New Down Payment Assistance rules from the City of Houston

Bank of America back in the fold

Great news: Bank of America is now able to bring files to the City and obtain down payment assistance from the Department of Housing and Community Development.
The Department now requires an approval of the lender and of individual loan officers. Veronica Martinez is approved for Bank of America.

If you want down payment assistance, do not go to Bank of America

Bank of America is the second name on the list of approved lenders on the Department of Housing and Community Development web site.

Ready to move in

These are the two homes we have ready for immediate occupancy.
The one story home is a Carlton, the two story is a Greenbrier, with nearly 2,000 sq feet of living space.  Both have ceramic floors, 2 car garages.
Both are eligible for $30,000 ind down payment assistance, and $3,000 in incentives to the selling agent.
Call Ellie at 713 413 8300

Down Payment Assistance in Kingdom Come

Kingdom Come is officially in a LMIC area.  It is therefore eligible for an outstanding down payment assistance program.  Families may receive $30,000 in down payment assistance and have a qualified income below 120% of median:  The table below shows the maximum income based on the family size.
This is still a benefit of IKE desaster relief fund.  Hurry up, it is not going to last very long.

AMI	1 Person	2 Person	3 Person	4 Person	5 Person	6 Person	7 Person	8 Person
120%	54700	62500	70300	78100	84350	90600	96850	103100

HHFC bond program flyer

This program can be combined with teh City Down Payment Assistance program.  However, the two lists of  approved lenders only have Bank of America and Cornerstone in common.

Only the newly approved lenders can bring files to DHCD of Houston

FYI






Subject: Downpayment Assistance Program ALP List



DEAR AFFORDABLE LENDING PARTNER:







AS OF SEPTEMBER 30, 2010, THE CURRENT ALP LIST WILL BE DISCONTINUED



AND YOUR ORGANIZATION WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SUBMIT HOMEBUYER FILES



TO THE DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.







THE DEPARTMENT IS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A NEW LENDER'S LIST



AND ONLY THOSE LENDERS WILL BE ALLOWED TO SUBMIT GRANT FILES.







HOWEVER, THE DEPARTMENT INTENDS TO OFFER A NEW LENDER RFQ FOR THE



DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ON OR ABOUT OCTOBER 1, 2010.



YOUR ORGANIZATION MAY REPLY/RESPOND TO THE NEW LENDER RFQ IN ORDER



TO POTENTIALLY BE ADDED TO THE LENDER'S LIST IN THE FUTURE.



ONCE RELEASED, THE RFQ WILL BE POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE AT www.houstonhousing.org .







THANK YOU







Cesar Verde



Downpayment Assistance Programs



601 Sawyer, Suite 400



Houston, TX 77007



(713) 865-4290 Office



(713) 868-8379 Fax



Cesar.Verde@houstontx.gov

HHFC bond memo

Great new HHFC bond rate

The Houston Housing Finance Corporation just announced an extension of its bond program and a lowering of their 30 years fixed rate to 3.85%.
This brings the total monthly payment on a Carlton down to $610.00 when combined with the City of Houston/Ike down payment assistance.

Down Payment Assistance Lenders

The City of Houston has changed the rules for the participating lenders.  If you apply for a loan and hope to receive down payment assistance from the City of Houston, make sure your lender is on the list of the "Approved Lending Partners" revised last April. The list is available on the DAP page of the Department of Housing and Community Development. http://www.houstontx.gov/housing/resource.html  You need to click on the small lettered Approved Lending Partners in the text and see the Excel spreadsheet with the list.
However, the lenders on the current list can only submit files until September 30.
After October 1, only the lenders who have been approved in August and followed the required training will be allowed to bring new files to the Department.  Ask your lender if his/her employer has submitted the RFQ by August 18, and if they have been accepted.  If not, you better chose another lender, one who complied.
If you are a lender, and missed the deadline, please contact the Department and ask what you can do.
As a builder, we will discourage purchasers from applying with lenders who are not on the new list to be published later in September.

New Real Estate Agents Incentive

For all new contracts executed until September 30 2010, Majestic Homebuilders will pay $1,500 in agents incentive at closing..

August 18 round table was a success

2 hours of constructive discussion between Majestic Homebuilders and Hispanic real estate professionals brought many valuable suggestions to the Majestic team.
Location:
Majestic's main mission is to offer a fine home to families who otherwise could not afford a new single family residence.  However, a suggestion was made to diversify towards more mainstream locations, while raising the sales prices by a few thousands.  Hispanic families have now become more sensitive to area schools.  Majestic is alrady exploring this possibility.
One advice came back repeatedly to return to our sources and build agin in the South Post Oak corridor.

Floor Plans
Everybody confirmed our belief in not cutting corners.  Secondary bedrooms should not be too small, and as many walk in closets as possible should be available.  A front entrance version of our Greenbirer plan was recomended, this as already in the works.  You can see the attached plan of the "Palace" here attached.  A larger one story plan was recomended, we are working on it.
Features:
Every person in atendance confirmed that brick is even more important for Hispanic buyers.  We will keep adding brick.  The interior should include more ceramic tile, this resolution is already adopted.  A recommendation was made to offer a "Granite" option for the kitchens.  We will keep this under consideration, knowing the importance of kitchens in general.
Please post your additional comments here or on our facebook page.

Kingdom Come Down Payment assistance

The home buyers in Kingdom Come are now eligible for IKE disaster money.  This entitles them to $30,000 in down payment assistance, and raises the maximum income level.
The attached map clearly shows Kingdom Come in the green area.
Combined with mortgage rates in the mid 4s, it brings affordability to new levels.

Majestic Homebuilders partners with Neighborhood Centers Inc.

Majestic Homebuilders participated in the health fair organized by NCI on August 14. Families were made aware of the help made available by NCI on their way to home ownership.