Affordable Housing: Real Down Payment Assitance in Dane County

We're fortunate here in Dane County to have several State and local agencies providing Down Payment Assistance to eligible First Time Home Buyers that qualify. Affordable housing and Dane County are not always synonymous terms, so many of these agencies have been created to try and bridge that gap, to make rental housing and home ownership affordable for those families making less that the county median income here in Dane County.

One of the most important programs here in Dane County is offered to eligible first time home buyers in the form of a deferred payment loan in the amount of $9,000. Dane County Housing Authority (DCHA), provides their HOME loan to eligible applicants with annual income under 80% of county median income. With the median home price in Dane County hovering around $190,000, this loan is enough to provide the 3% down payment required by most First Time Home Buyer programs and to cover that first time buyers closing costs.

The loan is required to be paid back upon non-owner occupancy, cash out refinance or upon future sale. DCHA also requires the home buyer has 1% of their own funds into the transaction. This could be in the form of earnest money, prepaid homeowners insurance, an inspection paid for by the borrower, or the borrower can pay closing costs or make a 1% down payment.

The loan is available for purchase of a duplex, condo or single family home. To be eligible you must be a first time home buyer and be working with a loan program that qualifies for DCHA HOME funds.

I have used the program several times with great results. Many deserving homeowners, who may be ready for home ownership but may not be able to save for the down payment and closing costs, have found DCHA to be their helping hand. The administrators of the program are HUD certified housing counselors, and a home buyers education course is required for the program.

Since 2000, DCHA has provided 142 down payment/closing cost loans to first time buyer households at or below 80 percent County Median Income (CMI). In addition, approximately 2000 households(roughly 250 annually) have completed the DCHA First Time Home Buyer courses since 2000. DCHA hosts and coordinates 16 pre-purchase course annually and was a founding member of the Homebuyers Roundtable of Dane County.

If you are a Real Estate Professional looking for more information regarding DCHA click here. If you are a home buyer and you want to know if you qualify for HOME funds for down payment assistance please contact me to take a quick mortgage application and discover what your options are.

Is Goverment Intervention really a "Stimulus," or is the Economy Better Off Without?

The link below is an article written by Meg Sullivan, outlining the research done by two UCLA economists that argue Government Intervention makes recovery from a depressed economy worse, not better.

I found it pertinent to note now as the argument has never been more relevant. Certainly we are facing two different situations, and different circumstances. Unions and Corporations that played a role in the recovery from the Great Depression (or lack thereof) have been replaced by struggling job markets and credit strapped banks, but the central issue remains the same, will Government Intervention hurt or help our economy recover?

The Economists argue that FDR's New Deal policies led to increased labor wages, and increased unemployment, while the elimination of anti-trust prosecution led to collusion and an increase in the costs of goods of services.

If you aren't sure where you stand on the stimulus package, or the Government Intervention in the market this article is a good place to start. Clearly whatever happens, much care needs to taken to be sure that the Government does not in effect hinder the natural recovery process of the markets.

I'm reminded of a quote: "If we choose to ignore history, we are doomed to repeat it."

I am certainly not going to promise you any priceless wisdom on this issue, nor will I pretend to understand the economy to the point where I could sustain a coherent argument either way, but I find it interesting that once researched thoroughly, the Man credited for getting our Country out of it's largest economic crisis, may in fact have been responsible for prolonging it!

Use your voice, speak your mind, and follow your heart...

http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx?RelNum=5409