Missouri housing grants

If you’re renting right now, you could be investing your money into a home. You’ll earn equity rather than paying someone else’s mortgage.

Run the numbers for renting versus buying in this calculator comparison.

There are low-income home buying programs in Missouri, down payment assistance, and housing grants to make your dream of homeownership possible.

When you work with an experienced real estate agent, like one from the Sally Moore Real Estate Team, we’ll walk you through everything and pair you with a lender who helps first-time homebuyers and others who qualify for down payment help. That way you can find the best down payment assistance or housing grant in Missouri for your personal and financial situation.

First Federal Bank of Kansas City

With the Welcome Home Community Loan Program from First Federal Bank of Kansas City, you get $3000 for closing costs or down payment help. This low-income home buying program helps home buyers with low-to-moderate income or homeowners buying a home in a low-to-moderate census tract.

It’s not just for first-time homebuyers. You can also use the money to refinance a property or if you’ve previously bought a home.

This housing grant money has several benefits including:

• No extra hoops or paperwork.
• Purchase a home quickly.
• Don’t have to pay back the money.
• No extra fees.
• Reduced appraisal cost.

With this loan, you’ll only pay $150 for the appraisal instead of the standard $450 fee. [ Download PDF  Welcome Home Loan First Federal Bank of Kansas City ]

Your loan will cost the same whether you qualify for the program or not. You can apply for the loan here.

“You shouldn’t have to throw away money renting if you can have one little boost to be a homeowner. It will put them in a way better position short term and long term,” explained Geony Rucker, a Community Loan Officer with First Federal Bank of Kansas City.

Low-income home buying program

You can use the Welcome Home loan program money to buy a home or refinance. Homebuyers qualify for homes in a low-to-moderate income census tract or low-to-moderate income.

According to federal guidelines, this includes a family of four making between $25,000 and $64,000.

If you don’t meet the income guidelines, your home must be in a qualifying census tract. To find your census tract, plug in your address here. Then, compare your census tract to the guidelines for Jackson County [Download Low Income Tracts PDF]. If it’s considered “low” or “moderate” then your new home qualifies.

Remember, you only need to qualify based on income or the census tract.

“It’s an awesome program. It’s not very often that you get to get free money, let alone money where you’re not having to pay it back after you close,” explained Geony.

You can use the money however you want.

“With this, you can use it for down payment or closing costs. In a market where sellers are not wanting to pay closing costs, it’s really nice to have this as an option to help you with that,” said Rucker.

Missouri loan with less than 20% down

Down payment programs lower the amount of money you need to put down to close on the lown.

While 20-percent is often the gold standard, there are ways to put down less than 20-percent.

The Welcome Home Loan from First Federal Bank KC requires just a 3-percent down payment, compared with a traditional loan of 20-percent.

So, how do you qualify?

• Owner-occupied, single-family properties only.
• No minimum loan amount.
• Minimum down payment of only 3%.
• First-time homebuyers must complete an approved homebuyer education program offered by a local housing organization.

Borrowers must also receive Approve/Eligible DU Findings & meet secondary market underwriting guidelines. The underwriting system will verify that your loan meets all financial requirements and your income and assets are accurate right before closing. This is required for all loans and does not add any extra time to the loan processing.

The loan is just one part of the home buying process. When you’re buying your first home, use this first-time homebuyer checklist to make sure you’re prepared for every step of the process.

VA Home Loan Benefits

Like many down payment assistance programs, there are additional benefits for Veterans. If you qualify for a VA loan, you can then combine the Welcome Home program with it. So, you can get no down payment with the VA loan and then an additional $3000 that you can use for closing costs.

“When you combine the fact that they don’t have to make a down payment with an additional $3000 in closing costs they’re coming out with very little out of pocket. So it’s an outstanding program for vets that qualify,” Rucker explained.

We believe everyone deserves to be a homeowner no matter someone’s life situation. It’s a hand up, not a hand out. You still have to qualify for the loan.

I’ve had many people cry at closings because they never thought they could buy a home. It’s hard to buy a home when you’re paying rent and have a car loan. Life is expensive. Saving $3000 is not easy to do when you don’t make a lot of money.

The post How To Use Missouri Housing Grant For Down Payment Help appeared first on Sally Moore Real Estate Team.

New Missouri home loan offer

If you’re a Kansas City area homebuyer concerned about housing affordability due to rising home prices, there’s a new loan program you need to know about to help with down payment and loan costs. The MHDC HFA Down Payment Loan offers a conventional loan and a cash subsidy to qualified buyers.

Buyers get 4% cash assistance plus up to $2500 more. The amount of the gift depends on your income, and you don’t have to pay it back.

“We’ve never had anything like this before,” said Michelle Ekstam Jones, a Community Mortgage Senior Loan Originator.

Here’s how the MHDC HFA Down Payment Loan works:

• 4% cash assistance*
• Up to $2500 subsidy for qualifying buyers**
• 640 or better credit score AND Automated Underwriting Approval
• 45% Maximum Debt to Income Ratio
• 5.45% current interest rate for first-time homebuyers — UPDATED: Now 4.95%
• 6% current interest rate for repeat homebuyers

*For qualified buyers, based on income and purchase price rules.
**For qualified buyers, based on income requirements.

[bctt tweet=”Qualified Kansas City homebuyers (first-time and repeat): get 4% cash assistance + up to $2500 with new loan program” username=”SallyMoore”]

The subsidy is based on income limitations.

If you’re under 80% median income, you qualify for $1500. In Jackson County, that’s anyone whose household income is under $64,000.

If you’re under 50% median income, you qualify for $2500! That’s anyone whose household income is under $40,000 in Jackson County, Missouri communities like Blue Springs, Lee’s Summit, Grain Valley, and Oak Grove.

Those are the income limits for the subsidy only! There are separate rules for the cash assistance part of the loan.

If you’re familiar with the First Place and NextStep programs through MHDC, this loan works similiarly except it’s a conventional loan with a no-strings-attached subsidy to qualified homebuyers.

Kansas City closing cost help

“I like the extra cash assistance [subsidy]. It helps buyers with closing costs. In this market, it’s tough to get the seller to pay all the closing costs,” Ekstam Jones explained.

With average closing costs in the Kansas City area around $5000, the subsidy can cover up to half your costs with the potential for the seller to cover the other half.

[bctt tweet=”Need closing cost help on a Kansas City area home? New Missouri home loan program offers help to qualified buyers!” username=”SallyMoore”]

If you make more money than the income requirements for the subsidy, you can still qualify for cash assistance only. That’s available for repeat buyers, Veterans, and first-time homebuyers.

“MHDC’s HFA down payment assistance program with the additional subsidy is making it possible for first-time and repeat buyers with no other down payment sources available to get into homes,” Ekstam Jones explained.

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Kansas City first-time homebuyer cash assistance

First, the cash assistance options for Kansas City first-time homebuyers and Veterans. You can lower closing costs or your down payment through a 4% cash assistance loan.

There are separate financial and personal guidelines to qualify for this part of the program. You can make more money under this part of the program, so more Kansas City home buyers qualify for this down payment assistance.

You need to be a first-time homebuyer with 1-2 people in the home. There is a slight change in the program, in that non-spouses and their income no longer count.

Your income can be up to $80,000 in the Kansas City area if 1-2 people live in your home, excluding non-spouses.

If your household includes 1-3 people, the income limit is $92,000 in the Kansas City area.

There are also purchase price limits. Single-family homes up to $248,098 qualify for this program. If you are buying a home in a targeted area, you can spend up to $303,231.

So, what’s the catch?

“You have to claim 1/10 of the cash assistance every year until you claim it all over ten years. If you claim half as income, then you only pay back half of it when you sell the house. It’s prorated every year,” Ekstam Jones said.

For example, if you sell your home after five years, you’ll likely only pay back half the 4% cash assistance.

You can use this program with other down payment assistance programs, so talk to your lender about the right fit for your financial situation.

If you don’t have a lender, speak with your real estate agent to find out a partner lender.

You can also run your own numbers, to get a ballpark ahead of time of what you can afford, with the Missouri Housing Development Commission Mortgage Calculator.

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Repeat homebuyer down payment assistance

So, what if you’re not a first-time homebuyer or you’re a first-time homebuyer that doesn’t meet the income requirements above? You still may be in luck.

The MHDC Next Step program helps all qualified buyers with down payment assistance. There are higher income limits. The tradeoff is a higher interest rate as well.

If you’re moving to a designated “Opportunity Area” in Missouri, you’ll get a slightly better interest rate.

In Jackson County, Missouri, the income limit is $96,000 for a 1-2 person household and $112,000 for a 3-person household.

The purchase price limit is $331,423 for a single family home. So, a lot of Kansas City area homebuyers qualify for this program!

This is just one of many down payment assistance programs available to Missouri home buyers. For a detailed look at all your options, learn more about the best down payment help in the Kansas City area.

Homeownership is possible, even on a tight budget. Don’t get hung up on a 20% down payment. There are a number of programs that make homeownership possible with far less money. This is just one of them. Here are some of the most common down payment myths we often here.

Overview of MHDC HFA Loan Program

Here’s a snapshot of the MHDC HFA Down Payment Loan Program:

Income Guidelines

• 1-2 people: $80,000 in the Kansas City area
• 1-3 people: $92,00 in the KC area

Credit

• 640 or better credit score AND Automated Underwriting Approval
• 45% Maximum Debt to Income ratio

Loan

• 5.45% current interest rate for first-time homebuyers
• 6% current interest rate for repeat homebuyers
• 4% Cash Assistance plus additional subsidy (Gift) for lower income limits
• Lower Mortgage Insurance Rates
• 97% LTV

Who

• First Time Homebuyers who meet financial requirements
• Repeat homeowners who meet financial rules
• Missouri residents
• Purchasing a single family home including townhomes, manufactured homes, condo, or one side of a duplex

If you have any questions, talk to a knowledgeable real estate agent about down payment options. They’ll be able to connect you with a trusted lender who can help you figure out how much home you can afford.

The post Get More Money With New Kansas City Down Payment Program appeared first on Sally Moore Real Estate Team.