HOME program – Gaston County’s down payment assistance program

Buying your first home can be expensive because of the down payment required by lenders in order to qualify a home loan. If you are looking to purchase your first home in Gaston County, there is a way to minimize your out-of-pocket expenses. There is a little known program, called the HOME program that is designed to help home buyers with their down payment and closing costs when purchasing a home in any of the following area: Belmont, Bessemer City, Cherryville, Cramerton, Dallas, Gastonia, Lowell, McAdenville, Mount Holly, Ranlo, Stanley, uncorporated areas of Gaston County or within the city limits of Kings Mountain.

The HOME program is funded by HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the City of Gastonia Community Development Division. The HOME program provides those who qualify with the following benefits:

• Down payment and closing costs assistance
• Home buyer education
• Credit and budget review

The HOME program works in conjunction with a FHA loan (30-year fixed rate) and conventional mortgage products. This home buyer’s assistance program funding is provided as a silent second mortgage and is forgiven after five years. In other words, if you purchase a home using the HOME program, you won’t have to pay back the down payment funds if you own that home for at least five years (yes, that’s free money for you!).

How does the Home program work?

You can get as much as $10,000 in assistance (up to $5,000 for each qualifying individual) with the HOME program. The minimum required down payment for a FHA loan is 3.5% of a home’s purchase price. So for example, if you were to purchase a $140,000 home, the FHA down payment required would be $4,900. At the $10,000 assistance level, you would still have $5,100 left over after the down payment to cover closing costs (closing costs are usually 3.5% to 4.5% of the purchase price). In order to get the funds, you will need to invest a minimum of $500 of your own funds in the real estate transaction.

Additional Requirements

To qualify for the HOME program, your gross income must fall within the following guidelines:

Please note that family size includes adults and children.

In order to qualify, you will need to obtain a loan from a participating lender. A verification of credit history must be done with a clear credit history in the past 12 months. Home buyers are also required to attend a home buyer education course (very informative for first time home buyers). The selected property you wish to buy must also pass a Housing Qualify Standards inspection.

If you are tired of renting and thought that the only way you could own a home was to save for a large down payment, give us a call today at (704) 322-3710 so we can let you know about the many options that are available to you. We specialize in down payment assistance programs and provide five-star real estate services to home buyers in Charlotte and surrounding areas.