One of the biggest problems that first time home buyers face is coming up with money for a down payment. There are several programs available to help with down payment, but I have found a couple of programs that are not as well known.
If you are buying in the City of Plymouth, there is a program that will give you a loan of up to $25,o00 to be used towards down payment and closing costs for first time homebuyers. It is a zero interest rate deferred loan that is a second mortgage on the property. You can use it for up to 50% of the required down payment, 100% of the allowable closing costs up to $5000 and also to reduce the mortgage principal. You have to be a first time homebuyer and must attend homebuyer training classes. Your household income must not exceed the max income limit based on household size – for one person it is $41,700, two people it is $47,700.
If you are buying a home in Ramsey County (but not in the actual City of St Paul) and you work in Ramsey County, you can qualify for a program called FirstHome Down Payment Assistance. This will give you up to $20,000 in a second mortgage to bring your qualifying ratios down to 30% of your income. The buyer must invest $2,000 into the transaction and also must be a first time homebuyer. You have to attend a first time homebuyer class and there are maximum income limits. For a one person household, the max income is $43,050, for two people it is $49,200. The maximum purchase price is $200,000.
For more information on these programs and others available, you can contact me or there is information available on the different city and county websites. It takes a little searching, but can be worthwhile to help in purchasing a new home!
The reason Phoenix home sale will fall further is because on October 1st down payment assistance programs for buyers now allowed for FHA mortgage borrowers will disappear. You can get still more information about home buyers which I browsed on internet can fetch you help.