Many of you who work in Connecticut are familiar with a very effective First-Time Homebuyer mortgage program offered by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. The CHFA Homebuyer Mortgage Program follows most FHA guidelines, but is restricted in regards to the buyers' income, and offers subsidized interest rates that are typically at a small discount to FHA rates. In my experience, the only reason I ever lose a Connecticut loan is to the CHFA program; unfortunately, it is a program we are unable to offer, as it is only available to mortgage companies with offices in Connecticut.
On Thursday, I spoke with a CT Realtor who had recently transitioned to a new office, and I asked her if she was familiar with the $7500 tax credit program currently available for First-Time Homebuyers purchasing in 2008-2009. She responded by putting me on speakerphone, where, after listening to my brief explanation of the credit, another person in the background stated "Yes, that's not available with CHFA."
That was pretty much the end of that conversation, but it left me curious about the interaction between this program and the various subsidized mortgage programs like CHFA, Rhode Island Housing, and Massachusetts Housing.
As I said, I'm not intimately familiar with recent CHFA guideline changes, so I would appreciate your input on this. Are you aware of any such restrictions? What are your thoughts on this?
Dan Hartman
Senior Mortgage Advisor
Province Mortgage Associates
(401) 263-8655
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Ok, time for an update. I read in another 'Rainer's blog that buyers using loans funded through sale of tax-exempt bonds are ineligible to receive the $7500 tax credit. My understanding is that this was a component of the original legislation. I hope this clarifies things!
Dan