Home Plus Mortgage Loan Program Benefits

Buying a home is very exciting and probably the largest transaction you’ll ever make. With the serious housing recession experienced a few years ago, very few people were able to accomplish this.

While the economy has picked up dramatically the past couple years, it’s still very difficult for many individuals or families to buy homes.

Fortunately, there are programs like the Home Plus Mortgage Loan Program to help potential homebuyers fulfill their dreams of being homeowners. Here is a little information on the program as well as the benefits it offers.

What is this Program?

This is a mortgage program administered by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority to help individuals or families buy homes in Arizona without the worry of coming up with a big down payment and closing costs.

Arizona residents can use this program to buy homes in any county but Pima County. Residents of Pima and Tucson County can get down payment assistance from the Pima Tucson Homebuyer’s Solution Program.

What are its Benefits of Home Plus Mortgage Loan Program?

• Lower income individuals can become homeowners.
• Get assistance with down payment and closing costs
• Assistance is on the second mortgage and gradually forgiven
• Assistance not added to the first mortgage
• Applicants get a 30-year mortgage
• Lenient requirements (credit scores and DTI)
• Veterans get an additional 1% assistance

How Does It Work?

The Home Plus Mortgage Loan Program offers potential homebuyers assistance with down payments and closing costs on a 30-year fixed rate first mortgage. The amount of assistance a homebuyer can get from the program is based on a percentage of the principal balance of the mortgage loan. This may be from 0% to 5% depending on the loan type.

The recipient receives the assistance in the form of a three-year, no payment, no interest, deferred soft second mortgage loan. Each month, this assistance is forgiven at a rate of 1/36 over the term of the loan.

Applicants can choose from different types of loans, such as VA Loan, FHA, USDA, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or some other conventional loan. The percentage of assistance the home buyer chooses will determine the amount of assistance the homebuyer receives. For instance, if an individual wants to buy a home for $200,000 and they choose the 5% option, they would get $10,000 in assistance.

The first step the applicant should take is meeting with a lender to determine eligibility for the Home Plus program. Once it’s been determined that he or she is eligible, they can begin house hunting. When they find their dream home, their realtor will be responsible for negotiating, coming up with the final price and taking care of finalizing the sales contract. With sales contract in hand, the borrower can see the lender and begin the loan process.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the Home Plus Mortgage Loan Program, the applicant and the loan must meet the following requirements.

• The home must be the primary residence.
• Purchase price cannot be higher than $371,936
• Borrower income must not be higher than $92,984
• Borrower’s debt-to-income must not be higher than 45%
• Potential buyers must complete a pre-purchase homebuyer course
• Co-signer not required to live in the home.