There's a lot of "myths" about home buyer grants out there. In Georgia, they are usually tied to specific loan programs that have been repackaged to attract home buyers. That being said there are a few.
- HUD Homes - They routinely have programs for our "hometown heroes - teachers, police and firemen" as well as a $100 down program. Basically, this isn't a grant per se, but it allows home buyers to get a home with less down.
- USDA Loans - Again, not a grant, but 100% financing for rural area.
- Grants - I broke this down into 2 sections because in my experience, the grants are very location specific.
- City based grants - If you look you will find home buyer grants all over the nation inside city limits
- In Atlanta, there's "Invest Atlanta" that offers a great grant program. The caveat (as with most) is that your limited on your income that you can make and you must go through their class in order to get the grant. However it's one of the best programs I've seen. In addition, there are several cities, such as Marietta (home to the new Braves stadium) for example, that have their own grants for buyers buying inside city limits.
Even across the country if you look for City grants you will find them. For example, Dallas Tx has a grant but it's only within Dallas city limits. So if you wanted to relocate to Rowlett, TX then you're out of luck. Florida has a surprising number of grants, even in places like Sarasota. Again though, the income limits make it difficult, so you can forget about getting that Siesta Key condo with spending limits and
- "DREAM" programs. In Georgia, we have the GA Dream - I imagine this is available elsewhere. It works like a down payment assistance program. It's not exactly a give-away- but it can help home buyers.
Basically with the programs you're limited based on:- Location - City grants are for city taxable properties, Rural grants are for areas where they want people to move.
- Income - Typically you can't make too much money. This varies by location. $70K a year in Atlanta is a typical ceiling for some of the best programs.
- Credit History - you still need decent credit. In every situation, credit score and debt-to-income is considered as part of grants or down payment assistance.
- Ultimately, any grant or special loan still requires you to go through the loan process. This process acts (in most cases) the exact same way any other buyer would get a home, except you are getting this grant. There is no 100% offering.