Goodbye to Down Payment Assistance Programs

Many buyers for the last few years have been depending on down payment assistance programs to aid them in the home buying process. It has helped a lot of people get into a home, which may not have been able to. Some feel that it has caused some of the chaos in today's market. At the end of September down payment assistance programs such as Nehemiah and Neighborhood Gold will no longer be accepted by lenders. For buyers who are counting on programs such as these, hopefully they will find that special house and be able to close by the end of September. These programs were a "legal operation of money laundering" The seller would gift the money to these non-profit organizations and then they would wire it back to the buyers as a gift. Lenders allowed it because the money trail was not coming directly from seller to buyer. There are however some down payment assistance programs which will still be available to first time home buyers such as CHFA (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) and CHAC (Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation). Many cities also offer financial assitance in purchasing a home. Most of these programs have income requirements that are fairly low. For a complete list of accepted down payment assistance programs after September 30th, visit the link below. There are still many other ways to come up with down payment money like a gift from a family member or borrowing from your 401K. If you would like more information on these options or have questions please feel free to contact us we are here to help. If you are ready to begin your home search or even if you are still on the fence of buying a home, feel free to sign up for free no obligation private home search by clicking the Home Search button at the top of the page right hand side.

http://www.hud.gov/local/co/homeownership/buyingprgms.cfm