Arizona first time home buyer programs

The housing crisis has spawned a number of government sponsored programs to assist first time homebuyers. With the expiration of the first time home buyer credit fast approaching it seemed useful to explore what Arizona has to offer its first time home buyers. But first a little background. The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) is the vehicle for many programs and was established for “the purpose of stabilizing communities that have suffered from foreclosure and abandonment”. The program is funded thru the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (commonly referred to as “Stimulus”) and provides grants to states, local governments and some non-profit organizations. Unless otherwise noted all of the programs discussed below are NSP (http://www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/neighborhoodspg/).

The State of Arizona, Maricopa County and the City of Phoenix all have NSP programs. We will focus on the programs offered by these entities. In addition, other cities in the state have their own programs as well. You may want to contact an individual cities housing department for details. The state offers the “Your Way Home Arizona” program. The program provides for a loan up to 22% of the purchase price, requires 3% down payment and 1% from the borrowers own funds. Home ownership counseling is required. Only homes that are in foreclosure can be purchased and the home must be your primary residence. It is administered by the Arizona Department of Housing and for more details check the program website at http://yourwayhomeaz.com/default.aspx. You can also contact the local Department of Housing office at (602) 771-1041.

The Maricopa County Housing Authority offers the Homes to Homeowners program which is designed to help homebuyers find affordable green homes in Buckeye, Goodyear, El Mirage and Tolleson. Basically the county purchases homes, rehabilitates them and then puts on the market for sale. For more details check the program website at http://www.homes2owners.org/ or call (602) 744-4592.

The City of Phoenix has several programs to assist first time homebuyers. One is the Homeownership Assistance Program. It is funded by NSP/Your Way Home AZ and offers $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance to purchase foreclosed homes within the city boundaries. For more details check the program website at http://phoenix.gov/residents/stabilization/nsp/programs/homebuyer/index.html, call (602) 262-6602 or e-mail mailto:nsphome@phoenix.gov. Also available is the American Dream Down Payment Initiative (ADDI) program which provides $10,000 toward down payment and closing costs. The money is loan secured with a second lien, the property must be primary residence and located in Phoenix, borrower must have $1,000 of their own funds and other guidelines apply. For more details check the program website at http://www.nhsphoenix.org/american_dream.html.

A couple of other programs offered by the City of Phoenix in conjunction with Community Housing Resources of Arizona or CHRA assist with purchasing and rehabilitating qualified housing. The City of Phoenix Industrial Development Authority’s Homeownership Incentive Program provides a three year loan for up to $1500 at zero interest for down payment and/or closing costs assistance toward the purchase of a home in Phoenix. The city of Phoenix First Time HOME Buyers Program offers $5,000 or more to rehabilitate a purchased property. To learn more about program details and qualification requirements go to http://www.communityhousingresources.org/programs.php.

The last program we will cover is the Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeowners or WISH. The program is thru the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco member institutions. The program provides matching grants to qualified first time home buyers and up to $15,000 is available. To find out more details check out the banks website at http://www.fhlbsf.com/. In closing, the above is not intended to be all inclusive but to give you an idea as to what is potentially available. Finally, most of the programs have income limits, all require the property to be your primary residence, may require pay back of funds unless you live in the home for a defined period, require home buyer counseling, most but not all are limited to purchasing foreclosed homes and more. So, make sure you understand how the program works before making any commitment but these are all great tools to help the first time home buyer in Arizona.