April 2002 - OHFA Issues 1st-Time Home Buyers Funding

$50 Million now available to 1st-Time Homebuyers

  Funds are now available through the Ohio Department of Development's (ODOD) Ohio Housing Finance Agency's (OHFA) Single Family First-Time Homebuyer Program. Homebuyers can choose between two mortgage interest rates including a 5.99 percent mortgage rate or a 6.29 percent rate with the Downpayment Assistance Program. This mortgage money is available through more than 50 lenders with 400 loan origination offices located throughout the state.
  OHFA will provide mortgages for economically distressed areas of the state by setting aside approximately 20 percent of the mortgage money for use by participating lenders in these target areas. Downpayment assistance is also offered statewide as a grant of up to two percent of the loan amount. Homebuyers are able to choose the rate they prefer.
  OHFA's Single Family Mortgage Revenue Bond Loan Program allows Ohio to issue tax-free revenue bonds and use the proceeds for low-interest mortgages for first-time homebuyers. Since the Agency's inception in 1983, more than 80,000 Ohioans have purchased homes through this program. This funding is expected to assist more than 1,700 first-time homebuyers.
  To qualify for the program, applicants must be first-time homebuyers, persons not owning their principle residences in the last three years, or persons buying in target areas as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Applicants must also meet federal income and sales price guidelines.
To receive information about the program and participating lenders in particular areas, potential homebuyers can contact the Ohio Housing Finance Agency toll-free, 24 hours a day at 1-888-643-2636. In order to expedite the delivery of information packets, the Agency has implemented an automated phone system that will take callers' information via a voice messaging system.