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Real Estate News and Advice |
July 10, 2009 |
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 Housing Authorities Provide Below-Market Mortgage Loans
by M. Anthony Carr
One of the most under utilized home financing groups I've seen are the nationwide offices of State Housing Finance Agencies. These are state-chartered authorities that help meet the housing needs of each state's residents. Not all HFAs are created equal in regards to their relationship to state government, however, most are independent entities operating under the direction of a governor-appointed board of directors. HFAs administer scores of affordable housing and community development programs, which center around three federally authorized programs: the Mortgage Revenue Bond (MRB) program; the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program (Housing Credit); and the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). The National Council of State Housing Agencies says HFAs have used these programs to design hundreds of housing programs, "including homeownership, rental, and all types of special needs housing. Many NCSHA member agencies also administer other federal housing programs, including Section 8 and homeless assistance." HFAs have provided affordable mortgages to more than 2.4 million families to buy their first homes through the MRB program. HFAs have also financed more than 2.4 million low- and moderate-income apartments, including 1.6 million apartments using the Housing Credit. In addition to the bond programs, some HFAs partner with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other investors to provide money for these types of loans, usually with a below-market interest rate. The loans customarily have limitations, such as income and size of household. For the Housing Authority that serves your area, search online by typing "[Your State] Housing Authority" into your favorite web browser, or contact your county government. There are a plethora of private, non-profit housing agencies to help people get into a home of their own. Below is a list of the websites for each state's housing agency, which is a valuable resource to find financing assistance from such groups in your local area. Housing agencies offer home buying education, money for down payments and low-interest loans, if you qualify. In a buyers' market, the HFA financing can bring down a buyer's cost of getting into a house and limit the monthly payment through below-market interest rates. Many of the programs come with unique limitations, such as some that will finance the purchase of the house, but won't finance the appliances (what's that all about?), but this is usually overcome with the home seller offering the appliances for sale for $1.00, etc. On the resale value, some of the programs will only allow a limited amount of appreciation to go to the homebuyer. The idea is that with the special program, combined with lower interest rates and government-based funding, the HFA wants to help low- to moderate-income consumers get into a home, but they don't want to assist them in growing rich during a market gone wild. Look at all the fine print when getting into an HFA-based program, however, I believe you'll find that for low-income, cash-strapped purchasers, it can be a great help in realizing the American Dream of homeownership. So where can you get access to these HFAs? Below is a list of the state agencies with their web addresses and phone numbers: Alabama Housing Finance Authority
Alaska Housing Finance Corporation
Arizona Department of Housing/Arizona Housing Finance Authority
Arkansas Development Finance Authority
California Housing Finance Agency
Colorado Housing and Finance Authority
Connecticut Housing Finance Authority
Delaware State Housing Authority
District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development
Florida Housing Finance Corporation
Georgia Department of Community Affairs/Georgia Housing and Finance Authority
Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii
Idaho Housing and Finance Association
Illinois Housing Development Authority
Indiana Housing Finance Authority
Iowa Finance Authority
Kansas Development Finance Authority
Kentucky Housing Corporation
Louisiana Housing Finance Agency
Maine State Housing Authority
Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development
Massachusetts Department of Housing & Community Development
MassHousing
Michigan State Housing Development Authority
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency
Mississippi Home Corporation
Missouri Housing Development Commission
Montana Board of Housing/Housing Division
Nebraska Investment Finance Authority
Nevada Housing Division
New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority
New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency
New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority
New York City Housing Development Corporation
New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal
New York State Housing Finance Agency/State of New York Mortgage Agency
North Carolina Housing Finance Agency
North Dakota Housing Finance Agency
Ohio Housing Finance Agency
Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency
Oregon Housing and Community Services
Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
Puerto Rico Housing Finance Authority
Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation
South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority
South Dakota Housing Development Authority
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Utah Housing Corporation
Vermont Housing Finance Agency
Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority
Virginia Housing Development Authority
Washington State Housing Finance Commission
West Virginia Housing Development Fund
Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority
Wyoming Community Development Authority
Published: February 13, 2004 Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws. 
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Mr. Carr has covered real estate since 1989. He is the author of