A Lending Hand; First-Time Home Buyers Can Get Leg Up... -
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Published on: 4/26/2006
Last Visited: 4/26/2006
That's where federal and state programs can also help first-- time home buyers even those making up to 110 percent of the area's annual median income, said Jeff Caden, executive director of the Washington Homeownership Center in Seattle.
"But many people who could qualify aren't availing themselves," said Caden, who will be the keynote speaker at Tuesday's forum.The nonprofit Washington Homeownership Center's mission is to help low- to moderate-income households throughout the state purchase homes.Working mainly with first-time buyers, the agency provides free information and offers a basic assessment of home-ownership readiness by reviewing family size, income, credit history and other factors to determine eligibility for government-funded home-loan programs.
Caden said some families who qualify wouldn't even think about applying, mistaking the programs as low-income assistance.
"There's money left on the table every year," said Caden, though he couldn't estimate the amount.He said the funding would be better labeled "gap financing for working families."
Programs include the Washington State Housing Finance Commission's House Key Plus program, which provides up to $7,500 in a second-mortgage, down-payment-assistance loan to first-time home buyers who make the area's annual median income or below.The median income is $67,900 annually for a family of four in Clark County.
Caden said the program could provide substantial help in Clark County, one of the state's relatively lower-priced markets, unlike King County, where the median price of a home is about $405,000.
A state study that found 73 percent of Clark County's rental households could have afforded home ownership at the beginning of 2005.That compared to only 35 percent in King County, Caden said.