Your Government Wants You to be a Homeowner and could give you over $30,000 to help.

 

Your federal state and local governments want you to be a homeowner.  If you have not owned a home in the past three years, there are three programs that can help you achieve your dream of home ownership.  All programs require the property be owner occupied and to be able to qualify for a Government backed FHA Loan.  You will need a minimum of $1000 to move into your new home and have fair credit.

 

The first program is the Delaware State Housing Authority Bond Program.  To qualify for the program, a family of 3 or more can not earn more than $85,445 per year and the purchase price of the home must be less than $456,054 in New Castle County.  In Kent County, the income limits are $77,625 and the purchase price of $444,189.  Limits are slightly lower for 2 person families.  The great thing about the bond program is that its grant money.  It does not have to be repaid as long as you follow the program guidelines (call for details).  You can receive up to 3% of the purchase price to be used for the down payment.  So when purchasing a $300,000 home that is $9,000 in free money that does not have to be paid back! 

 

The second program is the Delaware Housing Partnership (DHP).  The DHP program has similar requirements to qualify but, this program will lend you up to $10,000 to be used toward closing costs.  This money does not require a monthly payment and only has to be paid off when you sell, move, or pay off your first mortgage.  You will also be required to take home ownership classes.

 

The third program is the federal tax credit for home buys who have not owned a home in the past three years.  The credit can be for up to $8000 or 10%  of the purchase price, whichever is smaller.  The tax credit is for first-time home buyers only. For the tax credit program, the IRS defines a first-time home buyer as someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. Some of the other requirements of the program are:

  • The tax credit does not have to be repaid.
  • The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.
  • The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.
  • Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

Combine these three programs and you can receive upto $24,000 for the purchase of a $200,000 home,  $27,000 for the purchase of a $300,000 home and $30,000 for the purchase of a $400,000 home.

 

In addition to these programs you may also be eligible for Delawares first time buyer transfer tax credit that can save you and additional .75% of the purchase price.   To receive this transfer tax credit, you must be purchasing your first home, the three year rule does not apply, and some municipalities do not participate.

 

Programs may change periodically so please click on the following link to be pointed to the Delaware State Housing Authority website.

 

Each of these programs have its unique eligibility requirements, so please feel free to contact Henry Eckhardt of Keller Williams Main Street Team at (302) 285-0600 for details