Special Home Ownership Programs Exist for Specific Groups

One of our readers passed along an interesting article that we wanted to share. For anyone who is unaware, there are, and have been, special home ownership programs that cater to special interest groups such as unions, veterans, and public servants.

“Housing for Heroes: Special Home Ownership Programs for Teachers, Nurses, Firefighters, Police, and Other Public Servants” is a comprehensive article that was developed by the folks at ShopRate.com:

Home ownership programs have been designed to help certain public servants–who aren’t always the highest paid–buy homes in the communities they serve. Options range from special promotions offered by private mortgage lenders to tax breaks, down payment assistance, subsidized mortgage interest, and reduced closing cost plans administered by community organizations and government agencies. Home ownership assistance sometimes comes with income limitations or caps on how much house you can buy.

Private Market

One example of a special home ownership program offered by the private-lending community is Freddie Mac’s Home Possible program which specifically offers “additional flexibilities for teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, healthcare workers, and members of the United States Armed Forces.”

State and Local Programs

While we’ve written about state housing finance agencies (HFAs) — which cater to low and middle-income borrowers — in the past, ShopRate’s article discusses other localized efforts designed to promote affordable lending conditions that encourage employees to purchase homes in the towns and cities in which they work:

For example, in New Jersey, first responders can get a mortgage at an excellent rate — the 10-year Treasury note rate plus 1%, which totaled about 4% in 2009–at least a full percentage point lower than the market interest rate paid by everyone else. Some states provide home buying assistance to nurses and other health care workers.

Housing for Heroes goes onto discuss the benefits of Mortgage Credit Certificates (MCCs) — which “enables you to buy a more expensive house with the same income” — as well as HUD’s Good Neighbor Next Door program (GNND), an effort that allows teachers, firefighters, police officers, or EMTs to effectively take “50% off the purchase price of HUD-owned properties in designated areas.”

Click here to continue reading Housing for Heroes in its entirety.