for more information.

http://www.getdownpayment.com/

http://www.nehemiahcorp.org/

Also, a blogger/Jon on 3-4-08 says that Nehemiah is here to stay indefinitely: http://activerain.com/blogsview/406558/Nehemiah-is-Still-Here

Get Information About No Down Payment Homes or Near-No Down Payment Homes at:

www.OrlandoAreaPropertySource.com

Posted by Lisa Spalding on 03/03/2008 08:18 AM

Comments (5)

down payment assistance, nehemiah, money to buy a home, firsttime buyer, 100 financing

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5 Comments on Down Payment Assistance; Money to Get into a Home

I have heard, but have not been able to substantiate that FHA has been trying to eliminate the Ameridream and Nehemiah programs. They definitely are the only no money down programs out there for first time buyers anymore.

03/03/2008 07:16 PM

by Rob Arnold, Florida Realtor / Investor (Sand Dollar Realty Group, Inc.)

One of my lenders says that Nehemiah isn't going anywhere and she quoted the issue (from her memory) and said that it's somewhere there on the site that it's definitely staying. (I for one believe her. He he.) Not sure about Ameridream. Everyone's been saying that it's getting the axe at the end of March but I haven't been to the website to check out the validity of that, either. :0)

Thanks for stopping by.

03/03/2008 07:26 PM

by Lisa Spalding (Watson Realty Corp.)

Lisa, thanks for helping me out before. Maybe I can repay. Be very careful with DPA's. I am a lender in AZ and don't lend in Florida so I have no motive. All DPA's except for Nehemiah were supposed to outlawed by HUD at the end of October. Nehemiah, the original popular DPA, was given a six month extension. Right as the HUD ruling was to begin, a judge in DC put in an indefinite injuction blocking HUD's attempt to ban. As recent as a week ago or so, a judge in California ruled that not only does HUD not have the authority to make that decision, a review panel will be established and the HUD Secretary was NOT permitted to be part of that panel as the injuction was blocking his action.

The purpose of the review panel is to prove the case for HUD so congressional leaders can vote to pull them as a source of down payment. This vote could very well eliminate them because default rates are way higher on DPA loans and when you can clearly see that the seller gives money to DPA gives money to escrow gives money to borrower.

The way it REALLY is: Seller makes commitment to give, DPA gifts money to borrowers early on sometimes even before docs are out, escrow receives wired in gift, buyers get the loan, sellers get the DPA money and the loan proceeds minus closing costs and charitable contribution to DPA.

Now I'm not being a smarty pants here, I am just saying that you're calling a duck a duck.

I've been trained by them to see it the other way (to make it legal).

Congress is probably going to agree with your way 10 to one over mine. That's the part that scares me and I will be happy if they keep it going but shocked if they do.

Let me know if you have questions with the mechanics of the DPA and how the contract technicalities need to be handled. Overall, the getting the funds from the DPA is actually the easiest part of the whole process.

03/11/2008 04:46 AM

by Mark Organek - Tempe Gilbert Mesa Chandler REALTOR (RE/MAX Alliance)

Wow. Very interesting. Lot of information out there....

http://www.appraiserking.com/Eatonville-real-estate-appraisers-appraisals-florida

03/20/2008 10:00 PM

by AK

If you haven't done so, go to this website, http://www.rallyforhomeownership.org/

It only takes 30 seconds. This form will go to your local Congressmen and Senators.
CONGRESS MEETS ABOUT THIS TODAY!

HUD should modify to lessen the risk BUT don't get rid of it. This is one of the last programs out there right now that can get buyers into a home with no money. (They still have to credit and income qualify)

http://activerain.com/blogsview/605114/Down-Payment-Assistance-Congress

07/23/2008 01:15 AM

by Maryland homes for sale, Montgomery County MD real estate

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