UPDATE: 02/03/2016
South State Bank is offering first time home buyers a 97%, 30 year fixed rate mortgage that is different than an FHA loan in that they only require a 3% down payment instead of 3.5% with an FHA loan, and the 3% can come from “gift funds”. Also, with this loan, the mortgage insurance is reduced. For more information on this program contact:
Laurie B. Holscher
SVP, Mortgage Loan Officer
NMLS # 607889
855 Savannah Hwy. / Charleston, SC, 29407
tel: (843) 529-5825
To Apply Online: www.laurieholscher.com
The 100% loan that is being offered by South State Bank is no longer being offered at this time.
A couple of points about this loan:
1) The maximum amount that you can borrow is $417,000.
2) There are no income limits.
3) Minimum credit score to qualify for loan is 620.
4) To know if a home is eligible for this loan, contact me at (843)714-3855 and I can get the information to you!
2013 SC State Housing Down Payment Assistance Programs
Have you found your dream home, but the only thing stopping you from buying it was the down payment? What if I told you that you can now get down payment assistance that will help you get into your dream home? As of June 18, 2013 SC State Housing still has approximately $1.5 million left to distribute, so if you are on the fence about buying a new home and want to take advantage of this program, DO IT NOW!
First Time Home Buyer Down Payment Assistance Program 2013
First time home buyers who want to purchase a home can obtain $5,000 in down payment assistance that can either be repayable or forgivable dependent on your income and the type of home you are buying. The interest rate on your mortgage will be in the neighborhood of 4%+
Category I for households that make over 80% of the Median Income
– $5,000 repayable down payment assistance
Category II for households that make 80% or less than the Median Income
– $5,000 forgivable down payment assistance
Palmetto Heroes Program 2013 – AS OF JULY 2, 2013 PALMETTO HEROES FUNDS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE
UPDATE 02/05/15: Palmetto Heroes Program 2015 – Will return by mid April or May 2016.
The Heroes selected for the 2013 initiative are Police Officers – Fire Fighters – EMS – Teachers – Nurses – Veterans. Borrower(s) must meet State Housing’s First-Time Homebuyer requirements. The program features a reduced mortgage interest rate and down payment assistance is available. Funding will be limited to $7.7 million, of which at the time of updating there was only $1.5 million left. Loans are available on a first come first served basis and borrowers must have an accepted sales contract on a home prior to reserving funds. All State Housing loan policies and procedures will be in effect for this program.
Police Officers – Borrower must be a full-time police officer with state or local government agency including correctional
officers with the South Carolina State Department of Corrections.
Fire Fighters and EMS – Borrower must be a full-time or volunteer fire fighter or EMS with a state or local government
agency. EMS may be employed by a company contracted by the county/city to provide EMS services.
Teachers – Borrower must have a South Carolina Teacher Certification and must be employed as a classroom teacher or
have a contract to begin teaching and to receive a paycheck within 60 days of closing on the home.
Nurses – Borrower must have a Nursing Degree and be employed as a nurse in a hospital, doctor’s office, school or other
medical facility.
Veterans – Borrower must be a person who has served in the active military, naval or air service (full time duty in the Armed Forces, other than active duty for training) who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable
discharge.
Here’s how the Palmetto Heroes Program works:
For existing homes, SC State Housing is offering $5,000 in down payment assistance, which means, that a potential home buyer would be able to buy a home up to $140,000 with little or no money down.
For new construction, SC State housing is offering $8,000 in down payment assistance. A potential home buyer can purchase a newly constructed home up to $200,000 with little or no money down!
Imagine being able to purchase your dream home and knowing that your down payment and some of your closing costs will be covered?
Of course, with any program like this, there are a few hoops to jump through before you can receive the down payment assistance. For instance, all borrowers must meet minimum credit requirements and income limits, however depending on your income and the sales price of the home, the down payment assistance may be forgivable or repayable.
Here’s an example of a married couple buying a newly constructed home in Charleston County:
Credit Score: To qualify for this program you must have a minimum credit score of 640
Income Limits: There are two categories and depending on which one you fall under will determine if the $8,000 down payment assistance is repayable or forgivable.
Category 1 (repayable $8,000 loan): a household with 1 or 2 persons buying a home in Charleston County could only have a maximum income of $61,300. That would enable you to buy a home with a maximum home price of $255,000
Category 2 (forgivable $8,000 credit): a household with 2 people buying a home in Charleston County could only have a maximum income of $39,250. That would enable you to buy a home with a maximum home price of $229,000.
If you fall into Category 1, then the $8,000 down payment assistance is repayable. It’s like a secondary loan. You would start repaying it on the 3rd anniversary of your first mortgage payment at a fixed interest rate of 4%. If you wanted to repay it in a lump sum, you could do that as well.
If you fall into Category 2, then the $8,000 down payment assistance is forgivable, meaning you wouldn’t have to repay it, but you would have to stay in the home for a minimum of 5 years.
Generally, all SC State Housing Loan Programs are based on a fixed interest rate loan of 3% with a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 97% (for conventional or rural housing) or 96.5% (for FHA). Therefore, if you buy a home for $100,000, the minimum down payment that would be required is $3,000 (for conventional or rural housing) or $3,500 (for FHA), so you can see how $5,000 or $8,000 in down payment assistance can help you!
Applying for the program is easy. All you have to do is contact your lender and say that you are interested in the SC State Housing Down Payment Assistance Program. They can let you know if you qualify and take care of the rest of the details from there. If you have general questions, you can always contact Matt Dorsey at Starkey Mortgage at (843)735.5266 x 223 or mdorsey@starkeymtg.com.
For more information about this program, visit the SC State Housing website at: www.schousing.com.
