First Time Home Buyer Grants

When first buying a home, there are many factors you have to include that you may not be aware of. These can make buying a home very difficult.

While you may just want to zoom through the process and sign all the papers, it won’t help your financial well-being. Here are some potential, big saving, first-time home buyer grants that you might overlook if you rush the process.

Down Payment Assistance

Whether or not your grant is forgivable is dependant on the program you choose within the Down Payment Assitance. Additionally, how long you plan on living in the home effects grant forgiveness. Usually, these grants range from 1% to 10% of the entire down payment, which varies on the program you choose. They not only assist with down payments but closing costs as well. Restrictions may apply to these programs, so it’s best to look into what each one entails. This allows first-time home buyers the ability to buy a home without spending years saving for the entire down payment.

Good Neighbor Program

These are special grants for first-time home buyers that are designed to help aid neighborhoods that are struggling. This is done by offering people in “good neighbor” professions grants in efforts to improve safety and strengthen the community. These professions include:

• Teachers
• Law Enforcement
• Emergency Technicians
• Firefighters

If you can live at the residence for at least three years, you can receive up to 50% off the list price of the home. But before considering this, weigh location and safety against savings.

Local First-Time Home Buyer Grants 

There aren’t many grants that are national. Most are provided by the state or local government. It’s important to pay attention to these, as some require you to repay them if you live in the home for a shorter amount of time. There are countless conditions that go along with these, so pay attention to the fine print!

Another thing to consider is tax recapture. Some programs have a tax recapture if you sell the home before the number of years agreed upon in your home-buyers agreement. This could result in you getting taxed on the sale to make up for the break you received.