Down Payment Assistance: Osceola County, Fl

[Ron Withers]

SHIP (State Housing Initiatives Partnership) Down-Payment Assistance Application(Osceola County, Kissimmee, Saint Cloud, Poinciana and other communities) period will begin on October 6, 2008 and will end on October 31, 2008.

In order to obtain an application for assistance, the following requirements must be met:

12hr - First Time Homebuyer's Education Certificate (provided by Osceola County Extension Services)
Current Pre-approval Letter from one of Osceola County's Participating Lenders (no more then 60 days old)
Applications can be obtained in person at the Osceola County Human Services Division, located at 108 Park Place Blvd., Kissimmee, FL 34741 or on-line when available. Applications must be hand-delivered to the office with the attached requirements. Have questions? Contact us at 407-742-8400. I can also provide the application and information.

The Osceola County housing assistance program is designed to make affordable housing available to citizens with an income that is classified as moderate or lower. The number of moderate funding is limited to funding restrictions.

The State Housing Initiatives Partnership (S.H.I.P.) program provides funding to local governmentsto assist citizens to become homeowners. Eligible first-time homebuyers will receive financial assistance to help with the costs of buying a home. For more information on this program, please click here.

S.H.I.P. partners in Osceola County include lending institutions, housing developers, community based housing, service organizations and affordable housing professionals.

Applications are processed on a first-come, first ready, first served basis.

Maximum financial assistance is:

Very low income = $69,900.00
Low income = $59,900.00
Moderate = $39,900.00
S.H.I.P. Loan Terms

Must be secured with a second (soft) recorded mortgage, if additional public funding is obtain, SHIP mortgage will go into 3rd position.
Required maximum 10-year loan with deferred payments and a 20% penalty if refinanced with cash out.
SHIP loan is forgiven after 10 years of owner occupancy. Repayment of the loan becomes due if:
Borrower defaults on the first mortgage.
The house is sold refinanced with equity cashed out.
The house is rented, leased, subleased or ceases to be owner-occupied prior to the end of the loan period.
No Home Equity Line of Credit borrowed against the property.
Footnote: The application period is a very short window of opportunity. From experience, getting scheduled into the required homebuyer education class can be a somewhat difficult task due to limited seating, demand and volume of calls into the housing office. If you are a Realtor or potential homebuyer that want to maximize the opportunity for enrollment, please call or email me. Visit me at: www.RonWithers.com



Disclaimer: Program information and terms are subject to change without notice.