Carson City, NV -
January 31, 2017By the end of 2016, the Nevada Housing Division’s (NHD) Home Is Possible (HIP) program had
helped 9,654 Nevada families realize the American
dream of homeownership since it launched on September 22, 2014. This number
includes 568 veterans and active military personnel, nearly 30 a month (up from
18 a month in 2015).
The HIP program is designed to help more credit-worthy families
get into homes – people who can afford a monthly mortgage payment, but may be
having a hard time coming up with a down payment. It provides a
(non-repayable) down payment grant of up to five percent of the loan amount for
Nevada families with a household income of less than $95,500. Homebuyers must
also have a minimum credit score of 640 and be purchasing a home for less than
$400,000. The buyer must meet standard underwriting requirements, complete a
homebuyer education course and live in the home as a primary residence.
The United States average for homeownership is 63.7 percent, while
Nevada is at 54.8 percent, but that number has been going up with the help of
the HIP program.
Introducing HIP For
Teachers
To help Nevada communities recruit and retain teachers, NHD has
introduced a new program, HIP For Teachers, which offers Nevada’s K-12 teachers $10,000 in bonus money
toward the purchase of a new home.
“In addition to making Nevada one of the country’s most
veteran-friendly states, we’re working with Governor Sandoval to make it a
great place for teachers to live and work,” explained Housing Administrator CJ
Manthe. “A big part of that is helping them get into a home of their own, which
was the impetus for this program.”
HIP
for Teachers Key Benefits:
·
$10,000
in bonus money
·
Usable
for down payment and closing costs
·
Forgivable
after five years (if the teacher stays in the home)
·
Below-market
fixed interest rate
·
Statewide
program
·
No
first-time homebuyer requirement
·
Can
be combined with the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) program with program
fees discounted
HIP
for Teachers Program Requirements:
·
Must
be a licensed full-time K-12 public school teacher in Nevada
·
Qualifying
income below $95,500
·
Home
price below $400,000
·
Minimum
credit score of 660
·
Government
insured loans only (no conventional loans)
·
Teacher
must live in home as primary residence
·
Homebuyer
education course required
·
Must
meet standard underwriting requirements
·
One-time
fee of $675 (also required to record a second mortgage)
·
Funding
amount available for 300 teachers, provided on a first come, first served basis
Las Vegas real
estate agent Alison Rachiell’s clients Bridget and John Carilli, were the first
in Las Vegas to take advantage of the program. Bridget is in her first year of
teaching special education in a local elementary school and John is also employed
by the Clark County School District’s before and after school safety program.
“I think it’s great when somebody is
dedicating their energy and time to teaching,” Rachiell said. “So being able to put them into a home they
might have otherwise been unable to get is incredibly rewarding.”
Home Is Possible Funding
The
Home Is Possible programs are funded through the use of a private/public
partnership model, which has funded $76 million toward down payment and closing
costs, for a total of $1.9 billion in closed mortgages since the program was
founded.
The
programs are provided through more than 85 mortgage company partners throughout
the state. The mortgage companies work with the buyers to ascertain the best
solutions for their specific situations and then walk them through the process.
For
more information, visit http://homeispossiblenv.org and then contact a HIP-qualifed lender or REALTOR®.
# # #
Links:
·
Nevada
Housing Division: www.housing.nv.gov
·
Home
is Possible: http://www.homeispossiblenv.org/
·
HIP
For Teachers: http://www.homeispossiblenv.org/program/home-possible-teachers
·
NHD
Approved Lenders: http://www.homeispossiblenv.org/find-lender-realtor/find-lender.php
·
NHD
Approved REALTORS: http://www.homeispossiblenv.org/find-lender-realtor/find-realtor.php
·
U.S.
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/files/currenthvspress.pdf
About the Nevada Housing Division
Our mission is to
provide affordable housing opportunities and improve the quality of life for
Nevada residents. Nevada Housing Division (NHD), a division of the State of
Nevada Department of Business and Industry, was created by the Nevada State
Legislature in 1975. NHD is committed to making Nevada a better place to live
and work. We connect Nevadans with homes by providing financing to developers
to build affordable apartment homes, by providing innovative mortgage
solutions, and by making more homes energy efficient, thereby lowering utility
expenses. To learn more, visit www.housing.nv.gov.