Every year, thousands of Texans dream of owning a home, but most of them fail to purchase a property because of financial barriers standing in their way. The first step of the house-hunting process is assessing your finances. Once you evaluate your financial condition, you can opt for various state, county, and city programs offering down payment assistance in Texas.
All these programs can help you cover down payment and closing costs. Most of the plans offer no-interest and low-interest loans to pay the costs, whereas other programs provide homebuyers grants they need not repay. Here’s your guide to different down payment assistance programs in Texas.
Homeownership Across Texas (HAT) Program
The HAT program offers grants, allowing potential homebuyers to pay a reduced amount of out-of-pocket money to buy a home. These grants can be 1%-5% of the loan and can be applied to the closing cost fees or down payment.
HAT grants are not loans which means they never have to be repaid. Moreover, there are no other closing costs associated with the HAT grant program. To be eligible for this program, the property you’re planning to buy must be your primary residence and occupied by you.
Your income should be within or below certain limits, based on the county that you live in, Texas. The limits often vary depending on whether you live in a rural or urban area.
GoldStar Program
This program is specifically designed to help Texas citizens with a very low-income purchase a home. The financial assistance is provided by the Southeast Texas Housing Finance Corporation (SETH). All qualified homebuyers from any profession can apply for the GoldStar Program through a network of participating lenders.
The final loan amount of approximately 7% is in the form of a forgivable second lien, which means you won’t have to repay the money.
The GoldStar program doesn’t just apply to first-time homebuyers. To be eligible for this program, you must occupy the property as your primary residence within 60 days of closing. At the time of closing, borrowers are allowed to own other properties.
People classified for this program have an income less than or up to 50% of their county’s median income. Moreover, the maximum allowable home purchase price must be below $484,350.
5 Star Texas Advantage Program
This plan helps eligible applicants with the down payment closing costs in the form of grants. You can apply for this program even if you’re not a first-time homebuyer. To qualify for this program, your purchase must be within the program’s perimeters (excluding the city limits of Grand Prairie, El Paso, and Travis County.
The income limits for this program vary depending on your current location in Texas. Moreover, the purchase limits for the program are higher in the urban areas of Texas.
At Z Finance Solutions, our professional advisors can help you qualify for down payment assistance programs in Texas. In addition to giving you sound property investment advice, we can also assist with home loans for first-time buyers. Get in touch with us and get started on purchasing your home.
