Are you a Tampa first time home buyer that is just entering the Tampa real estate market? If so, then read about a New Program Helps Tampa First Time Home Buyers with Closing Costs.
The government entity known as Fannie Mae wants to give you gift -- 3% of the sale price of a Fannie Mae REO that can be used to assist with closing costs when buying a home in Tampa FL. The only catch is - you are required to take a required home buyer counseling course first.
Fannie Mae, announced last Wednesday a new program called Home Path Ready Buyer Program for Tampa first time home buyers. If you are a Tampa first time home buyers which really means you have not owned a home in the last three years, then you can take the Home Path Ready Buyer Program online course . Once endorsed and certified, Tampa first time home buyers are then eligible for 2.5 to 3% directly from the program that can be used to pay your closing costs.
For instance, according to realtor.com online, the average price of a home sold in Tampa (as of Mar 2015) is $241,000 approximately. By participating in the Home Path Ready Buyer Program for Tampa first time home buyers, potential new homeowners could be eligible to receive $6025 to $7230 towards assistance with closing costs. The cost of the Home Path Ready Buyer Program for Tampa first time home buyers is $75 and may even be re-imbursed by the program.
Tampa Realtor Lotte Rogers, a member of the RE/MAX Bay to Bay South Tampa office and team member of the Viking Team LLC said recently “This could open the door for homeownership for certain buyers in the local Tampa FL market.” Lotte, along with her sister and teammate, Pia Ellison agreed “This will go a long way to help assist some of our buyers in Tampa that have been unable to purchase a home recently.”
Rogers and Ellison both agree that most Tampa first-time home buyers are usually either “cash-poor or credit-poor. Although bills are being paid on time and most Tampa first-time home buyers qualify for the mortgage, the ability to save $5000 - $8000 or more just isn't there.”
By offering closing cost assistance on their Tampa REO properties, Fannie Mae is opening the gates to a pool of Tampa first-time home buyers who have largely been left out of the Tampa housing market recovery. Traditionally, first-time home buyers have made up about 40% of the market nationwide, yet in 2014 they accounted for 33%, according to the NAR®.
While this announcement of this Home Path Ready Buyer Program for Tampa first time home buyers marks the mortgage giant’s latest step in loosening credit availability—it also announced a new 3% down loan program in December—it does so with some strings attached. The closing cost credit applies only to properties in Fannie Mae’s own inventory.
Fannie Mae owns thousands of houses across the Tampa Bay housing market, which were seized in foreclosure proceedings, and now the government-backed private corporation is actively trying to unload that inventory.
Searching our own site’s listings, we found 467 single-family homes listed as Fannie Mae HomePath properties in Hillsborough county FL.
“Depending on the details of the terms, closing costs can also help with down payment,” said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for realtor.com®. “It reduces the amount that you (as a Tampa first time home buyers) will be required to bring to the table.”
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