Press Releases
Programs Still Available for Prospective South Carolina Home Buyers - 5/3/2010
The federal tax credit that was a popular incentive for first-time home buyers officially ended on April 30. But that doesn’t mean that South Carolinians wanting to buy a home are out of luck, according to officials at the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority (SC State Housing).
“We always have one or more programs available for first-time buyers who qualify,” said SC State Housing Executive Director Valarie M. Williams. “We have a long tradition of raising money by selling Mortgage Revenue Bonds (MRBs) to investors,” she said. “The proceeds from those bonds go right back into mortgages. SC State Housing staff is creative and they are constantly researching and tweaking programs to benefit as many South Carolinians as possible.”
Earlier this spring, SC State Housing announced its $40 million Palmetto Heroes Program, which provides low interest home loans to current South Carolina teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, and EMS personnel who qualify. The initiative also provides another crucial incentive – a down payment assistance of up to $7,000.
“This was our way of honoring people working in noble professions, but who may earn modest salaries,” Williams said. Eligible Palmetto Heroes can get a 5.125% interest rate through SC State Housing’s First-time Home Buyer Program as well as a down payment assistance loan of up to $7,000 which could even be forgivable over time, depending on the borrower’s income.
The program also includes a grant from South Carolina Realtors® which can help many of the participants with incidentals associated with purchasing a home, such as the appraisal. Williams said this was a way to help these workers live in the communities they serve.
For other potential home buyers, the options are also attractive. SC State Housing currently has rates of 5.25% in Categories I and II, which include borrowers earning 50.01% and above county median income, and 5% for those in Category III, covering borrowers earning 50% and below of the median income as well as disabled borrowers. All categories offer up to $5000 down payment assistance. Down payment assistance is repayable for borrowers in Category I and forgivable in Categories II and III.
The “first-time home buyer” definition is even broad enough to help many South Carolinians who think they don’t qualify. SC State Housing recognizes both “targeted” and “non-targeted” counties. In the non-targeted counties (Aiken, Anderson, Charleston, Greenwood, Greenville, Lancaster, Lexington, Oconee, Pickens, Richland, Spartanburg, York) a first-time home buyer is someone who has never owned a home or who has not owned a home in the last three years. In targeted counties (Abbeville, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston*, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, McCormick, Marion, Marlboro, Newberry, Orangeburg, Saluda, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg *County Census Division #53, Ravenel Division) a first-time home buyer may not own a home at the time of closing. The “first-time” provision is waived for Single Parent households statewide.
Also, buyers moving from a non-targeted area into a targeted area may qualify so long as they do not own a home at time of closing and meet the other qualifications for home price and family income.
SC State Housing, although a small state agency, is able to offer attractive home buying options through a network of almost 200 private sector lenders and brokers statewide. Williams urges anyone interested in purchasing a home to contact a participating lender or an SC Realtors® agent to see if they qualify for an SC State Housing loan. Loans are fixed interest for 30 years and may be for new or existing homes, including modular homes on a permanent foundation.
Since the MRB Program’s inception, SC State Housing has made more than 37,000 first mortgages, for a total investment of well over $2.2 billion. Moody’s Investors Service, a major municipal bond rating agency, recently gave its highest rating of Triple A (Aaa) to SC State Housing’s bonds.
For more information on SC State Housing programs and for a list of approved lenders and brokers, call 1-800-432-5007 or visit the agency’s website: www.schousing.com.
SC State Housing is the state's leading provider of capital for affordable housing and is a self-supporting agency of state government.
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