(Atlantic) Iowa mortgage rates are rising, and the Southwest Iowa, Housing Trust Fund, offers a program that can help.
Southwest Iowa Planning Council Grant Specialist Ann Anstey says the program is called the Homeownership Assistance Program. She says it is made possible by a $100,000 grant from the Iowa Finance Authority to the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund. “This is a great program for people who want to own a home,” said Anstey.
She says over the past five years, this program has assisted more than 100 homebuyers and secured $8 million in home mortgages that would not have been able to happen without it.
Anstey says the program is available to individuals and families who earn up to 80 percent of the area median income where they live. The area median income is calculated each year in each city or municipality.
The Iowa Finance Authority provides grants and low-interest loans through several programs, many of which are available to southwest Iowans who wish to purchase a home but may struggle to obtain resources.
The program can assist potential homebuyers of new and existing housing with down payment assistance. The grant will fund up to seven percent of the purchase price of up to $8,000. The first $5,000 is a five-year forgivable loan, forgiven at 20 percent per year. The remaining amount is a one-percent loan for up to five years.
This program is available to low-to-moderate-income individuals and families in Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, and Shelby Counties.
