Downpayment assistance

[Liz Stevens]

Does any one out there make enough money to buy a home but lack the downpayment? I know of a program that will give you the money. They are a non-profit organization that was founded to help individuals and families who are in just that situation. Families that have good jobs but just can't seem to save enough $$ for a downpayment, one thing or another is always popping up every month. The name of the organizaiton is Home Quest Down Payment Fund. This program works with FHA loans as well as other conventional loans as long the the lender allows gift funds from non-profit organizations. Check out there website it is www.homequestdownpayment.org.

[r murray]

Liz...

There are many companies that offer this service...Remember this is not exactly a gift...The dealer (seller) must make a contribution to this charity...This contribution WILL be more than the gift to the buyer...The "non-profit" then pockets the difference and pays it out in salaries to its employees..

The extra "cost" of this contrubution will be from $ 650 to as much as $ 1500 depending on the policy of the "charity"...

Those interested should talk to their loan officer for info about the company they work with...if any..

[Mike]

Whether or not the organization charges a fee to use their program is irrelevant, the buyer is still receiving a GIFT that does not have to be repaid. Programs like these allow for more buyers to purchase homes, and do a lot of good in communities all over. Sellers are obviously happy to comply with these programs, because they increase the number of potential buyers for their property(s).

[Dan F]

I looked at this site. It looks to me that the Seller ends up paying this $650 dollar fee in addition to what the gift is. The problem is how many buyers are going to talk the seller into basically paying the downpayment plus the fee? In the market I live in the median home price $389,000.00. And more often than not there is multiple offers. You do the math on what a 5% or 3% down payment would be. this is a great deal if the buyer can swing it though.

[rmurray]

In our business these programs are not gifts...Dealers like me only add this and the fee to the cash price and you pay for it and the extra interest over the life of the loan....

We are all grown ups...The only place money comes from is the buyer...You will pay for everything you get...including downpayment assistance...

[Mike]

This program works best in areas where the seller doesn't have many options available to them. There usually aren't many offers made on the property, and the down payment assistance program provides a good opportunity for the seller to sell and the buyer to buy.

[Mike]

You're right. These programs are not gifts. These programs provide gift funds to buyers who need them to qualify for a loan. It doesn't matter if the gift amount and service fee are built into the price or not. If the buyer is coming up short for the down payment, then these programs work.