How would you like to receive a $2,000 grant to help finance your down payment or closing costs? If you’re a first-time home-buyer who’s an Oregon resident in the market for a new primary residence here, you just might be in luck.
The Home Sweet Home Program, created in spring 2010 as a partnership between the Oregon Bankers Association and the Oregon Association of Realtors, recently received $100,000 from Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS). Those funds will be used to help 50 Oregonians purchase their first home. All of the OHCS funds will be used for homebuyer grants — and all administrative costs of these loans will be absorbed by the OBA and OAR.
The Home Sweet Home program was created to help provide homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income Oregonians earning less than or equal to 80 percent of the area’s median income. Initial funding was provided by a grant from the Ira Gribin Workforce Housing Grants Program, a fund established by the National Association of Realtors to stimulate efforts to address the growing need for affordable workforce housing.
To qualify for the grant, you must meet certain eligibility requirements, including the following:
- You must be a first-time home buyer.
- You must be able to qualify for a standard mortgage loan product.
- The purchase must be for your primary residence.
- Your household income can’t exceed 80 percent of the area median income in the county where the home is located (check with your lender to verify that amount).
- You cannot have more than $10,000 in liquid assets remaining after loan closing.
- You must successfully complete an approved home buyer-education course.
- You must be a legal Oregon resident or be pursuing permanent residency.
All single-family residences in Oregon (including site-built homes, condominiums, townhomes and manufactured homes) that meet the quality standards required to qualify for a mortgage loan are eligible.
The final requirement: Qualified home buyers must obtain their loan through a qualified lender (a member of the Oregon Bankers Association) and purchase the property with the assistance of a member of the Oregon Association of Realtors.
For more information about the Home Sweet Home program, including eligibility requirements, visit www.oregonbankers.com/community/hshp or contact Shannon Scott at (503) 581-3522 or sscott@oregonbankers.com.