Real Estate Guide

Your Mortgage - Questions and Answers
'State and Local Help for Home Buyers'

• Do States offer help to home buyers?
• What about here in the Mahoning Valley?

Do states offer help to home buyers?

Most states have a housing finance agency, usually located in the state capital, which offers help for first-time home buyers.

IN OHIO

• Ohio Housing Finance Agency offers affordable housing opportunities for Ohioans from rental assistance to homeownership. OHFA provides access to financial resources for the development and management of quality, affordable housing. The Agency's programs serve first-time homebuyers, renters, senior citizens and others with special needs who otherwise might not be able to afford quality housing.
• OHFA's First-Time Homebuyer Program provides mortgage products that best meets their needs by offering competitive, fixed interest rates on 30-year conventional loans and FHA, VA, and USDA Rural Development government mortgages. Close to 3,000 Ohio families have purchased homes using OHFA’s first time homebuyer programs in 2008. Loan applications are at a near-record volume, indicating that many first time homebuyers are deciding that it is a good time to buy a home.
• OHFA's Ohio Hero Program offers Ohio’s everyday heroes a lower rate through OHFA's First-Time Homebuyer Program. Ohio Heroes offers a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage to first-time homebuyers who are active military personnel or military veterans, firefighters or emergency medial technicians-paramedics, healthcare workers, police officers or teachers.
• The new Homebuyer Tax Credit Advantage Program from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) allows qualified homebuyers to receive help with down payment and closing costs. Low- to moderate-income Ohioans can use this program to receive a loan, as a second mortgage, for up to 3% of the purchase price of their home. After purchasing a home, qualified first-time homebuyers may also apply for the new federal tax credit of up to $8,000 on either their 2008 (filed in 2009) or 2009 (filed in 2010) tax returns.

   <<  Learn more about this new program. >>

• For qualifying homebuyers, a Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) can increase a household's income by reducing federal income tax liability, giving the household additional funds that can be used to make mortgage payments.

  See Also

  • Learn more about the Mortgage Credit Certificate Program.
  • OHFA 2009 Mortgage Credit Certificate Program (PDF- fact sheet)
  • - OHFA Video Presentation

What about here in the Mahoning Valley?

• Youngstown 2010 Homebuyer Assistance Programs- homebuyers incentives and assistance is available through many sources and grants. Find an up to date resource list here.
• Warren - see WINN press release. Other Warren home buyer and home owner incentives and assistance resources can be found here.