Are you a first-time homebuyer in South-Central Pennsylvania and looking for ways to stretch your money to purchase your first home? We are joined by Ashleigh Garancheski, Rebecca Foote Mortgage Team’s Senior Loan Partner! Together, we will discuss first-time homebuyer grants that are offered in each county in South-Central Pennsylvania.
Each Grant Is Different
Ashleigh Garanchski is the Senior Loan Partner on the Rebecca Foote Mortgage Team and she regularly works with the grants that we will be discussing today. There are four first-time homebuyer grants available in South-Central Pennsylvania and they are available by county. The county’s that offer these grants are Cumberland, Dauphin, York, and Lancaster.
Before discussing each grant in more detail, it is important to note that each county and grant has a different definition of who is considered a first-time homebuyer. Some only consider true first-time homebuyers while others consider this to be someone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.
Cumberland County First-Time Hombuyer Grant
The first grant we will discuss is the Cumberland County First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance Program. My team utilizes this grant frequently since we are located in Cumberland County and many of our clients are moving to this county.
There are income guidelines and some housing restrictions for this grant, but it provides the buyer with either $3,000 or $5,000 toward the purchase of their home. In some situations, we have seen our clients double or triple their money by using this grant.
The Cumberland County Grant is a matching grant. So, if you put in $1,000 toward your transaction, they will then give you $3,000. To get $5,000 you would need to put in $1,667 towards the transaction. A stipulation to this is that this money has to be yours! You are not allowed to use gift funds from relatives or other parties.
You are able to use this grant with a variety of loan types, not just a conventional loan. The main stipulation is that the property you are looking to purchase must be in Cumberland County. Additionally, this is a forgivable loan! So, you will not have to pay back the money you received from the grant.
The last requirement to receive the Cumberland County Grant for First-time homebuyers is that you must complete an educational class. This can be completed in person or online and the Rebecca Foote Mortgage Team will help get you signed up!
Cumberland County’s first-time homebuyer grant is almost like receiving free money as long as you meet the requirements. They are also great to work with, approving clients quickly and will extend the six month timeframe if you need more time to find a house.
Dauphin County First-Time Hombuyer Grant
The next grant we will discuss is the Dauphin County First-Time Homebuyers Program. This is a matching grant similar to the Cumberland County Grant but the highest amount you can receive is $3,000. There is no $5,000 grant for Dauphin County.
Other similarities include income guidelines and housing restrictions, one of which being that the home you are purchasing must be in Dauphin County. You must also complete an educational class in order to qualify just like the Cumberland County Grant.
The biggest difference with the Dauphin County Grant is that you do have to pay it back. This is what allows their county to always have this money available to first-time homebuyers. In addition, there is a limit on the price of the home you are choosing to purchase.
York & Lancaster First-Time Hombuyer Grants
Next, we will discuss the York County Homebuyer Assistance Program and the Lancaster County Homebuyer Assistance Program. Both of these grants are provided by a company called Tenfold so they are very similar.
These grants provide first time homebuyers with $5,000 to $7,000 toward their transaction. How much you receive will depend on the location of the home you are purchasing. Purchasing a home in the city of York will have some different requirements than purchasing in the rest of York County and the same goes for Lancaster.
As with the other grants we discussed there are incomes guidelines, housing restrictions, sales price restrictions, and you will have to complete an educational class.
Stretch Your Money Further
Receiving these first-time homebuyer grants is always on a case by case basis. Once you call into the Rebecca Foote Mortgage Team, we are looking at your overall financial situation to see if you will qualify for any of these grants.
It is never something you will have to ask us about but if we don’t mention them it means that something about your situation disqualifies you from receiving a first-time homebuyer grant. It is still always best to ask because the guidelines and qualifications for each grant do change from year to year.
If you have any question about the first-time homebuyer grants that are offered throughout South-Central Pennsylvania or are looking to get pre-approved for mortgage, reach out to us at (717) 609-4044. We are always happy to answer your questions and would love to work with you!