July 30, 2010
Applying For Florida First Time Home Buyer Grants
Florida is one of the states that have special housing programs to give people the opportunity to buy their own home. Example of these is the Florida first time home buyer grants program. This program uses federal funds that are distributed through state government to the people requesting them. It is easy to request a grant but certain conditions have to be met.
You must be prepared and know what to expect before showing up at city hall to collect the documentation you will have to complete. Getting a grant is not a problem if you are within the necessary parameters. If you do not fit into them do not waste your time, you will not get one.Rules and regulations are very strict.
You must have resided in the state of Florida for at least three years before you request your grant. You must have paid taxes and worked in Florida too. You will have to show proof of these facts; they will not take your word for it.You must show irrevocable evidence that you and your family have lived in Florida all that time.
If you have five children and your mother lives with you too then the government will want you to buy a four to six bedroom house which may be too much for your income in the neighborhood where you want to live. On the other hand you may also be disqualified for having excessive income too. Take care in making this decision because if you are denied the first time, you will have a six month to one year waiting period before you can apply again.
The third condition you have before you has to do with the money to pay for the house. You must find a bank or other recognized lending institution that is willing to lend you the cash to purchase the house. The grant you get from the government will cover the down payment; it is up to you to get the remainder of the money.
If you did own a house before those three years, all you have to explain is what happened with it. If you sold it to move to Florida, they will follow the money trail. If you lost it to a bank when they foreclosed on it, they will want to know what happened. If you declared bankruptcy they will also want to know what happened. In these cases, be honest, they will find out what happened anyways.
Another very important condition is that you may not have purchased a house in the past three years in the United States. If you did own a house sometime, somewhere, it is important that you disclose this fact because they will investigate what you say. If you are caught lying, you will be banned from the program, and you may even go to prison.
It is also possible that they will accept your wife as the principal in the operation. She may get the grant under her name and the house will belong to her too. This does not matter though the point of the exercise is to get some free money to buy a house.
FL first time home buyer options are exciting. There is a substantial inventory of homes to choose from and first time home buyer grants help to provide funding.
Filed under Refinance by Brian Forgac
