Homeownership
The Housing Authority will provide current Housing Choice Voucher participants with the option of participating in a Homeownership Program. If a family meets the eligibility criteria stated below, you can convert your rental voucher into a homeownership voucher.
Eligibility Criteria - The following criteria shall be established to determine eligibility for participation in the Homeownership Program:
The head of the household or spouse must have maintained full time employment continuously for a minimum of one year or be an elderly or disabled family.
Total annual household income must exceed $10,500 per year and cannot be derived from any form of welfare unless it is an elderly or disabled household.
No family member can have any ownership interest in any real property.
No family household member may receive any rental income during any period of homeownership assistance.
No family member may have a history of any default on a mortgage or other purchase instrument for the past three years prior to receiving assistance under the homeownership program.
All household members age 18 and older must satisfactorily complete a homeownership counseling and education program prior to approval for participation in the homeowner program.
The family must be a first time homebuyer. No individual household member may have held title to any property for a period of three years prior to participation in the program.
An existing Section 8 rental voucher participant cannot convert the rental voucher to a homeowner voucher until such time that the lease expires on the rental unit and all program and family obligations have been met.
The family must be a participant in the Family Self-Sufficiency program administered by The Housing Authority or another similar self-sufficiency program and have satisfactorily met all program goals and objectives, or develop and successfully complete a homeownership plan for a minimum of six months.
Self-Sufficiency and Homeownership Counseling - The Housing Authority will target the homeownership program to current and future participants of the Section 8 Family Self-Sufficiency program and the HOPE VI Self-Sufficiency programs provided that Section 8 Assistance will not be used jointly with HOPE VI funds for the same assisted family.
The Housing Authority will enter into an Agreement with one or more certified home buyer counseling agencies to administer the required homeownership-counseling program. Interested households will be referred for pre-determination of credit worthiness. If it is determined that a household is credit worthy, then a homeownership plan will be developed. If a family is not credit worthy, the family will be referred to the FSS program (if not a current participant) to move the family towards credit worthiness.
Issuance of Homeownership Voucher - Upon successful completion of the homeownership plan, the family will be referred to a participating financial institution and be pre-qualified for an affordable home. The Housing Authority will provide the financial institution with the family's estimated homebuyer subsidy for inclusion in the qualification determination.
The family will be issued a homebuyer voucher upon submission of the pre-qualification confirmation from the financial institution. The voucher will be valid for a total of 180 days from the date of issuance. The family must enter into a purchase agreement within the time period allotted. No extensions will be granted.
Total Housing Costs - The total housing costs for the assisted family is defined as principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and a maintenance reserve. Total housing costs cannot exceed the applicable payment standard under the Housing Choice Voucher Program based on the designated bedroom size.
Down Payment and Financing - A minimum down payment equal to 3% of the purchase price of the selected home is required for participation in the program. At least 1% of this requirement must come from the household's own funds. The assisted household is required to secure a private fixed rate thirty-year, twenty-year, or fifteen-year fully amortizing mortgage.
Subsidy Payments - The total tenant payment, tenant rent, and housing assistance payments shall be calculated in accordance with all provisions of the Housing Choice Voucher Program.
For more information about Homeownership, contact the Housing Authority.