COLUMBUS – June 18, 2008 – Today, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board approved $6 million of additional funding for OHFA’s Second Mortgage Down Payment Loan Program. During the first five months of 2008, over 660 homebuyers, or approximately 30 percent of the participants in OHFA’s First-Time Homebuyer Program, have used a down payment loan to help them purchase their home.
“Many families who qualify for OHFA’s First-Time Homebuyer Program need additional assistance to make the dream of homeownership happen,” said Doug Garver, Executive Director of the Agency. “By approving this funding, OHFA’s Board members are showing their commitment to providing more Ohioans the opportunity to become homeowners.”
The Second Mortgage Down Payment Loan Program allows potential homeowners to receive up to 4 percent of the purchase price of the home as a 20-year mortgage with a rate of up to 2 percent above the First-Time Homebuyer Program rate. This program is just one of the options available through OHFA to help first-time homebuyers and those purchasing homes in targeted areas and can be combined with a first mortgage through the First-Time Homebuyer or Ohio Heroes Programs.
Since March, OHFA has helped over 550 Ohioans purchase a home through the Ohio Heroes Program. This program helps those homebuyers who are active military personnel, military veterans, firefighters, emergency medical technicians-paramedics, healthcare workers, police officers or teachers to receive a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage at a quarter of a percent less than OHFA’s rate for the First-Time Homebuyer Program.
The First-Time Homebuyer Program offers low, competitive mortgage rates to homebuyers through conventional loans or FHA, VA and USDA-RD government loans. OHFA partners with lenders throughout the state to make these attractive loan options available to borrowers. Each of these 30-year, fixed-rate loans is available to consumers based on their household income. As part of the program, homebuyers in need of down payment assistance can choose to use either the down payment loan or a grant in an amount equal to three percent of the purchase price of the home. OHFA increased the maximum sale price permitted in the program effective June 1.
OHFA utilizes federal and state resources to provide housing opportunities for families and individuals through programs designed to create, preserve, and manage affordable housing throughout the State of Ohio. The Agency is a self-supporting quasi-public agency governed by an eleven-member board, nine of whom are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Two additional seats on the board, by statute, are reserved for the Director of Development and the Director of Commerce or their designees, and both serve as ex officio voting members.
