Rural housing grants due in March

The Nevada Rural Housing Authority has 2013 Workforce Initiative Subsidy for Homeownership (WISH) funds available to help first-time homebuyers with the necessary down payment to get into a home of their own, but they must be in contract by March 31.

Saving enough money for a down payment is the most commonly cited hurdle in a Trulia survey of current renters wishing to own their own home. The Home at Last™ WISH program is provided in partnership with Heritage Bank and Nevada State Bank and provides qualified first-time homebuyers with down payment assistance by tripling their down payment contribution up to $15,000. It is only available for homebuyers whose income falls below 80% of area median income. For example, in Washoe County a family of two must have gross income of less than $43,450. In Carson City, the income limits are slightly higher and in Lyon and Churchill counties, they are slightly lower. Income limits can be found at www.nvrural.org/wish website.

The program is available for first-time homebuyers (someone who has not owned a home in the past three years) in Nevada’s fifteen rural counties and the rural portions of Clark and Washoe counties. The new home must be the purchaser’s primary residence and the homebuyer must stay in the home for five years or repay a portion of the WISH grant. The borrowers must meet normal FHA, Conventional, or USDA/Rural Housing guidelines and complete a homebuyer counseling program.

“We have enough funds remaining to assist 15 to 20 more rural Nevada families between now and the end of March,” said Nicole Larrimore, NRHA Mortgage & Marketing Specialist. “We would rather use this money here in Nevada than have to return it to The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco.” Families interested in using the WISH program can visit the NRHA website at www.nvrural.org/wish for more information or contact NRHA at (775) 887-1797.

An added benefit of using the WISH program includes receiving the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) providing even more savings for the homebuyer. The Home at Last MCC provides up to $2,000 in federal income tax savings annually for the entire term of the loan.