Many buyers today don't have enough savings for a downpayment. But the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) is helping buyers by monetizing the First Time Buyers Tax Credit allowing them to use it as a downpayment helping those who are short of money. This money can be used towards the downpayment requirement or towards closing costs.
Of course there are some restrictions and the plan varies depending on what you are buying. For New construction PHFA will lend you $6000, if it is a resale then that figure reduces by $1000 to $5000. If you repay this loan before June 30 2010 then it is interest free.
Of course to obtain this loan you must be a first time homebuyer; must fall within the federal tax credit income guidelines, must be obtaining a PHFA first mortgage; and the program cannot be combined with any PHFA down-payment and closing cost assistance programs.
As this is financed by $5 miilion of PHFA's own funding their is limited availability. To help PHFA has posted a chart on their website that shows a list of local lenders who participate in PHFA loans by county.
This can help you take advantage of the tax credit now before the program comes to an end by selecting a home and makeing an offer with a settlement date on or before November 30th. As many loans are taking longer to close this deadline is approaching fast to use this program. It can take 60-90 days from making an offer to settlement using these types of loans, so you need to act now. Call if you need help.
If you are buying or selling on or around the Main Line we can help you, contact us or connect
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